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FarmToTastingRoom
TheappletreeshegrewupwitharenowcontributingtoAlejandrodelPerals
Albanymadehardcider
byEra Bu sh a ti onFe b ru a ry2 7 ,2 0 1 4 1 co mme n t

AlejandrodelPeralgrewupinColumbiaCountysurroundedbyappleorchardsonhisfamilysnineacre
fruitfarm,whereheworkedthroughouthischildhood.ButafterlivinginCalifornia,Wyomingandhis
nativeSpain,heneverimaginedthatonedayhewouldreturnhometoNewYorkandfindhiscallingin
thehardciderbusiness.

Hiscompany,NinePinCiderWorks,locatedat929BroadwayinAlbany,isanewcomertothelocal
craftalcoholscene.FoundedbydelPeralbutrunasafamilybusiness,theciderymovedintoitscurrent
facilityinAugust,andnow,sevenmonthslater,itisonedayawayfromitsgrandopening.

Inaninterestingtwistoffate,thewarehousesitsintheshadowofarosemuralthatdelPeralsfather
paintedonthesideoftheadjoiningbuilding15yearsago.

OnOct.17,2013,Gov.Andrew
CuomosignedtheFarmCideries
bill,whichlicensescideriesto
manufactureandsellhardciderwith
theconditionsthattheannual
quantitydoesnotexceed150,000
gallons,andthattheciderismade
exclusivelyfromapplecropsgrown
inNewYork.Inaddition,thebill
excludeslicensedfarmcideries
fromsalestaxinformationreturn
filingrequirements.

Ifthatwascauseenoughfor
celebration,Cuomoalsoannounced
NinePinCiderWorksasthefirst
licensedfarmcideryinNewYork
state.Wemadehistory,saiddel
Peral.Wereverythankful.

Beforeknowingwhetherthebill
wouldbecomelaw,delPeralhad
alreadyplannedonexclusively
usinglocallygrownapples.NinePin
Ciderhaspartnershipswithlocal
appleorchardsLindseysIdyllwood
OrchardinRexfordandIndian
LadderFarmsinAltamont.Anddel
AlejandrodelPeralphotographedbyEraBushati Peralgrewupwithneighboring
SamascottOrchardsinKinderhook,
whichprovidesabout95percentofNinePinspressedapplejuice.

Theyaresortofourmainsqueeze,forlackofabetterpun,delPeralsaidwithalaugh.

NinePinCideralsousesapplesfromthefamilyfruitfarm.Oneoftheirspecialtyciders,theCas
SpecialnamedafterdelPeralsfather,Casianoisprimarilymadefromappleshisfathergrowsfrom
seed.

Mydad,about20yearsago,startedplantingtreesthatwerevolunteers,saiddelPeral.Theysprouted
upoutofthecompostorfromunderanotherappletreeandhewouldtakethem,putthemintheground
andthenusehisgreenthumb,embracethemandnowwevegotallthesetreesandmanyof[theapples]
kindoflooknastyandtheydonttasteverygood,buttheyfermentintoaninterestingcider.

TheapplesusedinNinePinscidersarepressedattheirrespectiveorchardsandthentransportedtothe
Broadwayfacilityforfermentation.

Tomakehardcider,delPeralreliesonthetraininghereceivedwhileanapprenticewithCitizenCider,a
hardcidercompanyinEssex,Vt.HewasintroducedtoCitizenCiderin2011whenitwasastartup
hardcidercompanyinEssex,Vt.HewasintroducedtoCitizenCiderin2011whenitwasastartup
companyinBurlington,andafterbeingofferedasamplefromoneoftheirfirstbatches,delPeralwas
hooked.

Itwasasortofloveatfirstsightkindofthing.Igotimmediatelyinterestedintheoperation.Ijust
startedtalkingtothem,andallofasuddenIwasjustpaintingthewholeidea,theconcept.NewYorks
gotthesecondbiggest[apple]cropinthecountry.Iwaslike,Ineedtolearnhowtomakethis,andIm
gonnagohomeandmakeitoutofmylocalapplesanddothesamething.

CitizenCideranddelPeralworkedoutanagreementwheretheywouldteachhimaboutthebusinessand
hewouldgivethemhistimeandlabor.Oncehegainedabetterunderstandingofthetrade,delPeralset
outtoestablishhisowncompany.ThesearchforalocationlandedhiminAlbanyswarehousedistrict.

Wecouldnthaveaskedforabetterlocation,saiddelPeral.WereexcitedthatBroadwayisbecoming
adestinationforcraftalcoholinthestate.

Beingafamilyenterprise,delPeralsparents,CasianoandSonya,contributedistinctskills.Sonyaisa
trademarkattorney,andthroughherunderstandingoflicensingandmanagement,shetakescareofthe
companysbusinessaspects.Casianoisamanofmanytrades,achefbyprofessionandapainterby
vocation.Onthefamilyfruitfarm,heharvestsapples,pearsandpeachesandhelpswithjobsaroundthe
warehousedealingwithequipmentandrenovation.Theirskillsareevidentintheciderystastingroom,
whereSonyasphotographsofapplesandorchardshangonthewallsthatCasianopaintedhimself.

Itsreallywiththehelpofthemthatitallbecamepossible,saiddelPeral.Thestaffalsoincludeshis
girlfriendEmma,aswellashiscousinJosh,aUniversityofVirginiaundergradandenvironmental
sciencemajorwhowillbejoiningthebusinesstohelpwithpromotionandsales.

CiderieslikeNinePinCiderWorksarepresentinganewandmodernwayofcraftproduction.Theideato
makeciderinthecityisuniqueinthegrandworldofcidermakers,especiallyintheNortheast,saiddel
Peral.Veryfewpeopleareactuallydoingwhatweredoing.Mosthardcidermakersarelocatedonthe
orchardswhichtheyown.

Makingciderinthecityisalsoanenvironmentallyandeconomicallysoundstrategy.

Toaskanapplegrowertotakeonahugeprojectlikefermentingtheirjuiceandmonitoringtheir
fermentationandtheagingandwithalltheselogistics,thatsahugecapitalinvestmentforthem.What
reallymadesenseforuswasthatweformthispartnershipwhereItakeontheresponsibilityofthatand
theyjustfocusongettingthejuice.Itworksoutgreat.Itsareallynicesystem,itsefficient.

NinePinCidersmainproductisanoffdry,sparklinghardcider.

Wechosethatstylebecausethatsanobjectivelygoodtastingdrinkthatstillhasadegreeof
sophisticationtoit,saiddelPeral.Itsbalanceditsgotaperfectblendofsweetandacid.Itstill
touchesonwhatarealfermentedappleshouldtastelike.Wereallaboutfermentingtherealfruitand
gettingtherealflavorthatcomesfromthat.

MostoftheblendthebasejuicecomesfromavarietyofMacintoshapples.Mixedinwiththatisa
numberofdessertsweetapplesandthenasmallerquantityofheirloomapples.

Theyalsohaveanumberofspecialtydrinks,someofwhicharecofermentedwithblueberriesand
cherries.Thesedrinkswillbereleasedperiodicallyovertheyearatthetastingroom,anddependingon
customerfeedback,biggerbatcheswillbeproducedfortheflavorsthatelicitthemostinterest.

Theshopsgrandopeningistomorrow[Friday]afternoon.