WTN: Wine and Craft Ciders

[Jenise]

I have recently discovered the world of hard ciders. They've been around, and I've been somewhat aware of them being there, and in fact Martinelli's (non alcoholic) sparkling apple cider is a favorite thing, and in France I loved these 2-3% abv cans of Pomme one can buy at motorway convenience stores, but it wasn't until dining at the NOMA of the U.S., The Willows on Lummi Island here in WA, and being served a brilliant cider in a flute as an aperitif, that it dawned on me that I could and should look into this genre of beverage more seriously.

So I put it on the October schedule for my neighborhood tasting (last Friday night) and a few weekends ago Bob and I loaded up Fritz and took off for the Olympic Peninsula--two hours south and one ferry ride away--to taste and purchase at Eaglemount Winery and Cidery in Port Townsend. It was Eaglemount's semi-sweet Homestead cider that we'd been served at The Willows which in fact isn't sweet at all, it's just not bone-dry like the Dry Cider they also make. Before leaving, in describing my plans to a friend and transferring all my anti-fruit wine grape snobbery to apples, I mentioned being aware that Eaglemount also made ciders out of stuff like rhubarb and quince but pooh-poohed them as things I wasn't interested in, the way I do wines made from anything but grapes.

On our trip, and this shouldn't have surprised me but it did--probably because ciders are usually sold in the beer sections of our markets!--I met cidermakers as passionate about their craft as any winemaker I've ever met. And they are, in some ways, feistier because since prohibition let them loose again they've been fighting an uphill battle that they are only lately gaining real traction on against the popularity of wine and beer.

So here's my slice of humble pie: I LOVED THE RHUBARB AND QUINCE CIDERS. Rhubarb grows like a weed up here and I was surprised to learn the quince is also local, from an orchard on San Juan Island. And in fact, I pretty much liked everything they make (including a ginger cider) and their very adept red wines. (The owner's son is currently making pinots at Montinore in Willamette Valley, and will be moving back to the homestead to take over their wine program next year.) I bought the semi-sweet AND the quince for the tasting, and bought more plus their Dry for my own cellar. Speaking of Eagtlemount's red wine, we had one last night:

2011 Eaglemount 'Raven': a Bordeaux blend from the Horse Heaven Hills appellation that is actually one of the best red 11's I've had. It was a tough, super-cold year and most reds of this vintage have green streaks or lack midpalate substance but not this one. It's complex, appropriately ripe, and has bright but not over-arching acidity and balanced tannins.

From Eaglemount we went to another cidery called Alpen Fire. These guys are even geekier than Eaglemount; in fact I'd say they're the Donkey and Goat of the cider world. Everything's organic, the yeasts are wild, and they use all these super old apple varieties with names like Kingston Black, Foxwhelp, Muscadet de Dieppe and Yarlington Mill, all prized for complexity, tannins and bitterness, to make unusual and ageable ciders that may undergo as many as three fermentations. They make a fine-beaded brut 'champagne' by method champenoise, and bottle several single-variety ciders from particularly rare apples. Again, I liked everything they poured, and bought two for the tasting and several more for our cellar. One of the two I bought for the tasting as an after-dinner cider, called Alpen Fire Smoke, was a 16% abv 2012 triple-ferment honey cider finished in used whiskey barrels from a distillery on Bainbridge Island. Incredible stuff.

The other two I served at the tasting were a pumpkin cider from Seattle Cider Company--after making sure that it was a genuine co-ferment of pumpkin, spices and apples and not mere flavoring as one should likely be suspicious of--and a delectable champagne-style Perry from Tieton Cider Works in Yakima Washington (only 5.5% abv)--the latter, and the Quince mentioned above were the big winners at the tasting and my favorites as well. Perry is the name of a special cider pear, a small gold-skin pear (like a diminutive Bosc) so tannic it's not edible out of hand. In fact, it's something of an initiation rite for new employees at Tieton to be invited to take a bite of "this wonderful pear!" only to see their faces suck in. Tieton has the largest orchard of Perry in the country, some 11 acres. Other cideries make a 'Peary', spelled yes with an 'a' and only one 'r', which may indicate that they blend pear varieties vs. making their cider exclusively from the Perry pear as Tieton does. Tieton also makes serious apple ciders, and even an apple eiswein.

