There are plenty of people who would say that they are not ‘cider drinkers’. Many people in this camp are probably basing their decision on a previous experience with the mass produced apple drink that is high on additives and contains little in the way of juiced cider apples! Certainly all of the people in this category are missing the point that real cider, like wine, comes in many different and incredibly varied styles. There are also plenty of staunch cider fans who are yet to realise the versatility of this fabulous apple nectar, but we’re on a mission to change that.
Cider vs Wine
Real cider actually has a lot in common with wine. They are both ancient libations created from fermented fruit and both have been popular in the UK for centuries, with each one enjoying more prominence than the other at different times across history.
The Orchard Project details one glorious era when cider championed over wine, between the 16th and 19th century. At this time, a change in climate led to lower temperatures that killed off grape vines throughout the UK. Apples were able to survive these cooler environments and continued to thrive. Meanwhile, wars in Europe stopped the influx of French and Spanish wine, leaving Brits wondering how to fill the gap. John Evelyn, who presented his work ‘Pomona’ to the Royal Society, is widely credited with promoting cider as a real alternative and creating a path to a more prestigious and widespread recognition.
Politics and climate change still play their part in the challenges that cider faces in the UK but we have not forgotten that cider has been a real alternative to wine in the past and we wanted to see if we could create ciders that could appeal to wine drinkers again.
A Sparkling Alternative
In 1633, Kenelm Digby invented the modern wine bottle and detailed how to create sparkling alcohol in this stronger glass container. His choice of fruit for this early fizz was apples, pre-dating Dom Perignon’s first champagne by some 30 years! We decided that Kenelm was onto something and we set about creating our first martinotti style cider, Katja.
Katja is a crisp, modern, single varietal, sparkling cider, crafted from the dessert apple Katja and inspired by the fresh fragrant Proseccos of Venezia. Created using the Martinotti method, where the cider undergoes an induced secondary fermentation in a sealed tank, Katja is vibrant, light and fresh. It has fragrant green apple and strawberry notes, with a subtle sweetness and a crisp natural acidity, with undertones of melon, honeysuckle and citrus fruit. It’s definitely something you would drink out of a champagne flute rather than a pint glass, not least because the alcohol content is 8% ABV, but when you compare that to a bottle of sparkling wine, at around 11-12%, you can happily enjoy another glass or two of Katja.
The Rise of the Rosé
Our first foray into martinotti style cider was well-received by consumers and critics alike, including in the wine world, and gave us the impetus to explore other variations. With the ubiquitous rise of rosé wine, which celebrates its 10th National Rosé Day on June 8th 2024, a sparkling rosé was the obvious choice and really came about after a conversation with our great friends at Darts Farm, home to our small batch cidery.
Darts Farm recently inherited Pebblebed Vineyard, just outside Exeter and there they grow Rondo grapes. The addition of these fabulous grapes to the fermenting process gives a wonderful pink tint to our original Katja and bestows wine notes and an unmistakable rosé finish to create our Katja Rosé. It is a fresh and fruity cider which tastes of sun ripened cherries and peaches with hints of apple blossom and candyfloss, balanced with tannins from the wineskins. It retains all the fresh drinkability of a Katja cider but with added fruit and gentle complexity.
We’re really proud to have created this sparkling rosé cider using 100% British ingredients, all sourced from the local area. We like to think that this is a real British alternative to a sparkling rosé wine and we are not the only ones. It has already appeared alongside wines as a more than credible alternative in a rosé line up on ITV’s Love Your Garden with Alan Titchmarsh, who was definitely a fan. It also came up trumps when Fabulous Magazine put the latest bottles of rosé to the test and it more than held its own as the only non-wine rosé in the mix.
Roll Out the Barrel
It’s not all about the bubbles when it comes to rivalling wine. Some wines are aged in particular barrels to give them distinctive flavours and we have created some fabulous vintage ciders based on the same principle. Our finest, cask-aged cider, Sandford Reserve and our mighty vat-aged cider, The General, boast their own unique characteristics that are strikingly different from our session ciders and have won them a cabinet full of trophies from across the globe.
Sandford Reserve (ABV 7.4%) is a blend of the year’s best ciders, made with rare apples grown in old Devon orchards. It’s aged in vat, cask and foudre (a large wooden vat), then bottled at the moment when barrel and fruit marry perfectly and magic is created. The result is intricate flavours of peach, vintage oak and sherry wine. It’s unlike any other cider you have ever tasted and definitely one to turn the wine drinkers!
The General (ABV 8.4%) is the Imperial Stout of our vintage range. Aged in a mighty oak vat of the same name, this super rich cider is bold and satisfying with the flavours of Seville orange, plum and baked apple, with a long, warming finish. It is a superb complement to gamey meats or a fully-laden Sunday roast and was voted best tannic cider in the world at the 2023 International Cider Challenge. It’s another fantastic example of the real breadth of drinks that a capable cider maker can create from humble apples.
Challenging preconceptions
We really think that there aren’t many people who truly don’t like cider, there are just lots of people who haven’t found the right one yet. If you fancy expanding your cider horizons, come along to one of our tours and enjoy a flight of ciders with tasting notes and explanations from our cider makers. Look out for recommendations for food pairings and cider swaps, browse the cider shelves in your local independent shop such as Darts Farm or visit our online shop. Why not persuade a ‘wine drinker’ to join you and the burgeoning ranks of the cider curious and discover a new favourite along the way?
