Rebel Seed Cidery
by
Kathy Sullivan
Summary: Rebel Seed Cidery is Delaware’s first cidery and with an intriguing name, offers delicious ciders at the same location as their sister winery, Harvest Ridge Winery. A tag note from the cidery includes: “Every cider we make starts with the seed.”
We encountered Rebel Seed Cidery in Marydel, Delaware on a return visit to Harvest Ridge Winery. Both entities are located on the same site. The Rebel Seed Cidery is an off-shoot of the winery as the cidery was established in 2015. In addition to bottles of ciders and wines available for tasting, the tasting room has three taps for Rebel Seed ciders.
In August 2016, a small group of writers gathered in the spacious event room of the cidery and winery where we learned about the development of the cidery and enjoyed the cider and the food which was prepared by chef, vineyard manager and assistant winemaker, Jason Hopwood.
Chuck Nunan, owner and entrepreneur, noted that he began making wine in his basement 25 years ago. He was involved in some real estate deals but had always wanted a farm of his own. Eventually Chuck discovered this large piece of farm property. During his group talk, he compared the farm to Kevin Costner’s Field of Dreams.
Rebel Seed Cidery which began in fall 2015 uses only fresh apples in their cider production. The apples are all sourced locally. Eventually they hope to add a small apple orchard near the vineyards.
The name Rebel Seed Cidery was chosen because the owners and staff are a bit like rebels. Seed refers to each apple tree starting from an apple seed. The cidery suggests the following hints for drinking hard ciders: “Open the bottle, sense the freshness, enjoy chilled or over ice, share with friends, rebel responsibly.”
Production Area
After walking past acres of vineyards with 12 different grape varieties, we arrived at the winery/cidery building where we viewed the apple crushing equipment. The cider maker and winemaker, Milan Mladjan (pictured right), explained his process for making cider. He keeps the fruit and the ciders cool and ferments the ciders in stainless steel tanks. The ciders undergo filtration and then are added to the carbonation tanks before eventually being bottled. While in the cider making area we tasted a cider from the filtering equipment. With 6 percent alcohol, the cider offered apple notes and good acidity.
Although Rebel Seed Cidery and Harvest Ridge Winery share the same tasting room and event room, upon leaving the cider making/winemaking facility, at the front of the building we discovered a small tasting room devoted to cider tastings. This room is used especially on busy days.
Ciders
Back in the event room, we returned to our tables for the ciders and the food. The Black Twig Colonial Jack was a hopped cider. Fresh hops were used during fermentation. The cider was made with Black Twig apples. This gold colored cider offered apple and floral notes, reminiscent of an IPA. This cider was delicious and one that beer drinkers and others will love.
First Anthem was a light yellow color and was smooth with apple and sweet characteristics. This cider had multiple columns of bubbles forming a mousse in the center and around the circumference. This cider had 2% residual sugar.
First Edition Sweet Red Cider was produced with red delicious apples. The cider with 5% alcohol was an orange-red color. The cider offered notes of apples. With 4% residual sugar it was sweet but it did not seem to have a high sweetness as the acid cut the sugar sensation. Chuck said, “We didn’t filter the love out of it.” This is a cider that people will love.
Good to Know Notes about Rebel Seed Cidery
• Rebel Seed Cidery became Delaware’s first cidery on October 15, 2015.
• Ciders are produced with 100% locally grown apples.
• Rebel Seed Cidery has a cider club.
• The Rebel Seed ciders are currently available in Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
• #tastetherebellion is the hash tag for Rebel Seed Cidery.
• The number 47 on the Rebel Seed Cidery logo refers to the original Mason-Dixon survey marker 47 on the property.
Whether you enjoy beer or wine, be sure to stop by Rebel Seed Cidery to discover the yummy and refreshing ciders they produce.
Rebel Seed Cidery
447 Westville Road
Marydel, Delaware 19964
GPS: N39º 04.913’ W75º 44.489’
Article written August 2016
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