Gowan’s Heirloom Ciders
A taste of the holidays in a glass
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! What a topsy-turvy year this has been, and how many things we have to be grateful for! True, all of us find ourselves peering ahead into the dim shadows of winter and wondering what further twists and turns the coming months will take, but here we are now in a season of thankfulness and joy. Hopefully we can take this moment to turn our weary gaze from the mists of the future, and find rest in the here and now, in the blessings of today, however small and seemingly simple they may be.
The perfect fall tasting
For us, one of these simple things that we are choosing to take delight in is the tasting we did the other week at Gowan’s Heirloom Cider. The second part of our much-anticipated day trip through the Anderson Valley (following Lula Cellars, which we talked about last week), our stop at Gowan’s was the perfect little holiday-time experience. The sky was overcast, and the heavens were letting fall just the slightest bit of drizzle – not enough to get us exactly wet, but enough to make the hoods of our jackets and any stray hairs glitter with perfect, jewel-like drops. We stood at a barrel underneath a 120 year-old apple tree bearing the name “Astrachan” on a small plaque – was this the name of some forgotten heirloom varietal that this family-run orchard had been cultivating since their beginning in 1876? We weren’t sure, but we liked the sweet, homey thought of such dedication and care.
The gal pouring the ciders came over, her broad New Jersey accent adding extra charm to the ciders as she told us a snippet or two about each one. A lugubrious Basset hound, humorously named Flash, snuffled his way in and out of the different tasters spaced out around the trees and the toasty little fire pit, from which smoke was drifting softly away. Muffled conversation and laughter came from a picnic table underneath another venerable apple tree.
We tasted 6 ciders altogether. They were all delicious, filling our mouths with the flavors and feelings of happy holidays and cheery harvest time.
The Macintosh: Made strictly with Macintosh apples, this cider was light and dry, almost savory even. It made us want to break out some honey glazed ham or pumpkin pie to go with it.
The 1876 Heirloom: Made with a fun blend of over a dozen of the heirloom varieties grown in the Gowan’s orchards, this was the sweetest of all the ciders. Perhaps dangerously sweet…
The Sierra Beauty: Made with the rare Sierra Beauty apple, this delightful cider is actually crafted with the same techniques as wine, technically making it an apple-wine. It has even won some awards at different wine competitions over the past couple of years, a fact of which the folks at Gowan’s are very proud. And they should be! It was wonderfully smooth and fantastic!
The Gravenstein: Made with the delicate Gravenstein apple, our pourer styled this cider as their apple-champagne. It had a perfect balance of tart and sweet, and a finer bubble than some of the other ciders.
The Rosé: Blended with Pinot Noir grapes during the fermentation process, this cider was deliciously unique. It had perhaps a little more complexity than some of the other ones we tasted that day, making it a stand out for sure.
The Spiced Apple: Ok, this one was just too fun. Another blend of apples like the 1876 Heirloom, this cider was spiked with just the perfect amount of baking spices. It was like an apple pie in a glass, but without being overly sweet!
As we finished up the last drops of our final hard cider, a steaming cup of non-alcoholic apple cider appeared on our barrel, and the gal smiled at us with a bright “To warm you up before you go.” We wrapped our fingers around the cozy cup and inhaled the comforting holiday scent wafting up into our faces. We contemplated the different ciders we had tasted, trying to decide which bottles to take home, and slowly sipped, feeling the liquid warmth make a little detour to our hearts as it trickled on down. This was good, and we were going to savor the moment for as long as we possibly could.
A little pre-cider glory. Photo courtesy of Gowan’s
Stop by Gowan’s for your own tasting of their fantastic hard ciders! They are open Friday-Sunday, 11:00-5:00. Take a picnic and hang out a while longer under their lovely old apple trees. They also have non-alcoholic cider if you’ve already been spending the day wine tasting and need a little break. And remember to get a few bottles to take home for the holidays!
Words and photo by Laura Hockett