Cider-makers forage for old wild apple flavor
Posted October 15, 2017 7:00 am
ROCHESTER, Vt. (AP) - As the country's craft cider industry regains its popularity, some cider-makers are foraging wild apples that have links to the country's early cider making days since commercial cider apple quantities are low.
Shacksbury Cider in Vergennes, Vermont, harvests wild apples from mountain roadsides, old farmsteads and pastures and the backyards of homes through its Lost Apple Project. It produces specialty hard ciders from the harvests and propagates its own trees from some of the best wild ones.
The executive director of the United States Association of Cider Makers says of the estimated 700 craft cider-makers in the United States, at least two dozen are using foraged wild apples in at least one of their ciders.
In this Oct. 4, 2017 photo, Colin Davis, co-founder of Shacksbury Cider, samples hard cider at the company's tasting room in Vergennes, Vt. Shacksbury Cider harvests wild apples from mountain roadsides, old farmsteads and pastures and the backyards of homes through its Lost Apple Project. It produces specialty hard ciders from the harvests and propagates its own trees from some of the best wild ones. (AP Photo/Lisa Rathke)
The Associated Press
In this Oct. 3, 2017 photo, David Dolginow, left, co-founder of Shacksbury Cider, and colleague Michael Lee harvest wild apples in Rochester, Vt., for the company's specialty ciders. Shacksbury Cider harvests wild apples from mountain roadsides, old farmsteads and pastures and the backyards of homes through its Lost Apple Project. It produces specialty hard ciders from the harvests and propagates its own trees from some of the best wild ones. (AP Photo/Lisa Rathke)
The Associated Press
In this Oct. 4, 2017, photo, Colin Davis, co-founder of Shacksbury Cider, loads wild apples into a cider press in Vergennes, Vt. As the craft cider industry continues its resurgence with not enough commercial cider apples available, some cider makers are foraging for wild apples that have links to the country's early cider making history. (AP Photo/Lisa Rathke)
The Associated Press
In this Oct. 4, 2017, photo, a display of Shackbury Cider's beverages sits on a shelf at the company's tasting room in Vergennes, Vt. Shacksbury Cider in Vergennes, Vermont, harvests wild apples from mountain roadsides, old farmsteads and pastures and the backyards of homes through its Lost Apple Project. It produces specialty hard ciders from the harvests and propagates its own trees from some of the best wild ones. (AP Photo/Lisa Rathke)
The Associated Press
In this Oct. 3, 2017, photo, David Dolginow, co-founder of Shacksbury Cider, poses with a bottle of hard cider beside a bin of wild apples just harvested at an old farmstead in Rochester, Vt. As the craft cider industry continues its resurgence with not enough commercial cider apples available, some cider makers are foraging for wild apples that have links to the country's early cider making history. (AP Photo/Lisa Rathke)
The Associated Press
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