About Us

We have been exclusively interested in sparkling wines for over 20 years, and have developed cava-style cider under the brand Widow's Watch as well as champagne-style sparkling wine, which we sell under the brand Sappho, the 10th Muse. We use only the time-consuming méthode champenoise  for both our cider and our sparkling wines, and we only use  champagne-region grapes of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier for our sparkling wines. We have experimented with American cider apples to recreate the lively, fresh taste of cave-style sparkling wine, and use a variety of farm-grown heirloom apples. 

We typically age our ciders and sparkling wines from 1 to 3 years in our cellar.

Widow's Watch Cider is the creation of a truly unique sparkling, that leaves even the most discerning among cider drinkers celebrating the quantum leap taken towards a "next generation" of artisan sparkling hard cider.

We owe our wine origins to the decades lived in the cava-producing region of the Catalan Republic, just outside of Barcelona. There, we learned to appreciate the delicate balance of prime ingredients that comprise the unique, lively taste that is inherent to cava; and we also studied the technical skills involved in the cava method.

More than 20 years ago, we transferred this approach to cider making, and brought our process to the United States.

Our entire operation is small-batch, and the final product is painstakingly authentic, derived by manual cultivation of our orchard and vineyard, as well as close-up fermentation in our winery, and the tender placing  of champagne-style bottles in our cellar-cave, where they sleep on their lees  for at least a year  before hand-riddling and, finally,  disgorgement by hand.

All for you.

Because our production in so limited, it's sold mostly locally, in our own backyard so to speak. So walk right in The Virginia Farmhouse, 114 N. Main, Woodstock, Virginia, and carry a bottle home to savor.