Cider Versus Wine

Posted by Richard Beaudin on Oct 7, 2009 in Wine Tasting | 0 comments

On a recent trip this Summer I had the pleasure to read “American Vintage: The Rise of American Wine” by Paul Lukacs. This was a fascinating read not only for the  struggles and successes of the  history of viticulture in this country, but equally for more recent history regarding American cuisine and how that evolution helped to shape the adoption of wine in America (from frozen dinners to French cooking spurred by Julia Childs). Highly recommended for anyone really interested in wine.

It is with that background that I found a comment to an article entitled Cider versus Wine to the New York Times (January 17, 1864) equally fascinating as it mirrored the debate that unfortunately culminated in Prohibition about 50 years later. That debate centered around the expansion of wine and cider as healthy alternatives to distilled liquors and fortified concoctions that were the mainstay of the nation at the time (during that period the wine industry was centered in Cincinnati and the varietal was Catawba). During the middle of the 19th century it was much safer drinking alcohol than water

Today wine is produced in all 50 States, albeit not all wine is from grapes. There is a good deal of wine from other fruits including blueberries, strawberries, peaches and so on.

It also brought up the question on why we call fermented apple juice “cider” and yet we call just about any other fermented juice wine? Now, I have great memories of growing up in New England and looking forward to  Fall as it was the time for picking apples and buying cider at local apple orchards. The apples in New England are delicious and I looked  forward to them each year.

I found this definition at WineIntro.com:

The word “cider” is simply the traditional word for apple alcoholic beverage, and can be used interchangeably with the word “wine”. It is simply the result of apples interacting with yeast to create an alcoholic beverage. In fact in Germany, they do call this drink an “apple wine”.

The fermented juice from apples I always identified as “cider” (normally non-alcoholic but you could keep it a while and it fermented . It was delicious, but didn’t really resemble what I normally recognize as wine. It was  brown in color (for wine this usually suggests over the hill or oxidized), lots of sediment, and it came in plastic gallon containers.  So again it tasted great as a “juice”, but does that sound like wine?  Not really.

It is with these memories that I looked forward to receiving a couple of bottles of “cider” or apple wine to try from Poverty Lane Orchards, New Hampshire. I frankly was not sure exactly what to expect.

The first bottle was a Farnum Hill Semi-dry Sparkling Cider. As I do with all the “wines”  I taste,  I make note of the label:

“Farnum Hill Semi-Dry is golden, clear, gently sparkling, replete with tropical fruit and intriguing aromatic, sharp and tannic notes, followed  by a clean, fresh finish. A happy companion to most foods, even certain desserts.” (7.4 % avb)

I have to say … pretty accurate description: The appearance was quite clean and golden, very much like  a sauterne in the glass (of course without the bubbles!). The bubbles were small and refined (and remained very active in glass and bottle), similar to what you would expect from a fine champagne. The nose (yes …. I could smell apples on the nose!) but also tropical fruit.. mainly pineapple struck me. The “cider” was much more akin to wine than anything I had tasted previously. This would be a great aperitif before a meal, or as stated it could pair nicely with many foods and desserts.  And, at the 7.4% alcohol it is perfect for those white wine drinkers looking for something less alcoholic but still full of flavor.

The second bottle was a Farnum Hill Extra-dry Still Cider (wine:-):

“Farnum Hill Extra Dry Still is golden, clear, still, utterly driy, aromatic, fruity earthy, with a clean, fresh finish.  Its complex, palate-freshening balance of tannins and citrus is intriguing with exotic foods, remarkable with seafood.”

My tasting notes suggested ” clean, small water rim with pale golden color, fresh crushed apples on the nose.  The palate quite dry, with a good deal of acidity and medium finish”. I did find it a bit tart on the finish and somewhat “one dimensional” on the mid palate. With that said,  I do agree it would fare better if paired with seafood, especially shell fish.

Would I now recommend buying apple cider instead of white wine? No, of course not. I would no more do that than suggest any one wine, fruit, or varietal. I will however recommend that if you have never tasted apple (cider) wine made from cider apples , you should.

You may find it to be something your guests will enjoy for the upcoming Holidays!

(PLEASE NOTE: I did receive these two bottles courtesy of  Poverty Hill Orchards. The tasting notes reflect a group tasting of both bottles received. )