We’ve endeavored to create a set of cider-style apple and pear sparkling wines, as well as an apple dessert wine for the 2011 vintage. Spencerville Red Hard Apple, Black Twig Hard Apple, and Bosc & Bartlett Hard Pear each display subtle and pleasant fruit flavors, while Great Shoals Spiced Apple contains a rich blend of apple and spice. These wines are made from locally grown fruit produced by our partners Heyser Farms and T.S. Smith and Sons.
Spencerville Red Hard Apple
Spencerville Red Hard Apple
Great Shoals Winery has partnered with Heyser Farms of Montgomery County, MD to produce a new product showcasing the flavors of a truly local apple – the Spencerville Red. Great Shoals works closely with Heyser Farms to blend and hand press small batches of the freshest Spencerville Red sweet apple cider. We ferment this wonderful juice to make a crisp and refreshing sparkling hard cider (8% alc by volume).
Spencerville Red Hard Apple is an exceptionally crisp, dry, and naturally sparkling wine that stands apart from typical hard ciders, yet captures the essence of a delightfully pure and simple traditional beverage. $15 per bottle.
Washington Post Food Section: 2-1/2 Stars
Awards:
2012 MD Governor’s Cup Gold Medal & Best Hard Cider
2012 Winemasters’ Choice Silver Medal
2011 MD Governor’s Cup Gold Medal & Best Hard Cider
2011 Winemasters’ Choice Silver Medal & Best Sparkling
For more information about the Spencerville Red apple and Heyser Farms visit www.spencervillered.com.
Bosc & Bartlett Hard Pear
Bosc & Bartlett Hard Pear
Hard pear ciders have been enjoyed by connoisseurs for hundreds of years with documented production as far back as the early Roman Empire. Great Shoals Winery has brought this tradition to Maryland in the form of our cider-style Bosc & Bartlett Hard Pear.
Through our partnership with Heyser Farm, we’ve blended and pressed the sweetest bosc and bartlett pears from regional orchards in Maryland and Pennsylvania to make an 8% alcohol by volume sparkling pear wine.
Made in a classical European style, Bosc & Bartlett Hard Pear is a dry, well-balanced, and naturally sparkling wine that features the delicate flavors of ripe bosc and bartlett pears. $16 per bottle.
Awards:
Winemasters’ Choice Gold Medal & Best Hard Cider
Black Twig Hard Apple
According to our sources, the Black Twig apple variety was first grown near Fayetteville, Tennessee during the 1830s. The often deeply red colored apple became more and more popular in the coming decades and experienced increased production in eastern orchards as farmers discovered its tartness. Black Twig remains a highly sought variety today, nearly 170 years after it was first cultivated in Tennessee.
Black Twig Hard Apple
Little did we know, a few miles north of the winery across the border in Delaware, The Smith family farm of Bridgeville specialized in producing some of the areas finest cider apples, including Black Twig. We’re pleased that a collaboration with TS Smith and Sons has led to the newest member of our cider-style sparkling wine collection – Black Twig Hard Apple.
Officially recognized as Delaware’s first hard cider, Black Twig Hard Apple is a crisp and exquisitely dry sparkling cider (8% alc by vol) made in the traditional European style. From the very first sip, apple fruit flavors fill your palate along with a fanfare of tiny bubbles. Enjoy cold. $16 per bottle.
Award:
2012 Winemasters’ Choice Silver Medal
For more information about TS Smith and Sons visit www.tssmithandsonsfarm.com.
Great Shoals Spiced Apple
Infused with orange peel, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves, Great Shoals Spiced Apple is an off-dry dessert wine that captures the flavors of Fall and the Holidays. Ideal for enjoying by a fire, after dinner, or simply by itself, this wine is packed with a blend of spices and apple aromas. Try serving Spiced Apple chilled, at room temperature, or warmed. (13.5% alc. by volume). $23 per bottle.
