We enjoyed a visit to Jeter Mountain Farm. An apple orchard just outside of Hendersonville, North Carolina
Jeter Mountain is only open during Apple Harvest season. The farm offers hayride tours of the orchards, a large event center,?plenty of green space to spread out, a food truck on site, live music, freshly harvested apples and pumpkins, a farm/gift store, apple cider donuts, and a Hard Cider Tasting Barn!
They were very busy on our visit, yet with so much space it didn’t feel crowded.
The cider poured is from Flat Rock Cider Company based out of Dana, North Carolina. The final cider is produced entirely from Jeter Mountain estate grown apples but still produced by Flat Rock Cider Company.
ABV on each cider is around 6%
First pour was the Flat Rock traditional hard apple cider. This cider is not extensively filtered and there still looks as traditional fresh pressed apple cider. This one is semi-dry at 6% ABV. I enjoyed it and found it to be well balanced with crisp acidity. I would judge it high bronze to low silver.
The next pour was the Flat Rock Cranberry. This one is 6% ABV. Continuing with the lightly filtered process, this one does exhibit a beautiful cranberry color. The fruit is added after fermentation, yet this does cranberry justice. Nice nose and good flavor. I would score this one as a bronze medal winner.
Third pour was the Flat Rock Pineapple. I’m not sure what went wrong with the batch. Taste as if a keg of pineapple juice was dumped a bad batch of cider. It did have an expressive pineapple taste. 6% ABV. I would not medal this cider.
The fourth pour was the Flat Rock Blackberry. Talk about extreme polar differences. The blackberry show perfect balance of tartness and Apple crispness. 6% ABV. This pour is the star of the show! I’d judge this one as a high silver medal winner.
Fifth pour of my tasting was Flat Rock Hopped Cherry. This one is fairly true to it’s description, hops are prevalent on the tongue with cherry detectable on the nose but not overpowering. I enjoyed this one and would judge it as a low silver medal winner.
The final pour of my tasting was the Jeter Mountain Farm original. Traditional cider produced from the estate blend of freshly pressed juice. This one a little hotter at 7.2% ABV. Shows nice crispness with a hint of tartness. This one drinks really easy. I’d judge it as a high bronze medal winner.
AMERICAN FRUIT WINE ALLIANCE 