Cider’s booming sales, which have changed its image from a rough and ready scrumpy into a fashionable drink, are due in a large measure to the much publicised Magners and other mass produced ciders. But these ‘industrial’ ciders are a world apart from traditional farm house cider, which itself has undergone a renaissance over the last couple of decades through the efforts of an expanding number of West Country producers who have brought a fresh eye to old production methods and set high standards of quality. This vibrant new generation of craftsmen cidermakers is showcased by James Crowden in Ciderland, a totally engrossing cider travelogue, which takes the author from Cornwall to Herefordshire via Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Gloucestershire in search of the very best. Twenty two producers feature in the chapters, which are prefaced by a history of cider making and completed with a Gazetteer of 120 makers that includes farms over in Monmouthshire and further into Wales and even the islands of Jersey and Guernsey.

The term ‘Ciderland’ was coined in the seventeenth century to describe the West Country. It was then that the foundations of today’s farmhouse businesses were laid and when some of the best minds of the age were preoccupied with the challenges of making good cider and perry in an attempt to create an English drink that would see off imported French wines. In so doing they not only achieved great strides forward on many fronts, but also developed the bottle-fermented sparkling process, better known as the methode champenoise, the way to make champagne, although the French version of events credits its invention to Dom Perignon, a monk and cellar master at the Abbey Hautvilliers near Epernay. The Englishmen’s experiments were reported and discussed at some of the first meetings of the Royal Society during the period 1662-1663, and appropriately the Society’s Library in London formed the venue on 12 October for James Crowden's  talk on this period in cider’s history, subtitled ‘Beating the French at their own game’. The two key steps - development of tough glass bottles to contain the pressures generated by the effervescent liquor and the addition of a ‘walnut of sugar’ to the bottles to start secondary fermentation and give the sparkle in the glass - were achieved by English cider makers by 1663 some five years before Dom Perignon came to Abbey Hautville and more than twenty years before champagne wine was described by Madame de Sévigné, the French diarist and socialite. Enthused with the notion that France’s cherished wine has an English origin, our expectations were satisfied with a tasting of ciders and perrys, which demonstrated just how wonderful and varied these can be. (see below for a list of those we sampled)

In Ciderland, Crowden lets the modern day producers tell their own stories: why they took up cider making, what motivates them and their ambitions, with masses of information on their orchards, the varieties of cider apples used, the way in which the juice is pressed and how it is fermented - many employ indigenous yeasts clinging to the fruit and press, rather than the more reliable route of introducing a wine yeast. English cider is usually fermented to dryness, but some makers are experimenting with the Normandy method, which involves a slower fermentation and bottling just before fermentation is complete; it then continues in the bottle to give a sparkle and natural sweetness.  He explores each locality, its soils and micro climate, which all contribute to cider’s individuality and the enormous diversity that is now available.

What makes their cider and mass produced cider so different is first and foremost the apples they use. Farmhouse cider is 100% fresh juice pressed from home grown cider apples. The giants of the industry use apple concentrate as their starting point; it can be produced on the premises or bought in and made from any type of apple. This is reconstituted, may be diluted in the process, fermented, supplemented with flavourings and colourings and carbonised to give a fizz.  Craftsmen cider makers have a different approach as Julian Temperley of Barrow Hill Somerset Cider and a pioneer in this new movement puts it:  ‘The industrial cider makers take their inspiration from the world of lager. We take our inspiration from the world of wine and there is a big difference. You don’t expect your Châteaux Petrus to be made from concentrate. It is a divergence of philosophy. The answer is that “farm pressed” means exactly what it says. No Chinese concentrate here.’

Cider apples - bitter sweets and bitter sharps, the two main types - are high in tannins which are essential  for a good cider; they give it backbone, and contribute to the aromas and flavour. Bramleys and eating apples, which often form part or the bulk of concentrates, contain very little or no tannin resulting in a bland, innocuous drink. Of course, you can still come across mouth puckering astringent ciders, but this is the antithesis of a good farmhouse cider. In  the words of Jan Rich of Rich’s Farmhouse Cider: ‘What I am aiming to create here is a taste of Somerset, all of its own, and when people come here they can get the feel of the lovely things we make here, and try them and take them home and help other small producers.’  

Many aspire to make a drink that can rival a fine wine and a number also produce perry, the pear equivalent of cider, made from perry pears. Traditionally perry is the speciality of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire, although now also produced elsewhere. Perry pears, like their domestic counterparts can be a challenge to get right, but if everything goes well the results are subtle, exciting and delicious. ‘Perry is a fickle mistress’  and perry making ‘definitely an art’ says Tom Oliver, who is at the forefront of perry’s revival. Oliver’s perrys, those of James Marsden of Gregg's Pit  orchard, also in Herefordshire,  and Kevin Minchew from outside Tewkesbury near Gloucester have secured a place at some of the smartest restaurants.  With the number of perry orchards increasing the future of perry looks set to prosper.  

Fruit Forum can thoroughly recommend Ciderland to all lovers of cider and perry  and readers interested in the English countryside, its crafts and the way in which orchards have contributed to our regional landscapes. Crowden's passion for his subject is infectious and perfectly complemented by the glorious photographs taken by Claire Lloyd Davies.

Joan Morgan

We tasted: Kingston Black cider, an aperitif called ‘Pomona’ and 15 year old Cider Brandy, Alchemy, from Burrow Hill Cider, Somerset (www.ciderbrandy.co.uk)
Blakeney Red perry from Tom Oliver at Ocle Pychard (www.theolivers.org.uk ); Flaky Bark perry from James Marsden at Gregg's Pit, Much Marcle (www.greggs-pit.co.uk  );  both in Herefordshire
Eclipse cider, from Alex Hill of Bollhayes Cider and Vigo in Devon (www.vigoltd.com)
Perry from Roy Bailey of the Lambourn Valley Cider Company in Berkshire (www.labournvalley.co.uk)

Ciderland by James Crowden, with photographs by Claire Lloyd Davies, published 2008 by Birlinn Limited, Edinburgh, £20; pp 256; numerous colour photographs, paperback; www.jamescrowden.co.uk

Ciderland has been awarded two prizes: the André Simon 2008 Book Award and  the American, International Assocation of Culinary Professionals (IACP)  2009 Award.