When we started Dominion 10 years ago we started with a single apple cider in a bottle. We simply called it “Craft Cider” since we couldn't at the time imagine ever making more than one. As consumer preferences evolved we moved more of our production to cans, but we still do a limited run of special bottles each year for club members.
We're bottling them now, and one of my favourites is Theory and Practice. This cider is bottled while it's still actively fermenting and stored upside-down, in the same traditional method used to make champagne.
The final step in this method is disgorging the lees that collect in the neck of the inverted bottle. Using a special tool, the bottle is brought back upright while the cap is removed, and the carbonation shoots the puck of lees out. It makes a big “POP” and a large mess, which my kids enjoy watching :) The bottles are then quickly topped up and re-capped, which results in a naturally carbonated, clear, dry cider without any lees. I love that it is simple and low-tech. Somethings are well worth a little extra time and mess.
Till next time,
Mike