Frankfurt am Main is definitely the apple wine capital of Germany and some say of the whole world. Apple wine is a German variant of hard cider, which is made all over the world, in some regions sparkling, in others sweet. In Frankfurt, you are typically served a tart, dry apple wine with around 6 percent alcohol, in one of the many apple wine taverns.
Making Apple Wine (Hard Cider)
Just as wine making begins in the vineyard, hard ider making begins in the orchard. Tree ripened fruit, picked at maximum flavor and sweetness is the best starting point for hard cider. But there is one big difference between hard cider and wine: Apples must be ground before pressing. The entire apple is ground to a pulp called pommace. The pulp is almost always pressed immediately. The next step is the fermentation. Generally, there is less sugar to ferment in apples than in grapes. Therefore, cider tends to have lower alcohol content than wine.
In the cellar, hard cider makers have as many options for managing fermentation as winemakers — chaptalization, wild yeast, temperature control, adding sterilized juice, malolactic fermentation, stopping fermentation before dryness to achieve a naturally sweetened hard cider, to name a few issues.
Like wine made from grapes, the flavor of hard cider can vary from dry to sweet. Like sparkling and still wine, both sparkling and still hard ciders are made. Sometimes the hard cider is cloudy with sediment and sometimes completely clear. The color can range from light yellow through orange to brown. The variations in clarity and color are mostly due to filtering between pressing and fermentation. In terms of alcohol content, hard cider can vary from 2% to 8.5%. Generally, apples grown for consumption are suitable for hard cider making, although there are also special hard cider apples.
For sparkling hard cider, basically the same methods are available as for sparkling wine. Higher quality hard ciders can be made the same way as Champagne is produced. A few producers in Quebec, inspired by ice wine, developed cidre de glace - ice hard cider. Calvados from Normandy is distilled from hard cider. Hard cider may also be used to make vinegar.
Hard Cider in the World
Apple wine is a German variant of hard cider, which is made all over the world. The French cidre is produced in Normandy and Brittany. It comes as cidre doux, cidre demi-sec and cidre brut, but most French cidre is sweet. Typically, French ciders are sparkling. Higher quality French cider is sold in champagne-style bottles (cidre bouché). German hard cider has a tart, sour taste. In the UK, hard cider is available in sweet, medium and dry varieties. In the US during colonial times, apple hard cider was the main beverage, but after prohibition the word hard cider came to mean unfiltered apple juice. Alcoholic cider is called hard cider in the US. German apple wine typically has an alcohol content of 4%–9% and a tart, sour taste. Traditionally, it is not bubbly.
Hard cider was already known to the ancient Greeks and Romans. In the 11th century it was introduced into Spain and was used there as a medicine for scurvy. It was introduced into England in 1066 when William the Great brought some from France into England.
Apple Wine Made at the Apple Wine Tavern
In the old days, the apple wine taverns would make their own apple wine. This has changed dramatically. In Sachsenhausen, for example, except for the Buchscheer, which is not in the central part, none of the apple wine taverns still make their own apple wine.
Still, there are a number apple wine taverns in the Frankfurt region where you can drink “home-made” apple wine. 10 years ago, I compiled a list of apple wine taverns where you still can enjoy apple wine made on the premises.
See: Schiller's Favorites: Frankfurt Apple Wine Taverns that Make their own Apple Wine - Frankfurter Apfelweinlokale die noch selbst Keltern, Germany
Apple Wine Tasting at Mainlust/ Desche Otto
Christian Schuetz Delivering his Schuetz Apple Wine
A few days ago, I happened to be there when Christian Schuetz of Apple Manufaktur Schuetz delivered his apple wine.
Bretzelmann
Apfelweinkellerei Gerardo
Among the guests was @Gerhard Knoblauch of @Apfelweinkellerei Gerardo in Hofheim, who makes high-end sparkling hard cider/ Apfelwein, while we tasted entry-level apple wines of 6 different producers.
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