10/08/2026
Our Troddenvale 2026 Harvest Release is now live.
We write to you in the midst of one of the most limited and challenging vintages we have had in nearly 10 years. Challenging vintages are nothing new to us and serve as a good reminder to stay open minded, flexible, and improvise. These principles have guided us from day one when we simply had no other options. In fact, some of the w**es we are most excited to share in this year’s Harvest Release were born out of that very necessity: the need to look beyond what was readily available, experiment with unfamiliar fruit, and make something worthwhile from what the season gave us. As we speak, we have several new apple and grape varieties that we have never worked with before bubbling away in barrel. This harvest is encouraging us to remain intuitive and continue to push conceptual boundaries of what w**es and c***rs we have made in the past.
It was in 2020, a relatively difficult vintage as well, that we expanded our production to incorporate other fruits, particularly grapes. Vines tend to bloom a little later than most apple trees in Virginia and even when afflicted by frost, they can exhibit partial reshooting of their blooms (particularly hardy, American hybrids), something apples rarely do. In years past, we have written about why we elect to use American hybrid grapes, given their propensity to grow in our Mid-Atlantic environment otherwise ill-suited for most vinifera but have also grown to embrace their use in tough years where apples are limited.
Over the past six vintages, we have evolved several grape-centric w**es into consistent mainstays in our production. This year’s Dollop of Damson reflects that evolution, alongside returns of our Darker Shade of Damson and Little Man Sings, each shaped by the particular fruit and vintages available to us.
And with all this talk of grapes, the bottle that may shine brightest is Malus x Dolgo, made of 100% Dolgo Crabapple. Years of barrel aging come together with fresh 2025 c***r in this release, creating a bottling that feels particularly precious to us.
Shop the new releases on our website, or visit us in the North Stable during our open hours!
Read our full newsletter here: https://mailchi.mp/6db35cbd8be0/harvest-release-10157970
