Fable Farm Petite Pearl Cider 2019

This sparkling rosé is 90% Petite Pearl and 10% Frontenac Noir, grown on the Penny Hill Vineyard in Vermont — a high-elevation site in the foothills where the shorter growing season slows ripening and concentrates acidity. The vines were seven years old at the 2018 harvest. Fable Farm Fermentory, run by brothers Jon and Chris Piana in Barnard, central Vermont, works without added sulfites, filtration, or lab yeasts across all of its wines and ciders.

Half the fruit was whole-cluster pressed immediately at harvest; the other half was cold-macerated for five weeks — cold enough to control extraction but warm enough to sustain a steady fermentation. The two wines aged separately in neutral oak barrels for one year, then were blended and bottled with a tirage of fresh 2019 juice to trigger a secondary fermentation in bottle. The result is a lightly sparkling, low-alcohol rosé — the producer lists average alcohol on their cider-as-wine line at 6–7% ABV.

Petite Pearl is a cold-hardy hybrid bred by Tom Plocher in Minnesota and released in 2010, with parentage that includes V. vinifera, V. riparia, and V. labrusca. It produces wines with notes of cherry, blueberry, and plum alongside hints of anise and mint, with moderate acidity and soft tannins. In rosé and sparkling formats the fruit reads as bright red berry with a lifted floral edge. Frontenac Noir adds structure and a tart cranberry-cherry snap that keeps the wine focused.

No sulfites added. Unfiltered. Expect sediment and some variation bottle to bottle — this is a living wine. Serve well chilled and store at 40–55°F.