LINCOLNVILLE, Maine — Every golden drop of Sewall’s Cider Vinegar needs at least three years of barrel fermentation to develop its tangy, complex flavor.
But you could also say that the organic apple cider vinegar, sought by chefs around the state, really requires nearly 40 years of work and planning. Bob Sewall, who planted the six-acre orchard in 1980, began to get the soil ready for a few years before that.
Now, the 525 full-grown trees planted in mineral-rich glacial till on Levenseller Mountain usually produce more than 2,000 bushels of apples every autumn. Sewall and his wife, Mia Mantello, press a lot of those apples into sweet, rich cider. And they turn a lot of that cider into vinegar.
“The beauty of vinegar is that it has that yin and yang, that sweet and sour, that balances all foods,” said Sewall, a vigorous 65-year-old who swears by drinking two tablespoons of vinegar diluted in a glass of water every morning.
He’s not the only one who believes in Sewall’s Cider Vinegar. Frank Giglio of Three Lily Farm in Thorndike said that he uses the locally made vinegar all the time in his catering and culinary education business. As he’s endeavored to cut back on non-local foods such as citrus in his cooking, Sewall’s Cider Vinegar has picked up the slack.
“Sewall’s is pretty much my go-to when I need an acid,” he said. “The flavor is great, and it’s coming from certified organic apples.”
Some other producers of apple cider vinegar might use apple peels, potatoes and water to make a less complex, less healthful vinegar, he said. But not at the Sewall Orchard. There, the so-called “mother of vinegar” — a naturally occurring byproduct of vinegar bacteria — is added to just-turned cider. Then the mixture is put into aerated barrels while the fermentation occurs.
“It seems to balance out really nicely after about three years,” Sewall said. “The older it gets, the richer the flavor.”
He said that his unpasteurized vinegar has health benefits as well, with customers telling him that they have more energy, better digestion — even stronger fingernails — after they make a habit of drinking it. Some people use it in herbal tinctures and in home remedies such as compresses for burns, bites and stings.
But it’s the flavor that has won over chefs like Giglio and Brian Beggarly of Boynton McKay in Camden.
“The flavor is really spectacular,” Beggarly said. “We try to feature it in as many things as possible. Right now we have a salad that has Sewall’s apples and their vinegar for the vinaigrette, and some cider as well. That’s a beautiful way to balance the whole thing.”
Sewall’s Cider Vinegar can be purchased at the orchard and farm at 259 Masalin Road in Lincolnville. The family bottles to order, so asks for a few days advance notice by email. The vinegar also is available at the Belfast Co-op, the Good Tern Co-op in Rockland and Terra Optima Farm Market in Rockland. For more information, call Sewall Orchard at 763-3956 or email sewall@midcoast.com