Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/580744
{ SOMMjournal.com } 49 Critics call it "soda for adults." Advocates cite it as worthy of respect as fine wine. Chefs and sommeliers praise its food-friendliness. After spending much of the 20th century in obscurity, the favorite bever- age of America's early settlers, hard cider—or simply cider—has returned with sweet vengeance. Sales are skyrocketing: Nielsen, which tracks off-premise sales of alcoholic beverages, reports sales of hard cider—the fermented juice of apples—grew by a soaring 70% in 2014. New brands arrive on the market seemingly every week. Family farms are being revi - talized. And several heirloom apple varieties have been rescued from near extinction. "Cider is an ancient beverage," observes Elizabeth Ryan, cidermaker of Hudson Valley Farmhouse in upstate New York. "The current revival follows on the heels of the craft beer and gluten-free movements, driven by increasing demand for authentic, farm-based products." Frank Voris, partner and cidermaker at Twisted Limb, New Jersey's first cidery, agrees. "The trend is fueled by cider's refreshing drinkabil - ity and appeal as a local, craft product—one with a historic pedigree." Experimentation with offbeat apple varieties and the rescue of local cultivars is one of the most fascinating aspects of the current cider renaissance says Dan Pucci, Cider Director for Wassail, New York City's first cider bar. "Producers like Steve Selin of South Hill and Eric Shatt of Redbyrd in the Finger Lakes are propagating wild seedlings from untended trees, heirloom varieties that survived centuries and are best suited for the terrior. It's very exciting!" At Twisted Limb, Voris and his team recently planted 200 Harrison and Campfield trees—two local varieties once revered for their quality that were nearly lost in the post-Prohibition era. Unlike common eating varieties, cider apples are tart and tannic, occupying four categories according to ratios of sugar to acid and tannin: sweet, sharp, bittersweet and bittersharp. Names to watch for include Dabinett, Golden Russet, Newtown Pippin, Stoke Red and Yarlington Mill. PHOTO COURTESY OF DOMAINE DUPONT A growler of Hudson Valley Farmhouse Cider "Scrumpy," a traditional-style cider. Jérôme Dupont examines cider apples in his orchard in Normandy, France. PHOTO COURTESY OF HUDSON VALLEY FARMHOUSE CIDER