Join us for a talk and hard cider tasting with Tim Dressel of Dressel Farms and Kettleborough Cider House. The Dressel family has been growing apples in New Paltz for four generations, beginning with Tim's great grandfather Fred Dressel in 1923. In 2017, Kettleborough Cider House released Huguenot Cider, its first cider made exclusively from heirloom apple varieties. More than 20 Old World and American apple varieties are blended together to create the rustic, farmhouse-style cider.

Made in a French style, Huguenot Cider is created using a long, slow fermentation employing only natural wild yeast. The distinctive cider is non-sparkling, unfiltered, and hand-bottled. The tannic Old World fruit impart a complex flavor and body that is impossible to accomplish with modern "dessert" apples.

When most people think of French agriculture, the obvious association is grapes and wine; but if you travel to the Normandy region in the northwest part of the country you won't find grapes - you'll find apples. While French cider doesn't command the pomp and grandeur that French wine enjoys, its traditions and quality are just as impressive.  When French settlers found their way to the Hudson Valley, they brought their cider with them.  Huguenot Cider celebrates this heritage using heirloom European apple varieties and French cider-making techniques.  This lecture will present a detailed explanation of cider-making traditions and show how the recent hard cider resurgence is reviving these ancient practices.

Guests must be 21 and over with ID to participate in the tasting.