Cider alcohols are generally in the high 6%'s. I'm in love with these as aperitifs, also as something one can drink with lunch or brunch without the baggage of energy-robbing higher alcohol mid-day. Can't wait to explore this realm even further.

For a long time, I looked askance at ciders, thinking of them as just another hideous form of coolers. But drinking Apfelwein (apple wine, though it really an apple cider) in the Frankfurt area starting in the 1990s was an eye opener. It's rather sour but a wonderful drink, especially in the summer. The Bretagne area in France also has lots of great apple cider, and I've had a few pints in England over the years too. Going to Portland over the last 10 years has also opened my eyes to cider, especially apple and pear cider. There are some great, small producers who are making some interesting beverages.

I need another beverage to focus on like I need another hole in my head, but I have to admit they are a fun, interesting drink, way better than beer (not a big beer fan) on a hot summer day in particular. We don't any really good ciders here in BC (I don't think), so I tend to drink them in the US and overseas.

[Jenise]

John, while travelling in BC this summer we passed a number of cideries; didn't stop at any (as the couple we were travelling with seemed uninterested), but they were there and I'd have pulled over if it were up to me. Anyway, this week Marquis on Davie is actually holding an in-store cider tasting--they seem to be onto some particularly good producers. I'd guess that the BC-version of the kind of small, unusual boutique producers like Eaglemount and Alpen Fire that I describe here are as likely to be around as long as the apples have been--give a man fruit and time, and something will ferment.

Although I've been making wine at home since 1976, due to a bumper crop of beautiful apples from the tree in my yard, I'm now making my first ever batch of hard cider, along with pies, applesauce and apple butter.

Jenise,

There are some lovely ciders being made in Québec, but I don't know if they make it to B.C. The St-Nicolas Crémant that's currently available in Ontario for $12/750ml, a 2.9% abv cider, is very nice. There are also quite a few made in Ontario, notably Spirit Tree.

Strangely, ice cider seems to be the latest thing from Québec. Presumably , it's made from frozen apples, like ice wine.

Great post, Jenise! My favorite wine bar actually served a nice dry cider with some quince elements!

I want to explore these as well.

[Jenise]

Great post, Jenise! My favorite wine bar actually served a nice dry cider with some quince elements!

I want to explore these as well.

Next time you visit your sister, check the shelves at Compass Wines. They carry Eaglemount, Dragonhead (Vashon Island), and Tieton--that's where I discovered the sparkling pear and dessert eiswein.

[Jenise]

So last night we had corned beef. I simmer my corned beef with branches of fresh mint and some chiles, and top the usual gang of cabbage, carrots and small creamer potatoes with a pile of freshly grilled green onions. I also drizzle Maile mustard thinned with a sweet dessert wine and dill weed over the meat portions. So, a simple meal but made complex with herbs and some fresh embellishments. Bob asked what wine I planned to serve with that. Cider! Dragonhead Traditional Cider from Vashon Island. Utterly fantastic; best pairing I've had with corned beef and cabbage.

Living in the heart of the Norman cider country, le Pays d'Auge, I feel slightly ashamed about not being able to make a good contribution to this thread. I composed something yesterday but inadvertently lost it, so here goes again. So far I haven't found a cider which bears out Norman claims that they can be on a similar level to serious wine but I have found some which are "fun" drinks on a warm day, full of lively fruit, acidity and sometimes tangy leather with a little RS, even in the "brut", and usually some bubbles. The Normans claim that they are the ideal pairing for their own soft cheeses like Camembert, Livarot and Pont l'Évêque, which IMO are certainly not wine friendly. There are some up-market ciders around costing >€10/bottle; the only one I have tried is from the quite famous Éric Bordelet and I think that there is better QPR in wine at that price range, but you will accuse me of comparing apples and oranges . There is a close-by producer, Cyril Zangs, of similarly priced ciders but I have failed to locate his place even prospecting on foot.

