Ice, Ice Cider

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legersIce cider is the orchard’s answer to ice wine, a sweet wine produced from grapes frozen on the vine. Eleanor and Albert Leger of Eden Ice Cider got their first taste of the Quebec-born beverage while visiting Canadian family in 2006. Their shared reaction was, “Why is nobody making this in Vermont?” Says Eleanor, “We love wine. We love terroir and exploring products that are really from a particular climate and agriculture. Ice cider seemed like something that was so special and unique to here.” Apples are, after all, the Vermont state fruit, and a town that usually has a white Thanksgiving seemed the ideal locale for setting up shop—and orchards. Eight years later the Legers feature the fruits of the region in an expanded portfolio that includes aperitifs, sparkling and ice ciders.

Northern_Spy_3Because it’s fermented rather than brewed, ice cider is categorized as a wine (and is often referred to as apple ice wine). Unlike grapes, however, apples tend to fall off the tree when ripe and don’t freeze as easily. At Eden, the Legers harvest their late-season apple varieties in mid-to-late October and then press them in December. The apple juice is left out in the cold clime for 6-8 weeks to yield a higher sugar concentrate. “Your average apple juice will be maybe about 11 or 12 percent sugar,” says Eleanor. “Our result gets the sugar level up the mid 30s.” The sweet, flavorful concentrate is then fermented for an infusion of booziness (up in the 8-11 percent area).

When the Legers first got started, they made up small batches using local varieties, then blended the batches (and tasted, and blended again) to develop the recipe for their flagship Heirloom Blend. According to Eleanor, “Back in 2007, cider wasn’t really a thing yet. So we could go around and identify who had the interesting apples and start working with them before anybody else.” Their bottles include apples from a mix of New England farmers, including the Bins_and_House (1)Legers themselves who have over 1,000 apple trees on their West Charleston farm. Their Windfall Orchard ice cider is the exception to the rule, featuring apples from the small Vermont orchard of the same name, home to over 80 heirloom varieties.

To enjoy ice cider, serve it chilled around 45-50 degrees in sherry- or port-sized pours. Because it’s sipped in small doses, one bottle of Eden ice cider will go as far as a bottle of table wine. They’re perfect in the cold weather, “when you want to end a meal with warming flavor and something sweet.” Eleanor suggests the Heirloom Blend with a piece of aged cheddar (“Its great apple character and wonderful acidity go really well with the fatty and salty aspects of the cheese”) or the Windfall Orchard with cheesecake or crème brûlée (“It’s smooth, light and delicate.”) Though Eden made its name with ice ciders, they’ve found other uses for their pressed juices with a line of sparkling cider and Orleans Herbal and Bitter aperitif ciders. Their small-batch New England versions of big-name Italian aperitifs are infused with local herbs and botanicals, so you can enjoy Eden from your first course to your last.

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