ciders that set the scene

stronger, much richer, much firmer. You can imagine this paired with strong south east Asian flavours immediately.”

Templar’s Choice Naturally Sparkling Dry

Keeving is a process that creates a natural layer of pectin at the start of fermentation, starving the juice of nutrients and promoting a rich style of cider. It’s popular in Normandy, where Templar’s Choice is run by British couple Adam and Anne Bland.

“So it’s a very natural approach that they take: wild yeast fermentation, unpasteurised, unfiltered and then finished off with fermentation in the bottle,” says Morrell.

“It’s a very French style: savoury, with just a hint of sweetness but a lovely rasp of tannin on the finish. It’s tremendous with food.”

Ramborn Quince 2021

Morrell predicts that this one will “blow our socks off” and he’s right. It’s made entirely with quince juice from Luxembourg, on the Moselle. As with many of the producers associated with Cider Is Wine, the trees are full-height, often very old, and grow in natural orchards rather than in ordered lines.

“It has a light sparkle, and a wonderful smell of dill,” says Morrell. “If you can just imagine a plate of smoked salmon in front of you, are you not in absolute heaven? It really just goes to show the heights that ciders can climb. Quite, quite delicious.”

Once Upon a Tree Blenheim Superb Ice Cider 2019

There are a few ways of making ice ciders. In the UK, the most practical is to freeze and then gently thaw apples, and tap off the first third of the juice that emerges. It’s a long, laborious process but worth the effort. This one, made with Spartan, Falstaff, Russet and Blenheim

Orange apples from Herefordshire, ferments for up to four months.

“You’ve got this lovely colour and about 150g per litre of residual sweetness, and every bit of that sweetness comes from the apples,” says Morrell.

“There is this wonderful acidity that makes you go back and say, ‘I’d like another drink – that that was delicious’.”

Kat Stead Brigitte Bordeaux, Nottingham

We liked quite a few of the ciders: in particular the Tinston, for its freshness, and the Ramborn for its really unique flavour profile.

We were surprised at the similarities between the ciders and a range of wine types, from traditional-method sparkling wine to a more natural wine style.

We really think our customers would be interested in these ciders. A Cider Is Wine tasting in our garden this summer would be really popular.

Deiniol ap Dafydd Blas ar Fwyd, north Wales

All the ciders tasted were unique and very enjoyable in their own way. The Tinston Gateway was really elegant and dry, with good acidity, and could replace a dry Cava or young crémant without a problem.

I think that the ABV ranging from 5.5% to 10% makes the ciders a great option for certain opportunities. I can see most of the ciders we tasted having great potential for incorporating in wine flights for restaurants.

Fabien and Christine Voisin Tell Me Wine, Chepstow

We found some similarities between the winemaking and cidermaking process in terms of the methods used: co-fermentation and the ageing process, among others.

In addition we were impressed by the food matching possibilities. We’re thinking of expanding our cider range.