Cider...generous, strong, sufficiently heady...excites and cleanses the stomach, strengthens the digestion and infallibly frees the kidney and bladder from breeding the gravel stone... John Evelyn, Pomona from Silva, Royal Society 1664

     

As the air turns crisply to autumn, little evokes the distilled warmth and sweetness of the fading summer like cider freshly pressed from the heavy sun soaked apples that droop from the trees. There are three natural intoxicating beverages as old as man: wine, beer and cider. The first two remain commonplace in our gastronomic consciousness, but cider, once a staple production of virtually every farm household in America and indeed in all temperate climes, has all but disappeared from our food chain.

There are logical reasons for this--farming is no longer the livelihood of practically every American. Once what one ate was what one grew, and until the last century, most Americans lived on farms, grew their own food and orchards were commonplace. The most important use of apples was Cider which was valued not so much for drinking fresh from the press, but for fermenting into a wholesome beverage that could be stored and drunk year round providing nutrients generally lacking from our diets before refrigeration and mass transit filled the cornucopia our markets have become. Crafting cider was a skill and an art highly prized by our farming forebears. As William Coxe in his 1817 treatise that was America's first serious pomological work observed, " Cider is unquestionably the most difficult branch of the business of an Orchardist and that on which his success must chiefly depend...It involves some principles of chymical science, not easily comprehended or explained by men of common education, yet necessary to be known to every cultivator of orchards, who aims at any degree of perfection in the selection of his fruits, or the management of his liquor."

Hundreds of variables are important in cidermaking. The quality of cider varies almost infinitely with the character of the fruit and the care and technique used in its production. Coxe reminded his readers that the properties of a cider and table apple are very different, although some apples combine both characteristics. Ciderists proud of their product selected their fruit varieties carefully, searching out the desired elements of acidity, astringency, tannin, aroma and sweetness to produce the desired result. Cider was used not only as a staple for the table, but for barter and income. Literally thousands of apple varieties emerged from the seedling apple orchards early Americans planted for cider and varieties such as Winesap, Grimes Golden, Harrison, Graniwinkle, Albemarle or Newtown Pippin, Hewes Crab and hundreds of others were cherished for the quality they contributed to the blend.

What passes for cider in today's market is usually only a faint caricature of the Cider Coxe describes and our forebears once knew. The wealth of varieties that provided the character of these brews is virtually unavailable to the aspiring ciderist today. Commercial orchards are dominated by the few usually bland and sweet dessert apples that populate the mass market (Red Delicious, Golden Delicious and now Fuji, Gals, etc.) Our national obsession with antiseptic food sources has made natural fresh cider almost extinct. One hopes that consumers might rally a real interest in real, natural sweet cider. If ever a food needed defenders, this is it. It is a tradition that has been driven underground and made disreputable by top-down, ignorant government regulations. Like the controversy over raw milk cheese -- forced pasteurization and the ruination, not only of a traditional product, but of the farmers and orchardists who make it -- many of whom have been forced out of business, is a concern for food connoisseurs and those interested in preserving our cultural culinary heritage. Finding artisans interested in producing quality ciders, hard or sweet, is a considerable challenge for most of us, but that endeavor is rewarding for those who would like to remember this sip of our past and preserve it for our future.

Stay me with flagons; comfort me with apples. The Song of Solomon II.5

Vintage Virginia Apples hosted its fourth CiderMaker's Forum at Rural Ridge Farm On November 20, 2004. The program featured presentations on planning and variety selection for a cider orchard, techniques for crafting and fermenting fine cider and a tasting of some of the leading American ciders. Participants rated the eleven ciders and two pommeaux that were available. Participants comments will be posted here shortly.

Vintage Virginia Apples is committed to reviving popular interest in fine cider. Many of the varieties selected for our Rural Ridge Orchard were chosen with the qualities they might contribute to a good cider in mind. There is little literature on what was once a vitallyl important part of the American farm economy, the production of cider. We hope to discuss here various issues relevant to the production of superior cider.