The good foreign minister and I share a love for cider presses. I have plante a pretty good sized apple orchard. Some of the varieties were chosen specifically for their cider-making potential.

When they come into production, I will borrow the neighbor’s press. I’ll probably never be able to afford one of my own - they can get quite pricey.

But if I had a million dollars?

I would build a two story frame into the hillside. The top level, accessible from the uphill side, would contain grape pressing and cider making equipment. I would situate them so that the pressed juice could flow by gravity into oak barrels on the lower level. The lower level, almost entirely underground, would stay at around 55 degrees year round - the right temperature for fermentation.

In the front half of the building, I’d keep syrup making supplies so that I could carry them out to the firepit (which I already have) when I was boiling down sugar maple sap. The giant cauldron could also be used to make apple butter. Mmmmm.

I would also put in a still. Of course, since fermenting cider into brandy is illegal, the still would be for “display purposes only.”