Out of the basement and into my Father-in-Laws Gärtnerei.

Now this was a huge step in the right direction. A place I could call my own in some ways. It was my secret lab, my wine cellar, my playground and it was beautiful on the cold clear nights pressing outside with the stars above as it was all still hand-pressed, still hand milled, but I had more space for more shelves, more carboys, and a lab for analysis and testing of the cider and must.

This gave me greater freedom to experiment to run more batches and try new things like malolactic fermentations, and experiment with specific apple varieties and the ability to make larger batches.

But like anything else now I needed more supplies, more apples, more time so I stole those hours late at night and early in the morning sometimes working straight through to the mornings – but the results were worth the effort – other varieties, new creations and even better ciders with more controlled results. I craved even more learning.