Keeping it (real) local: Ode to Goochland.
Someone recently asked us what “terroir” meant to us. Terroir is a French term loosely meaning that wine becomes an expression of the soil in which the grapes were grown. In other words, certain areas/soils produce wines unique to that place. To us—it’s the totality of where you’re from; something more than just the soil. At Courthouse Creek, it’s Goochland, Virginia. It’s a cool breeze pushing north up the hill from the James River. It’s the red clay that stains everything—and we do mean everything. It’s the dankness of the creek in the shade. The sound of peepers in the summer, and of the snow as it hits the ground at midnight in winter. Where you’re from isn’t just about the soil; it also includes the community and sense of place around you. It’s the people. The local diner, and the morning gossip passed around there from table to table. The kindness of a neighbor. That feeling you get with the windows down, cruising in the car. It’s the things in that area that give your life purpose, character, and texture.
We like to believe that it’s all connected, all of where you’re from eventually finds its way into the soil. Because of this, our locality—Goochland, Virginia—is precious to us, and we want to see it thrive. It gives meaning and expression to our cider. It provides context for our pursuit of the rustic method, and why we let our ciders do their thing in barrels, with little intervention. We embrace the funk that naturally occurs from this process. It’s part of our personal terroir and, thus, part of where we’re from.