Topworking it

Last weekend, Scott, with Benny's help. grafted (or "topworked") half of our ancient Golden Delicious to Muscat de Bernay, an old bittersweet apple from Normandy, France, that gives our ciders structure and nuance. For an apple to grape comparison, maybe think of Malbec or another variety with high tannins and low acidity, great for blending. It's not a direct comparison because while Malbec can make for a lovely single-varietal, you probably wouldn't enjoy a single-variety Muscat de Bernay cider. Well, not unless you're glutton for astringency and bitterness... Hoping these grafts take and we'll have a bountiful Muscat de Bernay harvest in years to come. Our Muscat trees in our orchard have been doing great and even gave us a nice little yield in 2013.

Muscat de Bernay from 2013 harvest