The new year will bring with it a brand new wine release for Satek Winery: Autumn Classic, our first-ever Apple Wine.  Our whole staff got to have some input in the process, but Winemaker Shane Christ gets the credit for the initiative to take it from idea to completion.

     Shane worked closely with local orchard owner Gary Stroh of G. W. Stroh Orchard in Angola, just 10 minutes south of the winery, to supply the juice from which the wine was made.  Just a few of the 30 apple varieties that Stroh Orchard grows were carefully selected--for their sweetness, acidity, and aroma--to be pressed for juice.

     Shane has wanted to try to make an apple wine for a few years now because, he says, "it's very challenging for a winemaker to make a really good apple wine.   The best apple wines are colorless to clear."  With that goal in mind, Shane set out to do as much research as possible, including consulting with Enology Professor Christian Butzke and Enology Specialist Jill Blume of Purdue University's Wine Grape Action Team.   Preservation of the fresh apple juice is critical, because it is so prone to oxidation (think about a cut apple and how quickly it browns), which causes the undesirable deep golden color and sharper taste that apple juice or apple cider is known for.  To maintain the clarity and preserve the flavor of the fresh-pressed juice, Shane utilized a process called cold settling, where it is kept very cold and the solids are allowed to settle out of the suspension, which helps minimize the harshness it could've had.

     Some of the biggest challenges Shane was able to overcome was because of the logistical help he got from Gary Stroh.  "It's difficult to keep the flavors and aromas preserved.  They can quickly dissipate from the tree to the bottle," says Shane.  Timing was critical: Shane met with Gary at 4 a.m. to oversee the pressing; he was back at the winery by 9 a.m. with the juice to begin the fermentation.

     Our staff here is very excited to release Autumn Classic, because we were able to have a lot of input during the test-blend stages.  We conducted three sets of test blends, experimenting with different sugar contents and acidity levels, to determine the ultimate taste of the final version of the wine.  Customers who've gotten preview tasting of it have given it rave reviews.  Shane expects it to win some awards, which "will inspire us to do more things with apples in the future."

112 cases of Autumn Classic were made, and will sell for $10.99 a bottle.

 

 

Thanks to Gary Stroh for all his cooperation and time to help make Autumn Classic possible.  G.W. Stroh Orchard is open July through March and is located at 2620 SR 827 in Angola.