Cider Pressing

On Columbus Day, Nathan and Clara joined Marta and me and we spent a couple of hours picking apples for the cider pressing. With so many available, we were able to pick and choose a mix of Medaille d'Or and Kingston Black (apple varieties grown particularly for cider), plus Primas (dead ripe), Dutchess of Oldenburg, Liberty, and Rhode Island Greening. After we picked, Fred and Allison came over and we spent the next few hours pressing cider, altogether filling two five-gallon carboys and one six. The cider was sweeter than usual; 1.05 specific gravity was what I measured from the carboy the next day, and I added just under 2 pounds of sugar to each of the two carboys that remained here, happily starting to ferment, with the fermentation locks secure, all on their way to becoming cider wine. To celebrate, we drank some of the 2006 cider wine (bitter) and 2007, which I just bottled (fresh, slightly sweet, and promising). After the pressing, we played music on fiddles and banjos for an hour or so and then our friends departed, taking the six-gallon carboy and leaving us tired from the day's work but happy to have gotten it done.