TWIN ISLAND CIDER
Matthew Vasilev and Katie Selbee are crafting compelling ciders from fruit grown on the Gulf Islands. They work with heritage varieties, old trees, and organic farmers to show both the terroir and history of Pender Island and its neighbours. Indigenous fermentation, minimal intervention, and a willingness to explore help them make truly unique ciders.
GROWN AND MADE ON THE TRADITIONAL LANDS OF THE: SENĆOŦEN / MALCHOSEN / LKWUNGEN / SEMIAHMOO / T’SOU-KE
2025 BITTERSWEET PET-NAT
This cuvée comes from three sites: Winter Creek Farm, Christy Family Orchard,
and Twin Island Farm. It features Dabinett, Yarlington Mill, Tremlett’s Bitter, and Cox’s Orange Pippin, the latter of which is highly prized for its compelling flavours of citrus and melon. The fruit is crushed and pressed into stainless steel for fermentation. They rack several times to remove sediment before bottling. Fermentation finishes in the bottle, resulting in moderate carbonation. It is unfined, unfiltered, and has no additional SO2. 6.5% ABV
PURPLE CRUSH
The grapes for this project come from Cherry Point Vineyard in the Cowichan Valley, as well as Pender Island. The blend is roughly Agria (25%), Castell (25%), Concord (20%), Pinot Noir (15%), and Cabernet Libre (15%). The Concord vines are 80-years-old and go entirely unsprayed. The grapes undergo whole-cluster carbonic maceration in tank for 20 days. They press extremely gently so they can keep some juice and sugars in the skins for their piquette project. After five month in tank, the wine is bottled unfined, unfiltered, with tirage, and 15 ppm of SO2. It was released undisgorged. 10.5% ABV
2025 NORTH END PET-NAT
This cuvée highlights trees planted near Point Washington on Pender Island in 1985. It is made from King of Tompkins County, a versatile apple variety known for its soft, sweet, and tender fruit profile. It's been cultivated for at least 220 years, originating in New Jersey, and partially selected for its cold hardiness. It tends to only produce every second year, making this cider a true treat. The fruit is crushed and pressed into stainless steel for fermentation. They rack several times to remove sediment before bottling. Fermentation finishes in the bottle, resulting in moderate carbonation. It is unfined, unfiltered, and has no additional SO2. 6.5% ABV
PIQUETTE
This release was made from the skins from Purple Crush (Agria, Castell, Concord, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Libre) as well as unsprayed, organic Haskaps. After rehydration and continued fermentation, the piquette is racked and canned unfined, unfiltered, and without SO2 for conditioning. 7% ABV
2025 GRAPE FRIENDS
The apples for this project come from 120-year-old King of Tompkins County trees. The grapes come from a vineyard in Cobble Hill, a variety called Turan in its native Hungary, but is locally referred to as Agria. It is a teinturier with intense purple skin and flesh. Its loose grape clusters and resistance to botrytis make it an amazing candidate for organic farming. It is also winter-hardy, producing a good crop even in cool vintages. The grapes were foot-crushed and left to macerate on the skins for two weeks before being pressed off into a tank with the cider. After several rackings, the wine is bottled to finish fermentation. The wine is disgorged but sees no fining, filtration, or SO2. 9% ABV
QUINCETTE
The base of this piquette is, in my opinion, one of the most underated grapes for Canada's climate: Sieggerebbe. The Pender Island grown grape skins are mixed with fresh local quince and crabapples. After co-fermentation, it is pressed off for can conditioning, unfined, unfiltered, and without SO2. 6.9% ABV
FIELD BLENDS
DETAILS COMING SOON…
BITTERSWEET KEEVE
DETAILS COMING SOON…
CARBO PLUM
DETAILS COMING SOON…
SOUTH PENDER PET-NAT
DETAILS COMING SOON…
CARBO QUINCE
DETAILS COMING SOON…
ANYTHING & BARTLETT
This category defying cuvée is made from unsprayed, dry farmed, all-but-wild Bartlett Pears, Hedgerow Plums, and Crabapples mixed with Pinot Gris skins and Haskaps. After fermentation, it is racked and bottled unfined, unfiltered, and without SO2 for secondary fermentation. 6.3% ABV