The local apple brandy, Calvados, is another matter and Germaine and I are both big fans. IMO it can provide comparable quality (Adrien Camut, Roger Groult, Famille Dupont....) to fine Cognac or Armagnac usually at about half the price; again apples and oranges, sorry .

A lot of perry is also produced here but for my palate there is an acidity deficit compared to cider; comparison of apples and pears .

However Calvados Domfrontais made from a blend of apples and pears can also be very fine (Pacory....).

We have cider apple and perry pear trees in our garden. The former make a good apple pie and tarte tatin but the latter are too coarse grained for any use other than perry. Our neighbour tells us that the local cider/perry co-operative will buy them but I don't fancy going up on a ladder to pick them one by one!!

[Jenise]

A lot of perry is also produced here but for my palate there is an acidity deficit compared to cider; comparison of apples and pears .

!!

That's interesting. Instinctively, based on the difference in the table fruits, I'd have expected exactly that difference between an apple cider and a perry but in the case of the tasting I staged last week the perry was in fact brighter than the apple ciders--I would not have given it my first place vote were it not, and I think what really sold it to me and the others who gave it first place was the spot-on champagne texture. Especially at less than one year in age, it wouldn't compete with champagne in the complexity department but my take would be that for 5.5% alcohol it doesn't have to--with alcohol that low, I'd argue that it fills a purpose champagne can't. That part holds no appeal to you?

A lot of perry is also produced here but for my palate there is an acidity deficit compared to cider; comparison of apples and pears .

!!

That's interesting. Instinctively, based on the difference in the table fruits, I'd have expected exactly that difference between an apple cider and a perry but in the case of the tasting I staged last week the perry was in fact brighter than the apple ciders--I would not have given it my first place vote were it not, and I think what really sold it to me and the others who gave it first place was the spot-on champagne texture. Especially at less than one year in age, it wouldn't compete with champagne in the complexity department but my take would be that for 5.5% alcohol it doesn't have to--with alcohol that low, I'd argue that it fills a purpose champagne can't. That part holds no appeal to you?

Jenise, I haven't come across a perry like that but it would indeed appeal to me. I live in hope.

Jenise, welcome to another fascinating world of beverages that is every bit as varied and exciting (and demanding) as grape wine and spirits. You're on a fun ride.

As a professional Mr. Know It All (actually a Mr, Know Everything I Can), I've spent the last several years getting into ciders. Had a lot of help, mostly from the many various local cider makers, and with the especial help of the owner of Bushwhacker Cider (local, right here in Portland, an enthusiast who became a professional ciderer), who eventually opened the first cider pub in the country.

It's an English pub that has become cider central. He maintains six taps of fresh cider (his and others), puts out 6-glass tasting boards and 8-glass tasting boards for minimum sums----and get this: he carries over 250 bottled ciders. Not just multiple ciders from certaini producers; he carries everything he can get into the state.

(Tim York, this is where you need to pay attention) When you get to the Spanish cidre, you will have reached the Mecca of ciders-as-wine. As with everything else they touch, the Basque are fundamentalist with cider. They (both the Galician and the much more prevalent Navarrese) are dry, rich, winey, tart, orange-winish delights. Super intense; so much so they must be poured a certain way, from arm's length into the glass so they properly aerate and soften the juice. The one I return to more often than others is the Isastegi Basque Cider, but there are certainly others.

We're fortunate to have a thriving scene for cider down here, with a lot of artisanal brands plugging away. One such, a one man operation out in Carlton in the Willamette Valley, amidst the wine tasting rooms and antique barns, is the Carlton Cyderworks. It.is.awesome. The one that grabbed me, which he makes only in certain harvests, is an Asian Pear cider. InCredible!!!

One style that may---or very well may not---is the cider aged briefly in pre-used barrels, or flavored with botanicals, sort of like witbiere or Berlinerweisse bier. The Bushwhacker guy made one up that had gin botanicals put in the barrel with the cider---sort of a genever-laced cider. It was better than you perhaps think it would be (although for me something I would want only rarely)..

Another that I like is the Carlton "CherryPerry", and apple and pear cider with fresh squeezed local cherries, made only at cherry-harvest time.

