Do you like your cider produced exclusively from fruits of a foxwhelp tree? Perhaps you only back the Kingston Black? Maybe those words sound like mumbo-jumbo to you and you simply enjoy knocking back a can of the good stuff without putting much thought into it (and that’s perfectly okay, too).
Crisp, sweet, dry, rounded, sharp or smooth. Wherever you sit on the cider spectrum, there’s bound to be something new out there for you. Make The Switch today, and while you’re at it, why not do so under the guidance of drinks pro and cider-insider Max Allen.
Hey Max, how about if we like our ciders sessionable, where should we jump in? I’d choose Gurney’s from Gippsland, Gurney’s Gold. It’s a crowd-pleasing, slightly sweet, beautiful cider with a lovely kind of like toffee and apple flavour. It’s delicious but it’s not too cloying, it’s got lovely fizz, and it’s made from a couple of orchards in South Gippsland. So you know where the apples are from, you know it’s made by a South Gippsland cider maker, and yet it’s the kind of cider that, if you like something like say, a Somersby cider, you’ll like this.
And what if we’re feeling adventurous? What else is out there?
I reckon if you’re feeling adventurous and you like something that’s a little bit drier, but it’s still got that lovely crisp apple flavour, try something like Louis Cider. This is from estate-grown Yarra Valley apples that are made a little bit like a wine, so some of the cider is matured in barrels. Some is fermented on chardonnay lees. So all the leftovers after fermentation, all the yeast and the solids from the chardonnay sit at the bottom of the tank. They drain the chardonnay off, they put the apple juice on to ferment it, and they leave that cider in contact with the lees for a couple of months, and it gives it this beautiful kind of wine-like character. So if you like chardonnay and you like cider, then this is the cider for you.
Okay, cider can be as diverse as any other category. How about something with a bit more grunt? Something that pairs well with a big meal?
Alright, if you’re feeling even more adventurous, try something like Flying Brick’s MC Cider. This is what I call proper cider. This is made on the Bellarine Peninsula from a single orchard of apples that are grown out in the Western District of Victoria, out past Ballarat, and it’s made from cider apples. So apples with variety names like Kingston Black and Foxwhelp, and beautiful old traditional varieties like that. This has got flavours.
It’s so much more complex, and it’s almost like a red wine. It’s got that bitterness and tannin, you know. This is the cider I love. I love all three styles, but if I’m eating something richer and I want a cider, this is the kind of cider I’d go for.
Make The Switch today, and check out episode two of The Switch featuring Max Allen right here.