It’s officially “Sweater Weather”, the true “Goldie Locks” state of the Midwest where the temperature feels “just right”. With the emergence of cooler breezes, we may no longer be bobbing our heads to the hot, summer tunes, but rather, we are ready to take the plunge in bobbing for apples instead!
But as some of you may bob for delicious, full-bodied apples, I tend to bob for a different style of apple, although ‘full-bodied’ nonetheless! Now, don’t get me wrong, bobbing for apples can definitely be fun! But, in the post-Covid world, perhaps not. Not only does bobbing for apples in a barrel of questionably vengeful cold water cause a chilling shock to the system, but it also inevitably causes the uncontrollable release of saliva and other facial fluids; not to mention the release of my contacts and half hour’s worth of makeup preparation. Personally, bobbing for apples leaves me blind, makeup-less, and worse yet, apple-less. The sad makeup imprint reflection staring back at me from the barrel can also attest to this.
So what apples do I find myself bobbing for, you ask?
Von Stiehl’s Apple Icing, Apple Bounce, and Hard Apple Ciders, of course!
Apple Icing is a perfectly balanced ice wine that pairs concentrated aromas of freshly picked apples with flavors of butterscotch, vanilla, and honey. Produced with the Cryo-concentration method, fresh-pressed apple juice is frozen in barrels for two months. In time, a ball of ice forms in the middle of each barrel. The sweet, nectar-like juice is then pumped out from around the ice and is cool-fermented for up to eight weeks, making this the perfect ice wine to satisfy your sweet tooth without going into a sugar overload!
However, if you tend to roll on the sweet side of life, Apple Bounce is the way to go! Our Apple Bounce is just one of the many fortified wines that are offered, and has intense aromas of fresh apple pie with smooth apple brandy overtones. In the creation of this wine, apple wine is fermented with seeds, stems, and skins. The raw wine is then taken to Great Lakes Distilling in Milwaukee, where it is distilled into the finest apple brandy. We then ferment another batch of apple wine and add the apple brandy to the wine while it is fermenting. This process increases the alcohol content of this wine to 20.5%ABV, creating the best additive for any homemade, heated, mulled apple cider!
The Hard Cider Series at von Stiehl is yet another great example of apple concoctions in the making! All of the ciders, such as bottles of the Hard Apple Cider, Hard Cherry Cider, Bourbon Barrel-Aged Hard Apple Cider, and Tequila Barrel Aged Hard Apple Cider are all made with locally sourced apples from Kewaunee County, and are blended together to produce a crisp, smooth and refreshing hard cider with just a hint of sweetness! Help celebrate the winery’s seasonal cider releases, like the recent release of their Cranberry Cider, available in-house for the fall season!
With descriptions of fall narrating visions of crisp air, green leaves that are slowly beginning to change to red and yellow, the season is indirectly beckoning each and every one of us to get our fill of some fresh apple flavors, whether that be in solid, fruit form or otherwise! Test the cold, barrel waters and stop into the winery to taste what form will have you bobbing for more!
