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Fable Farm

Petite Pearl Cider 2019

Price: $33.95
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Tasting notes

This wine sits in a category almost entirely its own: a méthode ancestrale-style sparkling rosé made from cold-hardy hybrid grapes grown at elevation in central Vermont, with no sulfites and no filtration. The split-fermentation approach — half direct press, half extended cold maceration — gives it both the delicacy of a blanc de noirs and the grip of a light skin-contact wine, landing somewhere between a pét-nat and a serious cider.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
CherryCranberryWildflowersAnise
  • Style: Sparkling rosé; 90% Petite Pearl, 10% Frontenac Noir; no sulfites; 6–7% ABV; Vermont
  • Grapes & Terroir: 90% Petite Pearl, 10% Frontenac Noir; Penny Hill Vineyard, Vermont; high-elevation site; 7-year-old vines at harvest
  • Winemaking: Half direct-press, half 5-week cold maceration; 1 year neutral oak; tirage of 2019 juice for secondary fermentation in bottle; no sulfites, unfiltered
  • Serving: Serve well chilled (38–45°F); store at 40–55°F; expect sediment — fine to pour as-is or swirl gently to incorporate
  • Pairing: Oysters, fresh chèvre, soft-ripened cheese, charcuterie, tomato salads
  • Similar To: For fans of pét-nat rosé and dry heritage cider who want something with genuine vinous structure

This sparkling rosé is 90% Petite Pearl and 10% Frontenac Noir, grown on the Penny Hill Vineyard in Vermont — a high-elevation site in the foothills where the shorter growing season slows ripening and concentrates acidity. The vines were seven years old at the 2018 harvest. Fable Farm Fermentory, run by brothers Jon and Chris Piana in Barnard, central Vermont, works without added sulfites, filtration, or lab yeasts across all of its wines and ciders.

Half the fruit was whole-cluster pressed immediately at harvest; the other half was cold-macerated for five weeks — cold enough to control extraction but warm enough to sustain a steady fermentation. The two wines aged separately in neutral oak barrels for one year, then were blended and bottled with a tirage of fresh 2019 juice to trigger a secondary fermentation in bottle. The result is a lightly sparkling, low-alcohol rosé — the producer lists average alcohol on their cider-as-wine line at 6–7% ABV.

Petite Pearl is a cold-hardy hybrid bred by Tom Plocher in Minnesota and released in 2010, with parentage that includes V. vinifera, V. riparia, and V. labrusca. It produces wines with notes of cherry, blueberry, and plum alongside hints of anise and mint, with moderate acidity and soft tannins. In rosé and sparkling formats the fruit reads as bright red berry with a lifted floral edge. Frontenac Noir adds structure and a tart cranberry-cherry snap that keeps the wine focused.

No sulfites added. Unfiltered. Expect sediment and some variation bottle to bottle — this is a living wine. Serve well chilled and store at 40–55°F.

The high acidity and low alcohol make this a natural at the table alongside fresh chèvre, oysters on the half shell, or a simple tomato-and-herb salad. It also cuts through fatty charcuterie and soft-ripened cheeses without overpowering them. Think of it the way you would a dry Champagne at a fraction of the alcohol.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Sparkling Wine
Wine Style:, Sparkling
Grapes:, Petite Pearl, Frontenac Noir
Farming:, Sustainable
Vintage:, 2019
Alcohol:, 6-7%
Country:, United States
Region:, Vermont
Appellation:, Vermont
Bottle Size:, 750ml
Sugar Level:, Zero Added Sugar

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.


Important Compliance Requirements

FedEx and other carriers we might occasionally use can only deliver wine to customers who are 21 years or older. Someone must be at the address to receive the package, carriers don't just drop a package and leave. They must ensure the person receiving the wine is 21 or older.


Re-shipping a Package

If a package is returned to us after three failed delivery attempts, we can only re-ship the wine upon payment of a re-shipping fee, to be determined based on the shipping address and number of bottles. Shipping wine is extremely expensive. We are sorry about this, but we have no other choice. Please make sure there's always someone at the address you enter as your shipping address.

If you'd like to receive a refund for a package that was returned to us after FedEx made three delivery attempts, we can do that but we must keep a $20 refund fee; FedEx charges us a lot of money for returns, unfortunately, I can't stress this enough.


Re-routing a Package

If you'd like to reroute a package after it's been shipped, we can do so for a $20 re-routing fee. We cannot re-route a package across state borders. For any change of address, please contact us as soon as possible, ideally within 1-2 days from placing the order or we cannot guarantee we'll be able to reroute or change your order's shipping address.


