Patois Cider ‘Infinite Canon’ Cider
Location: United States, Virginia
Cidermaker: Patrick Collins & Danielle LeCompte
Apples: 100% Arkansas Blanc
Soil: gravelly loam, granitic gneiss
Cidermaking: Based on vintage character, a varying portion of the apples ferment on their skins from seven to twenty-four days before being pressed to finish in poly tanks and glass demijohns. Reserve cider ages untopped in a single 425 L acacia barrel. At bottling, a portion of this base is blended with still-fermenting cider from the current harvest to finish in bottle. The remaining portion of young cider then tops up the acacia barrel to refresh the solera. Bottles age sur lattes for 10 months before being riddled and disgorged by hand.
From the Producers: ‘Infinite Cannon’ is made from 100% Arkansas Black from Williams Orchard in Flint Hill: 40% from 2019, 60% from 2020. Cider is not allowed to make note of vintage on labels, so we’ve denoted years with roman numerals. The fruit was left in bins to further concentrate outside in the orchard for one month after harvest. Thyme, apricot, lemongrass.
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.