Elevated Winner’s Circle

Peak Light Cider

Orchard Reserve Quince Cider 6% ABV (750 ml) ~ Specialty Gold

Jen and Travis Lovejoy opened Peak Light Cider in Northwest Oregon in summer 2020. Passionate family farmers and parents of three school-age children, they tend 65 apple varieties alongside plums, pluots, pears, persimmon and quince on the family’s ten acres on Sauvie Island. Fruit is handpicked by the family at peak ripeness to ensure the flavors of this unique Northwest river island find their way into every bottle. Peak Light’s slow fermentation process balances natural tannins and acids with aromatic qualities of the fruit. This intention to provide the highest quality farm-to-bottle experience resonated with judges, who awarded Peak Light’s Orchard Reserve Quince, Gold in the Specialty category at Portland International Cider Cup.

A local favorite for fresh farm goods and a respite from urban life, Sauvie Island is surrounded by the Columbia and Willamette Rivers and Multnomah Channel, directly northwest of Portland, Oregon. The Lovejoy family adheres to principles of organic and biodynamic farming, including implementing strategies to enhance soil health and increase the biodiversity of the orchard. 

Peak Light Orchard Reserve Quince Cider blends several varieties of quince (Pineapple Quince with fruity, lemon, pineapple notes and Smyrna Quince with sour, fragrant, aromatic notes) and late maturing apples (Stayman Winesap with tart, rich, cinnamon notes and Baldwin with crisp, rich, aromatic notes) to produce a cider with botanical and floral undertones. The label of  this Peak Light cider features a map of the orchard, highlighting the individual trees the fruit came from with accompanying tasting notes. The overall profile offers notes of wild rose, honeycomb, and green banana with a crisp apple finish. 

Serve with: fresh berries, rustic breads, and desserts

Peak Light Cider

Farm School 6.9% ABV (750 ml)

Our second featured cider from this new cidery, Peak Light Farm School, is a collaboration with Wombat Flats Farm on Kiger Island. This limited release cider crafted from 2020 harvest fruits is named in honor of an autumn of social distancing, while co-living with dear friends, homeschooling, and working together on the farm. Not an official award winner (yet!), Farm School pays homage to intergenerational resilience and creativity which seems celebration-worthy to us. Plus, it’s darn good cider!

Hand harvested, sorted, and bottled, this small batch cider is crafted from traditional bittersweet and bittersharp apples, including Yarlington Mill, Brown Snout, Muscadet de Dieppe, Vilberie and Porter’s Perfection. Much like the production of grape wine, specific apple varieties are selected for their naturally occurring sugars, acids, tannins, and overall taste profile. Bittersweet apples offer structure and roundness to this dry cider, which presents with a sturdy, familiar, earthy profile and rich, amber color. The finished cider is lightly carbonated to effervescent, ensuring the complexities and nuances of the fruit still come through. Aromas of molasses and tilled loam soil accompany notes of chestnut and buckwheat honey. 

Serve with: This bitter cider pairs well with radicchio salad, grilled asparagus and fresh baked bread with herbed butter.

Liberty Ciderworks

Porter's Perfection 7.5% ABV (750 ml) ~ English Dry Bronze

At Liberty Ciderworks, cider is a form of art, expressing climate, topography, and the wonders of exceptional, cider-worthy apples. Liberty employs “natural wine” methods in all ferments, never filtering and allowing each orchard’s native yeast to work its magic. This approach is inspired by global styles and traditions, but reflects Northwest apples, landscape, and culture. It’s a philosophy expressed in everything Liberty produces, and one that comes through in their Porter’s Perfection, awarded a Bronze medal in the English Dry category at PICC. 

Liberty’s Porter’s Perfection is part of a special Reserve Series, made of cider that begin as nano-batch labors of love including rare single-varietals and hard-to-make blends.

Discovered in Somerset UK, Porter’s Perfection apples are considered an excellent bittersharp varietal, despite their small size and lumpy appearance. Mild bittersweet funk on the nose, leading to dried pear, ginger spice, and grassy notes plus a strong tannic finish. This cider finishes dry and is bottled still, like a wine.

Serve with: Enjoy as a sipper or pair with sharp Cheddar and Stilton cheese, roast duck, pork or rich casseroles.  

Finnriver Farm & Cidery

Perry 8.5% ABV (750 ml) ~ Traditional Perry Gold

Finnriver Farm & Cidery is located on 80 acres of Washington’s wild and rural Olympic Peninsula in Chimacum. Since 2008, Finnriver has been on the forefront of the Pacific Northwest cider revival, serving as a beacon of sustainable practices, earning a role as a respected leader in the cider community. Finnriver’s mission to reconnect people to the land and grow community is realized through cider and through numerous other limbs, including an organic CSA and Finnriver Grainery. A beloved destination for cider adventures, Finnriver Cider Garden is a gem of a gathering place – local food hub, music venue, and farm wares outpost located in a picturesque converted barn space overlooking apple and perry pear orchards, flower and grain fields. Over the years, Finnriver has gathered heaps of accolades and awards, including a Gold medal for their Perry in the Traditional Perry category at Portland International Cider Cup.

This perry is part of Finnriver’s Orchard Series, a small batch line up of 750ml bottles fermented primarily from Finnriver’s estate-grown, organic cider apples and pears. Made in the style of a traditional French Perry, this 2020 harvest vintage selection offers a nose of wine and sweet pears, with a pleasant, round grapefruit note and a heart of clean, tannic pear. As with cider apples, special pear varieties are used to make perry, which are higher in tannin and acid than eating or cooking pears. In this blend: Hendre Huffcap, Yellow Huffcap, and Romanian Perry grown in Finnriver’s organic orchard along with wildcrafted seedling pears from the Olympic Peninsula.

Perry pears are thought to be descended from wild hybrids, known as wildings, brought to northern Europe by the Romans. Perry pears often have higher levels of sugar than cider apples, including unfermentable sugars such as sorbitol, which can give the finished drink a residual sweetness. After fermentation, Finnriver also adds organic cane sugar to round out the acidity and balance the strong astringent tannins, resulting in a semi-sweet perry that is bright, quenching, and delightful.

Serve with: Wonderful with lighter fare — grilled chicken, fresh goat cheese, antipasti platters, and dinner salads full of spicy young greens.