Cider Spotlight!
Albemarle Ciderworks Wickson Crab
$21.99 for the 750ml bottle
Single varietal hard apple cider
Leave it to Albemarle CiderWorks not only to make a cider from a mostly unknown or forgotten apple, but also to win an award doing it. Yes, that is sooo like them.
The Wickson Crab is an apple brought into the world by Albert Etter. Albert Etter was a turn of the previous century apple grower, who is legendary in the apple world and not so much in the larger world. That’s just one reason there so needs to be a PBS documentary made about him!
Born in California in 1872 (only 22 years after California had become a state), Etter knew from an early age that he was interested in developing new varieties of fruit for the Pacific Northwest. (We guess that’s what a Steve Jobs looks like in an agrarian society.)
During a teenage fishing trip, Etter stumbled across some land that he and his brothers would later snag for free (!!) under the Homestead Act. There, Etter set out to experiment with developing strawberries and apples. However, he did it in a weird way ...
Etter favored crossing widely genetically diverse parents, going against the accepted wisdom of pomologists of his day, who, in turn, scoffed at him. He was the under-educated fool, the hillbilly horticulturist. When, though, Etter became the creator of new and marketable strawberries and then apples, some of his detractors started seeing him as an inspired visionary. However, because he was ahead of his time and behind in his business acumen, other people made more money off of Etter’s developments than he did. He didn’t die destitute, but he didn’t die well. (See!?! Perfect documentary arc!)
Etter named the Wickson Crab after Edward J. Wickson “the Father of California Agriculture,” who not only supported Etter but also became a mentor. Too small to be useful for anything but cider, the Wickson Crab boasts a high sugar content balanced with high acid. This pairing translates to Ye Olde Towne of Flavour — a flavor so intense that it shines through Albemarle CiderWorks’ restrained cidermaking style. No wonder their Wickson Crab cider was one of three to bring home gold from the 2022 Virginia Governor’s Cup.
A dry, sparkling cider, the Albemarle CiderWorks Wickson Crab comes across better “just cold” as opposed to “very cold,” unless you like your cider to have a bit a bite to it. Sip this cider to appreciate the depths of its flavor … and write to PBS. You know you want to see that documentary — if only for Edward J. Wickson’s epic, early 1900s mustache!