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WineEast to Earle Estate, but they also produce a portion in the méthode ancestrale. These ciders are bottle conditioned but not disgorged as in méthode champenoise. Barton emphasizes the importance of blending different varieties of apples to achieve proper balance with respect to phenolics, acid, pH, Brix and flavor. He appreciates the bitter-sweet and bitter-sharp European varieties for their phenolics but believes they generally benefit from blending with some higher acid North American varieties such as Gold Rush. Unlike some producers who like to move the fruit from the orchard immediately to the press, Barton stores the apples for a period of time to reduce the starch and increase the sugar content. While primary fermentation still takes place on the lees, he uses pectic enzymes in the juice to improve settling and filterability later on. The fresh juice receives about 50 ppm SO2 to control wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria. When required, juice Brix is adjusted up to 16° with cane sugar. Barton says he is always experimenting, but EC1118 (Prise De Mousse) is his favored yeast. He regularly uses hydration nutrients when preparing his yeast for primary fermentation and adds nutrient supplements to prevent H2S. However, he noted that excessive diammonium phosphate can produce "Jolly Rancher-like" aromas that he prefers to avoid. Fermentation is carried out at 50°-55°F. Upon completion, the cider is racked, lightly sulfured and tight DE filtered. His primary fermentation techniques are identical whether the cider is to be force carbonated or bottle fermented. Only as the cider nears bottling do the two processes diverge. Cider destined for bottle conditioning is maintained at a low SO2 so as not to impede a secondary fermentation. The day before bottling, the cider is primed with 14 g/L sucrose, and the starter culture is prepared by rehydrating 0.5 grams per gallon of dry EC1118 to be bottled. Through the course of the day, cider is added to the culture to acclimate the yeast until the inoculant is built to about 10% of volume. The next day the active culture and cider are combined, mixed well and immediately bottled in 750ml Champagne bottles and finished with Winemaking Autumn Stoscheck adds 1 gram of encapsulated yeast to bottles at Eve's Cidery. Sugar is mixed into tanks prior to sterile filtration. a crown cap. No additional nutrients are added, as they promote too much yeast growth, resulting in excessive lees in the finished cider. Unlike Bellwether's other ciders, the bottle-conditioned cider is aged one to three years before release. Barton explains that the yeast needs time to fully autolyse. As it ages, the acid softens and the wine takes on a sweeter, more balanced palate. Bellwether's bottle conditioned cider retails for $16.95 per bottle. Head to head with the beer market: Vermont Hard Cider Co. Vermont Hard Cider Co., maker of Woodchuck Hard Cider, the largEasternWineLab_Mar09.qxp 1/22/09 9:47 AM Page 1 est selling hard cider in the United States, has been making hard EASTERN WINE LABS Serving the Analytical needs of East Coast Wineries WWW.EASTERNWINELABS.COM Ph 609-859-4302 Cell 609-668-2854 chemist@easternwinelabs.com AOAC Member 78 W in es & V i ne s SE P T E M B E R 20 13