Normandy, Part 2: Apple Booze

KevinApple Wine, Apples, Cider, Cider Making, From the Cellar, Fruit from the Yard, Operation Fruit Rescue Edmonton, Wine1 Comment

[Part 1 is here]. Over lunch yesterday it came up that some of the calvados I was tasting in Normandy was 40 years or older, the oldest specific vintage being a 1969 Dupont. That would be very unusual in the wine world, and highlighted  one of the fantastic things about spirits vs. wine: shelf stability. Opening a bottle of 1969 … Read More

Normandy, Part 1: How They Do Things

KevinApple Wine, Apples, Cider, Cider Making, From the Cellar, Fruit from the Yard, Wine, Wine Making, Wine Vinegar7 Comments

I’m back. Not surprisingly, Normandy was quite the beautiful adventure. I was there to educate my palate, learn some methodology in cider and calvados production, and most importantly to glean from their centuries-old apple food culture. I live in a place of copious amounts of largely wasted urban apples, with a brand-newly emerging scene surrounding how to save them and … Read More

2010 Apple Wine Vintage Shows its Face

KevinApple Wine, Apples, From the Cellar, From the Garden, Fruit from the Yard, Wine, Wine Making8 Comments

Oh, happiness. I’ve been keeping a loose eye on the bubbling of my apple wine carboys [a not-so-modest 9 carboys, or ~20 cases. I’m sharing with folks, honest], but hadn’t noticed them dropping clear until today. What does that mean? The yeast is done doing its thing – and no longer is creating turbulence in the solution. What does that … Read More

Killing-Frost Harvest Sprint 2010

KevinApples, Fall Veg, From the Garden, Fruit from the Yard, Vegetables3 Comments

The forecast tonight? -4C!?! The ‘big white combine‘, as farmer-friend Andreas puts it, cometh. It was go-time in our yard today. We started with harvesting the tomatoes [nearly all green], then the fall squashes, any remaining summer squashes, the cucumbers, celery, celeriac, the significant beet crop, onions, shallots, pole beans, bush beans of many types – and a couple hundred … Read More