Hard Cider Reclaims Its Place at the Table

Long before it was beer country, New England was cider country, and in Vermont that old tradition is enjoying a serious revival. Craft cider makers, pressing heirloom apples grown just down the road, are producing complex, food-friendly ciders that increasingly earn a place beside the wine list.

This is not the sweet, fizzy stuff of the supermarket. The new Vermont ciders are often dry, tannic, and sophisticated, made from cider-specific apple varieties and fermented with a winemaker's care. Some are aged in barrels, some are naturally sparkling, and the best rival good wine for complexity and for pairing with food.

The revival draws on the state's deep orchard heritage and its abundance of old, forgotten apple trees, many bearing the sharp, bitter fruit that makes great cider and terrible eating. Cider makers seek them out, coaxing distinctive flavors from apples no grocery store would ever stock. The result is a drink that is both ancient and newly fashionable, and profoundly of this place. At a growing number of Vermont tables, the question is no longer beer or wine, but which cider.