Take a DIY cider tour of Vermont Diane Bair
Could Vermont become the Napa Valley of the cider industry? Why not, say the folks at the Vermont Cider Association (www.vermontcider.com). They’re planning to design a Vermont Cider Trail, “a real destination for cider enthusiasts,” says vice president Sara Trivelpiece of Champlain Orchards. “Cider is so versatile, and it can bridge the gap between wine, beer, cocktails, and seltzer while being made from real, sustainable fruit.”
For the record, we’re talking hard cider, or what the rest of the world calls, simply, cider. (What we call “cider,” they call “apple juice.”) Most have between 5 percent and 7 percent alcohol by volume. This beverage has a long history in New England. For Colonists, potable water was scarce, so drinking fermented beverages was the healthy choice. Historians note that even children drank a weakened hard cider called “ciderkin.”