Hank Beckmeyer of La Clarine in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California has built the vineyard version of the orchard and cidery I would like to cultivate. My primary interest in craft is rooted in wine making but I moved away from it because I think the terroir challenge of MD lends itself better to producing high quality apples. Over time I might discover another truth in this matter but the pursuit of cider in this region seems to offer a very satisfying journey.
Hank Beckmeyer is a reformed musician and I imagine the land looks more like a piece of un-sculpted clay to him than an extractable resource. He has done a lot of experimental planting and uses a natural wine making approach. His wines are almost mentored into the bottle and go through several iterations until they are finally bottled. Some of the whites are unusually colored, or I should say normally colored since this is how wine should look. I have only been able to taste one vintage but it was such a superb wine, one of the best whites I have had. Half the taste profile came from my awareness of his approach; its the first time I felt like the wine maker, the land, the process had already impacted my senses to such a degree.
If I am able to procure an orchard I would like to plant it like a living symphony and allow the terroir to produce apples that will make the cider in the orchard.
Hank Beckmeyer is a reformed musician and I imagine the land looks more like a piece of un-sculpted clay to him than an extractable resource. He has done a lot of experimental planting and uses a natural wine making approach. His wines are almost mentored into the bottle and go through several iterations until they are finally bottled. Some of the whites are unusually colored, or I should say normally colored since this is how wine should look. I have only been able to taste one vintage but it was such a superb wine, one of the best whites I have had. Half the taste profile came from my awareness of his approach; its the first time I felt like the wine maker, the land, the process had already impacted my senses to such a degree.
If I am able to procure an orchard I would like to plant it like a living symphony and allow the terroir to produce apples that will make the cider in the orchard.
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