Snow Reserve 2012 - Ice Cider
Late apples are picked and harvested by hand in the fall and kept cool until the end of December. Once winter comes, the fruit is pressed and the juice obtained is placed outside at the cold January. By crystallizing, water separates from sugars by natural cryoconcentration. After a few days of intense cold, the concentrated mash, representing one fifth of the original quantity of juice, is collected by gravity. The nectar is then placed in oak barrel where it ferments at least 8 months, at low temperature. Breeding on lees continues in barrels for 4 months before being finally assembled and bottled. Inspired by the process of making ice wines and the unique climate of Quebec, Cidre de Glace was born out of the Quebec terroir. Extreme winter temperatures are required to obtain the concentration of sugars necessary for its realization. Christian Barthomeuf is the inventor of the recipe for Ice Cider. François Pouliot of Domaine Neige (formerly known as La Face Cachée de la Pomme) helped develop the two methods now known: cryoconcentration (for the autumn harvest) and cryoextraction winter harvest). In both cases, it is necessary to concentrate the sugars of the apple by the natural cold of winter.