Twig Farm, in West Cornwall, Vermont, is principally a dairy operation, where cheese maker Michael Lee and his helpers hand-milk fifty Alpine goats twice a day to produce superb aged cheeses. But in the fall, the team gathers wild and seedling apples from the countryside, then sends them off to be fermented and bottle-conditioned by Shacksbury Cider in Vergennes.
This sparkling cider is from the 2017 batch, and its suffused with a quiet sense of straw and wet leaves with a lilt of red apple skin. The golden body is a little cloudy (it’s un-disgorged), and it has a coating, proteinaceous finish. The fruit skews toward quince and ginger, and its shimmery acidity, including a touch of acetic, lifts it up.
Overall it’s a hearty cider with complex, woodsy aromatics and a savory core. Pair it with roasted squashes or root vegetables, sausages with sage, pasta with browned butter, or medium-aged cheeses — Twig Farm’s goat Tomme would be a natural.
2017 Twig Farm Cider Vermont
6.9% abv | $20 (750 ml)
