Tasting Cider
When and how to taste it....?
Serve cold, between 8 and 12 °C (46 and 54 °F), preferably in a balloon or tulip shaped glass.
• As an aperitif:
- straight
- in a cocktail: cider can be used with calvados
in some cocktails
Some
cocktail recipes using calvados and cider >>
The "Cuvée Colette" is perfect as an aperitif.
Do not hesitate to serve it in champagne flutes. More
info >>
• During the meal:
- to accompany poultry and white meat
- to accompany cheeses from Normandy (such as
Camembert, Livarot)
- to accompany apple based desserts. Special mention to Givre, "sweet
wine" from apples, Domaine Dupont exclusive. More
info >>
A successful match between cheeses from Normandy and wines is very
tricky, well nigh impossible. Only Cider and Calvados successfully make
a good marriage. In addition, if the cheese is perfectly ripe, it goes
well with a thin slice of apple.
• Throughout the day or for an evening
with friends:
- A thirst quenching, elegant and attractively
fruity alternative to beer.
Artisanal cider of strong personality, Dupont Cidre Triple can be tasted like a dark beer. More info >>
Cider in cooking
Cider can well be used in place of red wine in traditional recipes, which will then reveal themselves in a new light.
Cider cream sauce (marries best with fishes and white
meats):
Simmer 2 glasses of cider with 2 teaspoons
of fish fumet powder for 25 minutes in a saucepan. In another pan,
melt a spoonful of butter and stir in a spoonful of flour. Cook gently
for a minute or two. Gradually beat in the stock, bring to the boil
and simmer for 5 minutes. In a bowl, beat together two egg yolks and
a little creme fraiche, pour in the boiling sauce very slowly, beating
the while. Tip back into the pan, warm again without boiling, and finish
with several small knobs of butter and a little lemon juice.
Tasting Cider
Cider is best tasted like wine. To take full advantage of its aromas, one should use a tulip shaped glass slightly curving in at the top, only half filled. The tasting uses all three of our main senses:
The eye to appreciate the colour, clarity and the effervescence.
The nose for the aromas. The "first nose" consists of sniffing the glass without swirling the contents. The "second nose" consists of swirling the glass, to allow the action of oxygen to release all the nuances of aroma. Thus these aromas become more numerous and complex.
The mouth, finally, taking little sips, which you allow to pass all over the inside of the mouth. You can discern the balance between acidity and sweetness, the elegance or rustic character of its structure, the expression of the body at the middle and end of the mouthful, (after having swallowed it), and the integration of all these elements which must create the harmony of the whole.
The evolution of the aromas of Cider with age:
Traditional cider is made using a method of "natural effervescence":- when the cider is bottled, it contains some residual sugars and yeast, which will let the cider continue to ferment in the bottle. Thus, like a wine or some age-worthy beers, traditional ciders evolve in bottle and that is why the Dupont Estate marks the vintage year on its ciders.
Time allows the progressive development of the natural sparkle of cider in the bottle. In the first months, the mousse is fairly light and discreet. After several months or years, the mousse becomes much more pronounced when poured, as well as in the mouth.
In the same way, the aromas of cider develop with time.
A young cider of 1 or 2 years old will typically
reveal lightly fruity aromas: cool, fresh apples, citrus, pineapples,
apricot, bread.
A cider that has been kept 2 to 5 years will
have aromas that are better constructed and more complex: cooked apples,
cinnamon, leather, animal, lemon and spices.
It is something of a gamble to keep cider beyond this, as the development is uncontrolled. Nevertheless, amateurs of the famous long keeping Belgian beers like the Gueuzes and Lambics will find in these ciders as well, the same complexity and sense of presence in the mouth as well as typical sharp and bitter dominant notes.
