Once, Washington state was known for its apples. Now its wines are far more renowned. But there’s an outside chance that one day the balance might shift back again. A few pioneer orchardists and experimental brewers are hoping that cider applespredominantly as hard, sour, and ugly as the Red Delicious is flavorless and beautifulmay be just what Washington’s sagging fruit industry needs to survive.
We’re not talking sweet cider here. Ever since the late Paleolithic period, humans have been crushing apples, straining off the juice, and letting it ferment, hoping the resulting cloudy, carbonated result will be fit to drink. It’s a tricky business. Apples don’t have the flavor opportunitiescomplex sugars and tannins and acidsthat wine grapes offer vintners. If you don’t know what to expect, the taste of ciders from even the world’s premier producers (mostly in France and England) can seem distinctly odd, while inexpertly crafted “hard” cider can end up tasting like nothing on earth, with mysterious and not-at-all-agreeable aromas and a flavor rather like dilute sour milk.
But some people thrive on challenge, and a couple of dozen dauntless Northwest “ciderists,” both amateur and commercial, are already bottling cider that, at its best, compares favorably to the classics produced in Normandy and the West Country. But the market for hard cider is still small, and likely to remain so until its makers come up with a unified and attractive way of pitching its virtues to a wider public. A cider-centered dinner at Kaspar’s Restaurant on Lower Queen Anne last week took some small steps toward that end. Organized by wine guru (and amateur ciderist) Ron Irvine, the banquet brought together more than 35 cider aficionados to sample each other’s products, discuss their infant industry, and see how seven selected ciders paired up with a menu devised to set them off.
After cautious sipping of nearly a dozen varieties both dry and sweet (cider hangovers are reputedly the worst) I can confidently report two things: Cider is not likely ever to elbow wine off the sophisticated American menu; but its curious mixture of fruity freshness and autumnal astringency seem to ensure it, at its best, a place at the table as a light aperitif, a butter-cutting palate cleanser with rich creamy pastas and ragouts, even an accompaniment to the cheese course.
One item on the menu is already more than ready for culinary prime time: Pommeau, produced by Oregon’s White Oak Cidery in Newburg, is a domestic adaptation of a traditional French mixture of hard cider and “apple jack” (brandy distilled from cider). Firm and refreshing yet demurely sweet, with a noble nose and a lingering woodsy aroma, this dessert wine could give many a vintage port a run for its money at less than half the price: around $15. For all the facts and folklore on cider, see http://web.bham.ac.uk/GraftonG/cider/
