PROMOTING 100% JUICE NOT-FROM-CONCENTRATE CIDERS, PERRIES AND FRUIT WINES

Do you know your artisanal from your industrial cider? Are you looking to explore alternatives to beer and wine? The IWSC and Cider is Wine are delighted to announce their collaboration of the first tasting and competition of its kind: 100% juice, not-from-concentrate ciders, perries and fruit wines.

Over the last 50 years the IWSC has become both the model and the paradigm for wine and spirit judging, inspiring companies, organisations, industries and individuals alike. This exclusive tasting of 100% juice, not-from-concentrate ciders, perries and fruit wines is designed to uncover the true quality of this under-explored category and will help put aside bad memories from early youth of drinking warm, sweet, concentrated cider to discover these sophisticated, complex and delicious drinks.

In EU law, wine made from grapes must be fermented exclusively from grapes. Yet, in the UK, cider and perry can be made from just 35% juice, all of which can include imported concentrate – and the rules around fruit wines are even less stringent. This under-regulated category has left consumers under the illusion that they are drinking the “real deal”, when often this is not the case.

Alistair Morrell, Cider is Wine's CEO, explains “Cider is Wine defines the sector for real, artisan ciders, perries and fruit wines made from the whole fruit, not from concentrate, reflecting where they come from, who produced them, the varietals that made them and the year in which they were harvested. As well as their 100% not-from-concentrate fruit content, all these ciders and perries are naturally lower in alcohol – indeed, on average about half the alcohol of most grape wines – as well as being gluten free and, in the vast majority of cases, vegetarian and vegan friendly.”

Tap Into A £150,000,000 Market 

100% juice content, not-from-concentrate ciders, perries and fruit wines represent a currently untapped market worth some £150 million. The two products below, part of our weekly series leading up to the London Wine Fair, perfectly reflect Cider Is Wine's and our members' ethos and form part of that market and the business opportunity it represents. If you think that cider, perry or fruit wine cannot offer as much in taste, quality and consumer satisfaction as grape wines, read about these couple of examples and we think you could change your mind… and if you'd like to meet any of the producers at the Fair, then register for an appointment – we'd be delighted to welcome you… Also, look out for our tasting pack ahead of the LWF.

CIDER IS WINE AT THE LONDON WINE FAIR 2021

THINK DIFFERENTLY… DRINK DIFFERENTLY

Cider from Sweden: Brännland

Brännland Cider started out in 2010 in Umea, a university town 600 kilometres north of Stockholm, with a dream of making great cider using apples grown in the cold climate of northern Sweden. Founder, Andreas Sundgren, has already had a considerable impact in the cider community by producing the only ice ciders made according to the Quebecois laws, using the naturally cold winters of northern Europe.

Multi-award winning, these ciders are served in UK Michelin star restaurants because of their stand out quality, as well as, most recently, featuring in the columns of The Mail On Sunday and The Observer Food Monthly. Supporters include Peter Riches MW, David Williams, Olly Smith, Joanna Simon and Anthony Rose.

The company's range includes a number of ice ciders, at least on a par with the very best sweet dessert (grape) wines, through semi-dry, to juicy acidity.

Brännland Iscider

The 2018 ice cider vintage is marked by one of the finest Swedish apple harvests of the past decade. The juice at pressing showed unusually high sugar levels without compromising the balance between acidity, sweetness and body that are the hallmarks of the vintage. The spring season fermentations were soft and harmonious and carried through in oak to an even higher degree than previous years.

We believe that Brännland Iscider 2018 has the potential of a classic vintage with exceptional ageing potential.

TASTING NOTES: Appearance: light golden, brilliant clarity. Nose: raspberries, wet stone in spring rain, peach and rose blossom. Palate: glossy soft viscosity, juicy ripe strawberry, watermelon, black cherry and a light finish with touches of honey.

Cider from France: Templar's Choice

Adam and Anne Bland's Knights Templars Seigneurie farmhouse gives its name to Templar's Choice ciders. Located in in the Pays d'Auge in Normandy, near the town of Vimoutiers in the department of Calvados, it's traditionally held to be exceptional for cider (and, indeed, Calvados apple brandy).

The farm's 45 acres, with some 30 acres of cider apple orchards, are well-draining and south-facing, growing 100% traditional cider varieties, some of which are exclusively recommended for this small area, a 'terroir' famous for producing a very aromatic and deep flavoured, naturally sparkling cider. The orchards are officially in organic conversion, have never been ploughed and have a complete biodynamic balance. Untreated, they abound in insects, birds, wildlife and wildflowers.

Templar's Choice ciders are keeved (*see below) with the natural apple yeasts and then slowly fermented throughout the winter months and bottled in the spring when a small, secondary fermentation takes place in the bottle to give a naturally sparkling cider. No sugar is added, the sweetness from the apples themselves determine the dry, medium or sweet taste of the ciders. The ciders are gluten free and vegetarian and vegan friendly.

History notes: Cider and its derivatives have been made for over 2000 years in France, first by the Celts, followed in the time of Charlemagne by the monks at Vimoutiers. French royalty often took a close interest in the development of cider and drank it on a daily basis. The order of Knights Templar was dissolved some 700 years ago, but still lives on in a number of place names. All Templar's Choice ciders are sold in strengthened, corked and wired bottles, a technique developed in the 19th Century when the arrival of the railway meant that empty champagne bottles from Paris could be brought down to Normandy by train and refilled with sparkling cider and sent back to Paris.

Templar's Choice Perry

Naturally sparkling, pure juice from perry pears from 80 year-old trees, picked and pressed in mid-to-late October, the juice is keeved* and slowly fermented throughout the winter months for bottling in the spring. The Normandy 'methode traditionelle' gives a natural in-bottle sparkle after 6 -8 weeks. The perry is not filtered, pasteurised or sweetened, just bottled at the right specific gravity to give a very clear, rounded and balanced perry that's rich and deep in flavour. This perry will keep for many years in the bottle and is quite celebratory!

Awards: Winner Royal Bath & West International Class 2014, Silver Medal 2015, 2nd Prize 2019 Hereford Museum International Competition Sparkling Perry Category.

*Keeving is an artisan cider-making technique used to create a natural cider without sweetening or pasteurisation. Wild yeasts, cool cellars and low nutrient orchards are all key elements in the process. Only 100% fresh pressed cider apples are used, no sugar, no water, and nothing else.

TASTING NOTES: The smooth and aromatic depths of this pale gold drink are enhanced by its natural effervescence.

For more information on Cider Is Wine's product range, or to arrange a virtual meeting, or talk about samples and terms, contact:

Alistair Morrell, CEO, Cider Is Wine: alistair@cideriswine.co.uk or call +44 7523 609122

Roddy Kane, Marketing Director, Cider Is Wine: roddy.kane@cideriswine.co.uk or call +44 7900 918871