Patois Cider ‘Readymade’ Perry Cider 2020
Location: United States, Vermont
Cidermaker: Patrick Collins & Danielle LeCompte
Fruit: heirloom and seedling pears
Soil: deep red clay, granite
Cidermaking: After harvesting, pears were left outside in small bins for roughly two weeks to further concentrate before pressing. A continuous fermentation carried through the full harvest window: pears were crushed and soaked overnight on skins, and then pressed into a mix of neutral French oak, poly tank, and glass demijohns. The multiple components were then blended to finish fermenting in bottle. Aged sur lattes for 10 months before being riddled and disgorged by hand. No SO2 additions were made.
From the Producers: ‘Readymade’ comes from 55% unsprayed seedling pears sprung up around Berrybrook Farm in Rapidan, 45% unsprayed heirloom and seedling pears scattered around Albemarle County. Notes of buckwheat honey, wineberry, walnut
From the Importer Selection Massale: Patois Cider is based in Crozet, Virginia in the heart of the historic apple country -- Virginia has a deep history (on a colonial timeline) of apple cultivation, from homesteads to the post-Civil War boom in production and exportation. The project is run by Patrick Collins and his partner Danielle LeCompte, and they completed their first commercial vintage in 2019. They focused on producing ciders that express the wild fruit and terroir of small pockets of Virginia. Everything is hand harvest, no spray practices in an old-growth orchard, and fermenting with little/no SO2.
Originally from Washington, DC, Patrick returned home to pursue cidermaking after his love of beverage was formed by time working in restaurants. After working three years for more commercial cideries in Virginia (where he met Danielle) they began exploring native fermentations, sourcing heirloom fruit, and caring for previously abandoned orchards with more sustainable growing practices on their own.
Danielle and Patrick both have a strong faith in the Virginia climate as a place that is ideal for producing ethereal and expressive ciders that are very disguisable from other cooler climate ciders. Patrick describes Virginia as producing more ample fruit and he says, "unlike most cidermakers who inhibit malolactic and ferment in reductive environments they want to embrace the "chin-dripping lushness of Virginia instead of fighting against it."
The guiding focus of Patois Cider is balance, and this is seen in the treatment of in the orchard, but also the approach in the cellar -- embracing coferments, hybrids, and flexibility to allow each cuvee to change vintage to vintage.