Organic Wine Podcast Episode 69: Aaron Brown and Colin Blackshear of Bardos Cider
Bardos makes cider from fruit gleaned from hundred year old abandoned orchards in Northern California.
Episode 69 of the Organic Wine Podcast
The name “Bardos” immediately plunges us into the spiritual realm. This is unusual, ironically, in the discussion of spirits – fermented beverages, that is. Yet this conversation with Aaron & Colin begs us to examine whether that double entendre in the use of the word “spiritual” does not point at an important, neglected, truth of the connection between wine & cider making and the immaterial, metaphysical world. Maybe there are some very good reasons these beverages have been considered sacraments since they were discovered.
From Wikipedia: “’bardo’ is the state of existence intermediate between two lives on earth. According to Tibetan tradition, after death and before one's next birth, when one's consciousness is not connected with a physical body, one experiences a variety of phenomena… Metaphorically, bardo can be used to describe times when the usual way of life becomes suspended, as, for example, during” the change of consciousness that comes from drinking spirits.
Products of nature have the ability to change our nature.
Okay, so this cidery has a pretty cool name. But what else do they have?
They produce over 3,000 cases of cider from fruit gleaned from abandoned, neglected, and derelict orchards in Northern California. This fact alone is remarkable. But as this conversation progressed, it became apparent that it was their approach to making cider – their perspective of their role in service of these historical trees – that is the reason to get to know these guys.
Working with beings that have been growing for over a century gives Bardos a historical perspective on their place in California. They’ve connected with the spirits of their predecessors, what they call “The Boons of the California Bardos,” and pay homage to the inspiration (there’s that word again) and knowledge provided by these characters.
From the Bardos website: “Making cider, we are visited by a chorus of characters from the past. Music rises from the underworld through the terroir. During winemaking, visionary visitations,–costumed as the plants, fruit, and soil, conjure the figures of history simultaneously long dead and resurrected. We encounter these characters in a living way.”
This was the first podcast interview that Bardos has done, and it was an honor to have this conversation and introduce these guys and their work to a bigger audience. There are so many nuggets of insight into cider making, both material and spiritual, in what Aaron and Colin have to say, that I found myself re-listening more than once.
I hope you enjoy.
Adam