Troddenvale "A Little Man Sings" Petit Manseng, Crozet, Virginia NV

FROM TRODDENVALE:

THE WINE: 100% Petit Manseng. In 2021, fruit was harvested in late August. Upon arriving to the farm, whole clusters were foot tread and macerated in a macro bin for one week before being pressed off its skins to a neutral French oak barrel to finish its uninoculated, native primary fermentation. The wine sat undisturbed in barrel for two years with minimal topping. In 2022, fruit was harvested on the 11th of September. Whole clusters were foot tread and macerated for two weeks until dry. The wine was pressed off its skins to a neutral French oak barrel where it sat undisturbed for over a year. Both barrels were racked off their gross/fine lees in November of 2023 and blended in tank. This release is a 60/40% blend of ’22 and ’21 respectively. Bottled still with no additions of SO2 were made at any stage of this wine.

THE PRODUCER: In their own words: “Troddenvale roughly translates to the ‘valley road’ and is inspired by a lengthy history of visitors traveling to the cradle of Virginia’s Warm Springs Valley. Translated through our cider, we strive to preserve this valley’s treasured history, its spring water, forgotten orchards, and furthermore, we seek an opportunity for new stories to be told - of the land, the soil, and the people. We are focused on revitalizing fruit growing for cider production in our mountain region of Virginia. We believe that dedicating our efforts to where fruit is grown and how will lead us to achieve the greatest potential in our cider.”

In their efforts to support the broader region, they glean a lot of fruit from old abandoned orchards and seedlings on the perimeters of properties. However, they also consistently buy fruit from growers in the area, working with them to improve their agricultural practices even if the farmers are resistant to organic/regenerative agriculture. Will and Cornelia planted a home vineyard (pictured above) to many varieties and are farming it according to regenerative principles. They have also started a food share (basically a farmer’s market) that’s transforming the region’s agriculture; their chicken farming neighbors now sell the majority of their chickens to customers in Western VA.