Growers Stuart and Wendy brings us multiple pickup loads every second year, as their trees—like many antique varieties—have “bumper crop” years followed by “rest” years. 2020 was a bumper crop, bringing thousands of pounds of their smallish, red-striped, juicy apples to our cidery bins.

The curious thing about this orchard (by heritage orchard standards) is that every one of their 14 trees is the same variety. Most old settler orchards have a range of the dozen-or-so varieties that were popular at the turn of the 19th century, plus a few novelty types. The Scholefield’s trees, however, all produce “Wealthy”, an apple first propagated by a Minnesota apple breeder named Peter Gideon in 1865, who was determined to breed a variety hardy enough for their harsh climate. Wealthy was a Siberian crabapple cross, and was so tasty, hardy, and disease-resistant that by the early 1900’s it was one of the most common apples grown across the country, and it also found its way to settler orchards across Coast Salish territory according to local farm records from the 1910’s. It took some serious detective work to ID these apples, but we finally did—the last photo above is of an old Salt Spring Island text listing Wealthy in one of the earliest settler orchards, which helped us confirm along with many photo IDs and taste and growing descriptors (source: Salt Spring Archives).

Wendy and Stuart’s current home was once one block of a large, commercial apple orchard planted by the Higgs family. The Higgs immigrated from England to Oregon, and then to South Pender around 1902. Over the last century the orchard has been parcelled into different properties, and we harvest from a few of these each year. Stuart and Wendy started living here and caring for the trees around the 1992.

Comparing Two Methods

Fun fact: while most of a grape’s tannin is in its skin, an apple’s tannin is mostly found in its inner flesh. Matthew explains how fermenting on this tannic pomace à la “skin-contact” contributes to an altered profile—refined vs. funky—as you’ll taste in the December shipment.

1. How long has your wine club been meeting to taste wines together? 

‘Knock-it-Bacchus’ started with four couples 20 years ago, when we realized we could taste a greater variety of better wines if we all shared the cost. We took turns hosting, meeting once a month, and the hosts invited a new couple each time, until we reached 18 couples. That felt like a good number: 6 different wines; three or four bottles of each.  

2. How do you structure the wine tasting sessions?

Every month we have a different theme, chosen by the host. The host buys the wine and we all pitch in $40 - $50 per couple to cover the cost. We have had a very diverse selection of themes over the years. The most common are varietals, regions or countries, often in competition with each other. Blind comparative tastings are the ones where you generally learn the most, trying to pick up the subtleties of a grape grown in different soil, or at different altitudes. Exploring which grapes grow together in the same region is also interesting as you can see how the same terroir and climate influences different varietals. We have also explored different wine making techniques, including natural wines, and have looked at different methods of aging. We have done food pairings, hosted ‘wine olympics’, tried different shaped glasses. We’ve had guest speakers and field trips. There have also been esoteric themes, like ‘roosters on the label’ for Chinese New Year. Really, anything goes. But we almost always have a quiz, or a way of ranking our favourites, which can lead to great debate.

3. Do you have specific questions or criteria you revisit with each wine you taste?

We are not always that formal. But we have done many properly guided tastings where there are criteria to consider. Usually the hosts pick a few of the many criteria we could consider, depending on what is being tasted or compared. We might choose to focus on appearance (colour; opacity; legs); nose; taste; length; or mouth-feel; tannins or acid - all have been explored at some point. We have fun whether we are coming up with outrageous descriptions for flavour profiles or trying to match the wines with the descriptions on the back of the bottle. We always learn something.

4. What’s been the highlight of exploring wine with your friends?

Getting to know these wonderful people really well, creating favourite shared memories along the way. We have been there for each other as our families have grown, and there is nothing like a bit of alcohol to keep the conversation real. We have also learned a lot about wine along the way – first and foremost that it is best shared. My personal highlight was getting 25 of us on a 10-day trip to Portugal and Spain. We started in the port houses of Porto, and finished in the pintxo bars of San Sebastian, having travelled up the Douro to the Duero, through Toro and Rioja. We even fit in some Spanish sidra tasting.

5. Have you managed to find a safe way to continue tasting together through the pandemic?

Yes! In fact, our first covid-friendly tasting back in April was a Twin Island Cider bubble comparison on Zoom: “Bubbles in your Bubble”. Each family (the grown kids now get in on the act!) had a Pet-Nat, a Westwind Road and a Traditional Method to try. Matthew talked us through a tasting where we could appreciate the differences in how the three ciders were made, and we compared notes on taste and mouth-feel. 

In the summer we had a rotating outdoor gathering of small groups at four different houses within walking distance. Everyone brought their own wine, glasses, and snacks, and the bottles owners did their own pouring. This month we are trying a new small groups Zoom tasting. We will Zoom in groups of 4 or 6, with each group speaking about a wine they have chosen. Everyone knows the chosen wines up-front, so each group can purchase as many of the wines as they like to drink along with the presentations. It’s not the same as meeting in person, but it is definitely better than nothing! 

6. What has it been like introducing cider to your wine-enthusiast crowd since starting Twin Island?

Interesting! There were already some cider enthusiasts in the crowd, but we did have to work to overcome the perception, particularly amongst the men, of cider as a sweet summer drink. It didn’t take long. With the abundance of heirloom apple varietals we pick, and the variety of dry, off-dry, funky, delicate, sparkling and still artisan ciders that you and Matthew are producing, there is much in common with wine. Cider is a great addition to a natural wine tasting, a food-pairing theme, or an exploration of cider vs. wine making methods. I love to see who appreciates the different cider profiles, and how that aligns to different taste preferences in wine. Twin Island has definitely broadened our tasting horizons. I can’t wait to try a qvevri fermented cider alongside a clay vessel wine!