cider making regions

Cider making processes were imported from Western Europe; today's major producers are France, Spain and Britain.

 

Cider producing countries cover most of the temperate regions of the world. The USA, Canada, Central and South America and Australia were originally introduced to the craft of cider making by emigrants from Western Europe - in particular, from Normandy, Brittany, Wiesbaden, the Basque territory of Spain, Ireland and Britain.

 

Today, cider is becoming increasingly big business.

 

The main cider producing countries include:

 

France

France is the world's largest cider producing country. French regulations insist that cider can only be made from fresh apples and pears. Traditional French cider is deliciously light and sparkling and is usually stored in champagne-style bottles

Normandy and Brittany, in northern France, the main cider-producing areas, are famous for their traditional sweet 'cidre'. Cider is so popular that it is the first choice of drink for many Bretons. Some restaurants even include a litre

bottle of cider per four diners, as a promotional come-on, instead of the usual free bottle of wine!

 

Spain

Asturias and the Basque region of northern Spain are the country's main cider producing areas. Their traditional style ciders are famous for the complex flavours of green apples, vanilla, plum and honey. Spanish cider is usually bottled and corked in conventional-style wine bottles.

 

Britain

Britain's main cider producing counties are Devon, Somerset and Herefordshire. Although some of the country's larger cider producers import concentrated apple juice, most quality cider (and there is plenty of it!) is made from locally grown apples, using traditional production methods.

 

USA

America produces a wide variety fo cider styles, ranging from the mass-produced to the more natural varieties. Today, the art of traditional cider making is flourishing, particularly in many areas of New England, Oregon and Vermont. Unlike European cider, North American cider falls into two main categories - untreated, freshly expressed juice (sweet cider) and fermented juices (hard cider).

 

Types and styles of cider vary considerably from country to country but one factor remains constant - a thirst for quality, flavoursome cider.