Thirst growing for craft hard ciders, an alternative to beer and wine(3)
Secret to cider
Foggy Ridge is an example of the ultra-purist cider maker, one that “manipulates” its product as little as possible, says owner Diane Flynt.
Flynt, who participated in the Charleston Wine + Food Festival in March, left banking and the corporate world in the late 1990s in pursuit of a rural, agricultural life. She and her husband bought 250 acres in one-traffic-light Carroll County, Va.
They planted 25 acres in apples, waited five years for them to mature and went to various cider-making schools in the interim. Foggy Ridge sold its first cider in 2006 and first in South Carolina in 2011.
For Flynt, the secret of good cider is in the apple varieties represented. The more complexly flavored heirloom apples make a big difference in a cider’s flavor and body, she says. That and letting nature take its course.
“I grow carefully selected apple varieties, harvest them by hand, and press when they’re ripe. We don’t do a whole lot to it.”
Flynt, whose cider comes in 750 ml bottles like wine, says people shouldn’t assume that all ciders are “craft” products even as the market becomes more developed and intense.
“Many are made from apple juice concentrate from China,” she says. Many of them are sweetened heavily and have added coloring, making them factory formula ciders as opposed to truly handcrafted.
The market is changing, especially for serious cider makers. Flynt attended the first “cider summit” this winter in Chicago. “It’s an exciting time,” she says.
Says Sharkey, “Cider is absolutely delicious and refreshing. I think the more people are exposed to it and realize it’s not just a sweet, syrupy drink, the more they like it.”
