Cider trails in Europe
Tracking down apple wine in Germany, France, Spain and the UK
While most people divide Europe into beer and wine drinking areas, cider has a culture all of its own. Take a holiday in cider country and experience the best local fare.
Cider country – tours
Some people divide Europe into two parts, with a line right across the middle of France. Above that line is the Europe of Beer; below it, the Europe of Wine.
But they’re missing something. There’s also a Europe of Cider – little patches of land where it’s apples, not grapes or barley, that are used to make the local drink. (There’s perry, too, made from pears; it seems to occupy the same areas.)
While the Moselle is best known for its wines, it’s a fine cider making district. Round here, it’s not called cider, but apfelwein – apple wine – or Viez. Keen cyclists and walkers can follow the Viezstrasse, a route linking cider making villages between the Saar and Moselle rivers. Fine views over the river valleys make up for the occasional tough climb.
In Frankfurt, there’s yet another dialect name for the drink; Ebbelwoi. It’s also known as Schoppen or Stoeffche – one name clearly isn't enough for this cloudy, almost tasteless drink. The cider pubs are easily recognised by the pine wreath hanging over the door; Sachsenhausen is famed for its pubs though they are found elsewhere in the city.
German cider is often served in faceted glasses, sometimes (particularly on the southern Saar) in white porcelain cups. While some producers don't approve, it’s often drunk in a cocktail – as a spritzer with mineral water or lemonade. It’s also mixed with coke, when it’s called a KE, Korea (in Frankfurt), or Panzersprit (tank fuel). In winter, it’s drunk hot with cinnamon, cloves, sugar and lemon.
In England, there are two main cider producing centres – the western counties (including Somerset, Devon, and the Welsh borders), and East Anglia.
In Herefordshire, the local tourist office has set up two cycle tours, of 20 miles each, based on the small towns of Ledbury and Pembridge. The cider tour visits eleven major producers – there are other smaller cidermakers, some only working for a month in the season and selling all their production off the premises. Gwatkin Cider, twice winner of the Cider of Britain prize, nestles in the Golden Valley, under the Black Mountains, and is well worth a visit.
This is a lovely corner of Britain, with its hedgerows, secret valleys, and black-and-white half timbered houses. And the old apple varieties’ names, too, are redolent of the past; Foxwhelps, Kingstone Blavell, Thorn, or Oldfield Moorcroft.
In Somerset, an independent tour operator (Foottrails) offers two day guided walking tours on the Cider Trail, based in Crewkerne. In the strangely evocative landscape of the Somerset Levels, you can find apple trees planted down by the river Parrett, and the Burrow Hill Cider Farm offers its cider and apple juice as well as cider brandy.
The French heartland of cider making is in the western provinces, Normandy and Brittany. The Route du Cidre in Normandy’s Pays d’Auge is a 40 km circuit around the town of Cambremer, including a visit to one of France’s prettiest villages, Beauvron en Auge. All the producers displaying a ‘Cru de Cambremer’ sign are open to the public.
This is lovely country, with tiny valleys, chequered fields divided by hedgerows, and half timbered farmhouses. Cows grazing in the fields remind you of Norman cooking, rich in cream and butter. Here, farmers don't just make cider, but also Calvados (apple brandy) and pommeau, a luscious mix of the two.
In Brittany, the Celtic province of France, you can take a cider trail around Cornouaille. A dozen producers display the ‘route du cidre’ sign and are, again, ready to welcome travellers with a taste of the country.
Finally let’s not forget Spain where, as in France, the cider tradition is mainly focused on the Atlantic coast, in the Basque country and the provinces of Asturias and Galicia. Here, the cider is poured from a great height, holding the bottle above your head and the glass as low as you can, giving it a sparkle artificial carbonation can't match. There are no official tours but anywhere in these provinces (and in Barcelona, too) you should have no problem finding a sidreria (cider house). Some of the most authentic sidrerias, though, are only open in season (January to April).
Stuck in North America with no way to visit Europe this year? Don't despair – the French cider making tradition was transplanted to Quebec, where there’s now a 298 kilometre ‘Route des Cidres’ in Montérégie, south-west of Montreal. 30 producers open to the public, and there are events on May weekends.