The problem with cider is that so many of the big guy corps have jumped on the money wagon with ciders that it's getting hard to spot the good ones., the dedicated ones. rather than the ones that use bulk apples/pears and sugar the hell out of everything. But it certainly is fun looking---and it looks like you're having fun in your immediate stomping grounds.

And the last thing about ciders? I can drink very little beer before I feel bloated and gassy. Not so with ciders; no limit there. Gotta be careful with the apfelwoi/applewine with it's higher alcohol, but you're using to doing that with your other tipples, so shouldn't be a problem.

On, forgot: Feel free to point Fritz in this general direction for cider (or whatever). Plenty of adventures of every sort to be had in Portland and the Willamette! Happy to show you guys around the latest.

Mike Filgenzi just made his second trip up, and he was in heaven with the food and the bars.

I recently visited Cream Ridge Winery with a few friends are really enjoyed their fruit wines. I wasn't a big fan of fruit wines before I visited - I'm a total convert now. My friend wrote a review here: http://tastingroomconfidential.com/frui ... ew-jersey/

I'm new to this forum - excited to meet other wine lovers!

Re Basque cider -

Hoke, do any of the Basque ciders which you admire come from French Basque country? If so, they would be easier for me to procure.

I have just read on Wikipedia that the vast majority of ciders sold in France are made by a single group, Agrial. Some of their products apparently masquerade under names sounding like Norman and Breton (and pehaps Basque) craft producers but a brief Googling failed to identify which brands are concerned . They may be the real thing with just a financial link but I'm suspicious.

Tim, my faves in Basque sidra are all Spanish, although there are some pretty damned tasty Asturian ciders as well.

Can't recall having any French Basque ciders outside the region, although I did have a couple when I was in Gers and the Landes. They were fine, but didn't have that fierce intensity the Spanish Basque had. Don't recall their names; think they were just local artisanal producers.

As to the company: I'm sure you know well that, despite the reputation for fine food and drink in France the French are perfectly happy to swill down liters of industrial muck that is marketed correctly. That sounds like what we have here.

U.S., same tthing. Wide variation among the local and national, the artisianal and the industrial. And marketing budgets blur that line constantly.

Thanks Hoke, good stuff as usually, I just what to expand a bit. I think when it comes to “hard cider” people somehow automatically associate it with “ beer” (almost the same ABV). "Authentic" hard cider is not brewed or “cooked”, it is produced from “pure” apple juice (hopefully as mentioned by Jenise) it is produced from “superior cider apples” (and not “table or eating apples”), which represents the land where the fruit was grown. Unlike beer which can be “brewed to perfection” in a week or two, hard cider, like wine, takes time and patience.

Salute

Recently saw an article about a half dozen new ciders from Maine. Will have to check them out next time I pop up there.

Thanks Hoke, good stuff as usually, I just what to expand a bit. I think when it comes to “hard cider” people somehow automatically associate it with “ beer” (almost the same ABV). "Authentic" hard cider is not brewed or “cooked”, it is produced from “pure” apple juice (hopefully as mentioned by Jenise) it is produced from “superior cider apples” (and not “table or eating apples”), which represents the land where the fruit was grown. Unlike beer which can be “brewed to perfection” in a week or two, hard cider, like wine, takes time and patience.

Salute

All apropos additions, Victor.

The thing about ciders is---as with everything else---the artisanal folks create the renewed interest, and the big corps take that image, run it through their marketing machine, but immediately leave all the quality aspects out of the equation.

"Fresh apples carefully selected by variety?" Whoa, hey, I can get a broker to just supply whatever juice we want for way less money. But you know we have to lower our amount of XXX apples, don't you? Too expensive. The drinkers won't even notice.

"Market research in focus groups (people randomly picked while walking through a mall) tell us the cider is too sour." No problem. We can just add whatever amount of sugar we want. Easier to do it just before bottling, so let's just up the dosage a trifle. Speaking of sugar, we should cut our expenses by shifting from cane sugar to beet sugar; again, the peole won't even notice.

