Troddenvale "House Cider" Virginia 2022

FROM TRODDENVALE:

THE CIDER: Most fruit was pressed directly to a combination of 228L and 500L French/American oak and Black Locust barrels between the months of September and November. Some varietals saw brief, overnight maceration before pressing. Upon completing an uninoculated, native primary fermentation, select barrels saw a reinvigoration of their lees by weekly or monthly Bâtonnage. Barrels were left undisturbed during the spring and summer until racked off gross/fine lees and blended in the end of July of 2023. Bottled sparkling via traditional method and rested for an additional nine months undisgorged before its release. 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.