Cameron Winery - White Oak Cider 2022 (750 mL)
Cameron Winery - White Oak Cider 2022 (750 mL)
2022 Vintage White Oak Cidre from Cameron Winery in Dundee, Oregon (Willamette Valley)
Made from apples grown at White Oak Orchard, perhaps the most iconic cider apple orchard in Oregon if not in the Northwest. It as planted by Alan Foster in the early 1980s and he sourced many of his varieties from the famed collection at Cornell University. He also sourced some cider apple and perry pear varieties from old orchards in southern Oregon. Overall, he now has around 100 different varieties planted on a mere 3 acres and they come from famed cider regions from around the world including Normandy, Brittany, Cornwall and the Lake District. (Fun fact: Alan has had people in England request budwood for varieties that they have lost).
John Paul, Cameron Winery's wine and cider maker, got to know Alan in the 80s when he was starting Cameron. He began using the apples from White Oak Orchard in 2020, a year in which grape production we down. 2022 was a late and small vintage for cider apples. However, the multiple old clones of European varieties at White Oak Vineyard responded beautifully.
John Paul tends to make cider like they make wine - macerating the ground up apples for 24-48 hours before pressing and then acidifying down to around 3.6 pH where they feel more comfortable conducting the fermentations. Fermented using an old live yeast culture that Cameron Winery been keeping going for around 30 years. The cider is fermented in stainless steel drums and then transferred to old red wine oak barrels where it is allowed to do malo-lactic secondary fermentation. It generally stays in barrique for around 5-6 months and is then blended and bottled for methode champenoise. The bottles are riddled and disgorged around 2 months later so that the cider can generally be released in mid to late summer.
Tasting Notes: The aromas are of white flowers, pineapple, oak, spice cake, and cardamon, with a yeasty side note. In the mouth this libation has richness and acidity with a nice finish. Dry, slightly sparkling, and with notes of fresh green apple skins, grapefruit zest/pith, a soft minerality, oak, slightly bitter floral notes, and a crisp finish.
- Dry-to-Sweet Scale: Dry
- Tannins: Medium-Minus
- Acidity: Medium Plus
- 🍎🍐 Varieties: Liberty, Dabinett, Judeline, Kingston Black, and Yarlington Mill
- Features: Blend
- ABV: 8.5%
- Format: 750 mL Bottle
- Shipping available across U.S.
- In stock, ready to ship
- Inventory on the way