So, as always, caveat emptor. But that's what makes the game fun---as long as you can wade through the crap and find a good one at the end.

[Jenise]

Thanks Hoke, good stuff as usually, I just what to expand a bit. I think when it comes to “hard cider” people somehow automatically associate it with “ beer” (almost the same ABV).

Who can blame the public for misunderstanding? For one, for something so fine and lovingly made, the name 'hard cider' is unfortunately brutal and suffers from the low-class connotations that 'hard liquor' imbues. For another, as a practical matter owing to refrigeration, it's sold in the beer section of supermarkets, and often packaged the same--cans or bottles, six packs, etc, alongside vodka-fortifieds like Mike's Hard Lemonade. Great artisanal ciders are unable to stand out without a knowledgeable person there to hand-sell and educate.

If the public (the masses) gain awareness of “hard ciders” (we can call it "apple-jack") through “Johnny Appleseed” and “Angry Orchard” so be it. (As mentioned by Hoke, it’s the “artesian” craft hard cider producers, which rejuvenated the interest in this “traditional beverage”(in some places like Upstate NY and New England the tradition never really “died”) and the “big boys” with their money and marketing clout getting the “word out” to the “masses”). Personally I find the “commercial” hard cider or ale “to sweet” for my palate (I don't walk through the malls that often so I don't get interviewed). The “authentic” hard cider especially the “still and dry” I prefer to taste it at 60 to 50 deg F (basically I treat it like a dry white wine).

Salute

...For another, as a practical matter owing to refrigeration, it's sold in the beer section of supermarkets, and often packaged the same--cans or bottles, six packs, etc. Great artisanal ciders are unable to stand out without a knowledgeable person there to hand-sell and educate.

A local winery, Leonard Oakes, makes a sparkling hard cider that has won acclaim in the region. The wine maker, Jonathan Oakes is the great-great grandson of Leonard Oakes who started the business as an apple farm in the late 1800's. It is packaged in a brown champagne-style bottle with a crown cap. I've had many bottles.
http://oakeswinery.com/wine-list/steampunk_cider/steampunk-cider-medium-dry-hard-cider/
His most recent innovation is Petillant Naturel Riesling - which is bottled before fermentation has completed and finishes in the bottle. I am going to try this soon and will post a WTN.
http://newyorkcorkreport.com/blog/2015/10/22/leonard-oakes-estate-winery-2014-petillant-naturel-riesling/

[Jenise]

Jenise, welcome to another fascinating world of beverages that is every bit as varied and exciting (and demanding) as grape wine and spirits. You're on a fun ride....

It's an English pub that has become cider central. He maintains six taps of fresh cider (his and others), puts out 6-glass tasting boards and 8-glass tasting boards for minimum sums----and get this: he carries over 250 bottled ciders. Not just multiple ciders from certaini producers; he carries everything he can get into the state....

(Tim York, this is where you need to pay attention) When you get to the Spanish cidre, you will have reached the Mecca of ciders-as-wine....

Another that I like is the Carlton "CherryPerry", and apple and pear cider with fresh squeezed local cherries, made only at cherry-harvest time....

Hoke, the cider pub sounds amazing. That will be on my 'rounds' next time we get down to Portland. It's a ridiculous shame that we haven't, in 13 years here, managed to spend more time there. It's been on the short list, as has the Rogue Valley and Oregon Coast, but keeps getting moved out. Spanish ciders haven't crossed my path yet, that needs to change.

Alpen Fire in Port Townsend is making great use of pre-used barrels. One we loved there, and I used it in my tasting, involved pre-used rum barrels and a few handfuls of blackberries to tint the cider a lovely pink.

Haven't had a cherry cider yet. Bought one last week, and also a Kriek to pour it beside, though we haven't done that yet.

Question: who and what is Angry Orchard? I had the impression that it's from one of the big eastern beer companies--is it fortified, like Mike's Hard?

Angry Orchard produces ciders (and some decent ones at that) and is owed by the Boston Beer Company the same people who bring us Samuel Adams beer. I like their marketing “apples with attitude”. I had a cider maker once tell me,” the uglier the apple the better cider it made”.

Salute