Before there was ever Champagne, there was cider. The fermentation process that gives the wine its characteristic fizz is only possible if the bottle is strong enough to handle the pressure within. And much to the region’s chagrin, the first person to make the breakthrough wasn’t from the vineyards of France, but the orchards of England.
That said, the so-called verre Anglais, created by Sir Kenelm Digby in the early 17th century, allowed Champagne to flourish, and in the centuries since, the two drinks have taken rather different paths. Champagne has long been a byword for good taste and wealth, and last year, 27 million bottles were shipped out of the region to discerning drinkers across the world.
Cider, meanwhile, was gradually stripped of its artisanal soul, and slowly resigned to its position as the sharper, sweeter, fizzier alternative to beer on the bar top. For many, it was the original alcotop, and as far from the rolling hills of Champagne as it’s possible to be. But the mood is shifting. ‘One of the things that’s clear to me is how misunderstood cider is,’ says Luke Benson, cidery cellar master at The Newt in Somerset, a former country estate turned luxury spa hotel and working farm.
The Newt has been the toast of the UK’s luxury travel industry since it opened in 2019 – the Michelin guide calls it ‘one of England’s finest country-house hotels’ – but long before the house was opened to guests, plans were afoot for a vast orchard that would bring traditional cider making – or ‘cyder’, as they call it – back to the county on a marketable scale.
Six years later and there are 3,000 trees and 70 varieties of apple on the grounds, as well as a state-of-the-art fermenting barn. And after a bumper autumn harvest, the cidery at The Newt expects to turn around 80,000 litres of juice into its various 2023 vintages.
The Newt’s bestselling cider is Wyvern Wing, a flat 8% sipper that smells and tastes more like Sauvignon Blanc than scrumpy. A pale ferment in a tall-necked bottle, it doesn’t look like cider, either, and that’s the point, because Wyvern Wing is targeted firmly at cider’s burgeoning premium market.
Last year, despite overall volume continuing to shrink, UK cider sales topped £2 billion for the first time, and the sector has experienced a 5 per cent value growth since 2023. Fine English cider is on the menu at the best restaurants across the country, including Restaurant Story in London, The Fat Duck in Berkshire, and L’Enclume in Cumbria, and new cider makers are popping up all the time. And there isn’t a pint glass in sight.
‘Big bottles have definitely become more accepted,’ explains Felix Nash, founder of pioneering retailer and wholesaler Fine Cider Company, ‘and there have been more professional makers establishing themselves, and they are better able to do better-priced big bottles. Things that can sit in a Fine Cider section on a pub drinks menu at £20-30 a bottle, and be ideal for lunch or before dinner.
‘The drinks industry now knows about the potential of fine cider,’ continues Nash, ‘the public really knowing is the next stage. But more and more people are starting to understand how incredibly industrial mass-market cider can be: two-thirds water, one-third apple concentrate, from anywhere on Earth, and made into “cider” in as little as a week.’
So, if you’re open to swapping grapes for apples this Christmas, what should you be buying? ‘Firstly, look for cider made with 100 percent fresh, pressed apple juice, seasonally,’ says Nash. Then look for a vintage, and just begin tasting as freely and widely as possible.
The key proviso, though, is a change of mindset, suggests Benson. ‘If you go out to a restaurant or bar and see that a bottle is £25, instead of thinking, “Why is that cider so expensive?”, ask, “Why is cider normally so cheap?”’