Canceling an Order

If you'd like to cancel an order after it's been shipped, we can do so upon payment of a small cancellation fee – the amount depends on the size of the order. Carriers charge us a lot of money to recall a package en-route.


Heat/Frost damage

We are not responsible for heat- or frost-related issues. We offer ice-packs upon request. Please let us know if you think that there could be heat-related issues. If we don't hear anything from you regarding weather issues before an order is shipped, or if you don't request a hold due to the weather, we are not responsible for heat/frost damage.


Placed an order. What next?

1. You will receive an order confirmation email with your order summary.*

2. As soon as your order ships from the warehouse, usually within 2-3 business days, this applies to all shipping rates, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with your tracking information. 2DAY shipping refers to shipping time; we still need 2-3 business days to prepare an order. We need to pick and pack, QA, add printed collateral, and palletize the orders.

3. Please track your package using the tracking service.

4. The carrier will attempt delivery a maximum of 3 times. After 3 delivery attempts, your package will be sent back to our warehouse.**

*Please ensure your email address is correct; otherwise, you will not receive the order and shipping confirmation emails.

**If delivery is attempted 3 times without success, or if you fail to retrieve your package from the carrier depot by the stated deadline, the shipping fee will not be refunded to the customer.

Returns Policy

If you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact us at (424) 414-2040 or via e-mail at hello@primalwine.com between 9 am and 5 pm Pacific Standard Time, Monday through Sunday, we would like to understand and try to solve your concerns. We can offer refunds only as store credit.

Producer profile

Fable Farm

Fable Farm Fermentory is based in Barnard, in the foothills of the Green Mountains at approximately 1,700 feet elevation, where it overlooks the Broad Brook watershed. Brothers Jon and Chris Piana started farming vegetables there in 2008, running a CSA. In 2013 they transitioned toward perennial production — fruit trees, grapevines, and berry bushes — and built a fermentory to produce wines, ciders, vinegars, and herbal elixirs from the farm and surrounding landscape.

The operation farms and forages across roughly 850 acres affiliated with the historic Clark Farm, preserved through the Vermont Land Trust. Jon Piana manages the fermentory; Chris oversees the farm. They source cold-hardy grapes from partner vineyards including Penny Hill Vineyard, and forage wild apples from across central Vermont for their cider program. No lab yeasts, chemical preservatives, sulfites, or filtration are used in any of their wines or ciders.

Fable Farm describes its approach as 'cider as wine' — fermenting apple and grape juice to dryness using wild cultures of yeast and bacteria, aging in neutral oak barrels, glass demijohns, or stainless steel tanks, and bottling with a tirage of fresh juice or maple syrup for secondary fermentation in bottle. The Petite Pearl Cider uses a split approach: half the fruit direct-pressed, half cold-macerated for five weeks, both portions aged one year in neutral oak before blending and bottling with a tirage of 2019 juice.

Wine region

Vermont, United States

Vermont has no federally recognized American Viticultural Area. Vineyards are concentrated in the Champlain Valley and along the western slopes of the Green Mountains, where elevations, glacially derived soils, and cold continental winters define what can be grown. Winters regularly drop below -30°F, making cold-hardy hybrid varieties the only viable option for most growers. The short growing season — roughly May through October at higher elevations — forces slower ripening that preserves acidity even in red-skinned varieties.

Vermont wineries have focused on cold-hardy French-American hybrid grapes, with Marquette, Frontenac Noir, Frontenac Gris, La Crescent, and Petite Pearl among the most widely planted. The state has no formal appellation system, and most producers operate as farm-wineries under Vermont's direct-sales licensing structure. Vermont is also a recognized center for natural and biodynamic wine production in the United States, with producers like Fable Farm, La Garagista, and Shelburne Vineyard drawing national attention to cold-climate, low-intervention winemaking.

Frequently asked question

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.

Signature on delivery is mandatory for wine deliveries. Please make sure someone is at the shipping address to sign for the package.

If applicable, please consider delivering the package to a business address to ensure someone is available to sign for the package.

We also have the option of delivering the package to a Carrier's store for pickup. Please reach out to us to coordinate.

Carrier will try to delivery a package up to three times before returning the package to us.

See here our shipping policy.

If you miss a delivery and a package gets returned to us we have two options:

1) Reship the package right away: due to the very high cost of shipping and returns, we must charge a re-shipping fee to be determined based on package size and shipping destination.

2) Consolidate the returned package with your next order: this option is free of charge and it's the most popular option.

See here our shipping policy.

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