While it’s common to celebrate life’s big moments with a glass of bubbly, Matt Cimino and Mike Heyser didn’t expect to be celebrating so soon. Less than six months after the premiere release of their Spencerville Red Hard Apple, the sparkling apple wine has won major awards at both the Maryland Governor’s Cup Competition and the Maryland Wine Masters’ Choice Competition.

The Spencerville Red Hard Apple won “Best in Class” and Gold medals at the Maryland Governor’s Cup Awards in August and a “Best Sparkling” and a Silver medal at the Maryland Wine Masters’ Choice Awards in April.

The Spencerville Red Hard Apple was first released in March at Heyser Farms and is made primarily with a unique apple that originated in Colesville, the Spencerville Red. The sparkling apple wine was a joint venture between Heyser Farms and Great Shoals Winery in Somerset County after Cimino approached Heyser about the possibility of using his apples to make sparkling apple wine.

“From the description of what apples would make a good wine, and the fact that the Spencerville Red has both high acid and high sugar,  I thought it would be a good apple,” Heyser said, explaining why he chose the Spencerville Red to feature in the wine.

“I’m very thankful that our wines were received well by the judges,” Cimino said, adding, “In our first year that gives us six awards; I’m pretty pleased with that.”

Nevertheless, Cimino is not resting on his laurels. 

“For me, it’s motivating and I just have to chalk it up to beginner’s luck,” Cimino said, modestly. “Next year, if we can maintain our track record and maintain our enthusiasm from the critics then I’ll feel like we’ve got a system down, but until then I have to imagine that most of this was beginner’s luck.”

Heyser disagreed, saying, “Matt knows what he’s doing!”

Now that the wines have won some recognition, Cimino hopes to get the word out on the western and eastern shores, respectively.

Cimino hopes his team can educate the wine buyer and “tell them that it’s a Maryland apple and let them know that it has won some pretty good accolades for this kind of wine.”

Cimino also hopes to get the word out by attending more farmers markets. So far, Great Shoals has participated in the Mt. Rainer Farmers Market, Briggs Chaney-Greencastle Farmers Market and the “Eat, Drink, Go Local” Market in Frederick.   He hopes to attend the Silver Spring Farmers’ Market in October. Farmers markets are a great place to introduce his product, he said, because they are “a friendly and low pressure environment.”

Cimino also has some new products in the works.

“We’re gonna try to do a hard pear this fall,” he said, adding that he hopes it will be out by Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Heyser is excited about the possibility of peach wine in the future.

For now, the two are gearing up for 2011 vintage of the award-winning Spencerville Red Hard Apple. Cimino hopes to have the first tank of wine in production by Thanksgiving.

Will it be possible to replicate the winning formula?

“I’ve definitely taken good notes,” Cimino said. “But every harvest year fruit is different. That’s why working with Mike is so important. He knows the different orchards. He knows how the fruit is coming along.” 

Heyser is optimistic.  “With the experience that we have, we might be able to do a better job,” Heyser said. 

For those interested in trying the wines, Heyser and Cimino are planning another event at Heyser Farms in late October.