Disciple ‘Signora Pazza’ Grape Cider 2021

Location: United States, Vermont

Winemaker: Willa Deely

Fruit: Apples and Marquette from Vermont and La Crescent, Seyval Blanc and Frontenac Gris from New Hampshire

Soil: Clay and limestone

Winemaking: The grapes were destemmed and left on skins for one week, pressed off in late October, and aged in glass demijohn. The cider apples are mostly liberties harvested from the la Garagista home farm in mid-late October and cured over the winter. The cider base is comprised of a blend of four presses starting in mid-February and ending in early April. The wine and cider were blended together in April and bottled under cap as a pét-nat.

From the Makers: ‘Signora Pazza’ is a sparkling grape cider, a pétillant naturel blend of wild and cultivated apples and hybrid grapes (Frontenac Noir, St Croix, Louise Swenson). This is the second vintage, the same cider base but with grapes grown by the crazy lady herself, Ms. Deirdre Heekin. Deirdre’s Stolen Roses and The Flesh and The Bone were my inspirations when I started cofermenting apples and grapes, and this vin ëd pom is a nod to her passion for expanding and experimenting upon our collective understanding of Vermont Terroir and the bounty this state has to offer. Made by one crazy lady in honor of another.

After 10 years of on-and-off mentorship with Caleb and Deirdre, from a BOH restaurant job that morphed into vineyard reclamation to cellar work to harvest intern to label design, I decided to launch my very own solo fermentation project, Disciple. My project is named partly for them, as I have ever only studied winemaking here in Vermont, with hybrid grapes and local apples as our noble fruits. I love what they do, I love how they do it, and now I am their disciple, here to spread the passion of Vermont winemaking.

Disciple is primarily a cider-based project that focuses on multi-fruit coferments, occasionally featuring grape wines.