T.S. Smith & Sons introduces apple wine

T.S. Smith & Sons farms has unveiled a new sparkling apple wine made from black twig apples grown on the company farm.

To launch the state's first locally grown hard apple beverage, the company hosted an assembly of dignitaries and media at T.S. Smith  & Sons orchard, where co-owner Charlie Smith runs the 105-year-old famly farm with his brothers and sister. For Smith, teaming up with Great Shoals Winery to create a hard apple wine was just part of the 800-acre farm's evolution toward sustainable agriculture in Delaware.

"We enjoy keeping this farm going, and we are really proud of our heritage here," he said.

T.S. Smith's Black Twig Hard Apple is the Delmarvelous apple wine that resulted from the award-winning Bridgeville orchard's collaboration with Great Shoals' Princess Anne, Md. winery.

With sales of apple wine beginning in April in as many as 11 retail outlets statewide, Smith said the limited production of the inaugural hard wine, made from 2011's fall harvest, may not last until the fall picking season this year.

“It’s light, and it’s crisp,” said Black Twig distributor Sally Whittington of the Lewes-based Transparent Distribution company. “When you think of cider, most people think of the fall, but this is very light and crisp even in warmer weather.”

Success of the apple wine could open up possibilities for future expansions and a possible collaboration with some of the big names in the local beer brewing industry as well, members of the Smith family reported.

When U.S. Sen. Tom Carper spoke, he took the opportunity to congratulate the Smith family on the longevity of their business and enjoyed the example of their new use for the apples that have been growing on their farm for more than 80 years,

"The most vibrant part of our economy in Delaware is agriculture; it always has been,” Carper said. “Thank you for taking this business into the next century.”

The new wine is just one example of diversifying the use of a traditional crop to add value to agriculture, he said, just as corn-based ethanol has created added value for the state's corn crop.

As technology extracts ethanol from the cellulose in corn, leaving intact nutritional aspects of the crop, Carper said adding value to crops will help alleviate food shortages and increase the profits for farming in the future.

“With value-added agriculture, we have farmers doing well enough; they are buying the land back from developers, and I think that’s something to celebrate," he said – maybe with a glass of Black Twig wine.

Where to find Black Twig Hard Apple

TS Smith's Black Twig Hard Apple is expected to be available at the following Sussex County retailers:

Rehoboth Beach: Outlet Liquors, 19724 Route 1

Milton: Kemp's Liquors,  22841 Milton-Ellendale Highway

Bridgeville: Bridgeville Discount Liquors, 9577 Bridgeville Center Road

Delmar: Tax Free Liquors, 38627 Benro Drive

Millville: Banks Wines & Spirits, 38014 Town Center Road