We visited Northern France in the summer, and toured the Route de Cidre – which is a tourist trail where you can visit a fine selection of traditional cider makers in the North of the country.
France is the second largest consumer of cider
.. after the UK. France consumes 13% of all cider made in Europe, 63.7 million litres of cider was made in France in 2007.
The main regions for cider makers are..
Pay D’Auge, and Domfront – both in Normandy, and Cornouaille in Brittany.
It varies in strength from below 4% alcohol to considerably more.Cidre Doux is a sweet cider, usually up to 3% in strength. ‘Demi-Sec’ is 3–5% and Cidre Brut is a strong dry cider of 5% alcohol and above. Most French ciders are sparkling. Higher quality cider is sold in champagne-style bottles (cidre bouché).
Visiting French producers you will be able to taste Cider ‘Cru de Cambremer’, Poire (perry), Calvados and Pommeau – Normandy’s own ‘aperitif’.
There is only one sure fire way to distinguish industrial ciders from outstanding artisanal cider
.. by looking for the AOC (Appellation d’origne controllee) mark on the label. These are legal guarantees of geographical origin, traditional methods of production and quality.
Recommended cidre, poire, calvados and pommeau producers in Normandy:
- Grandval, near Cambremer
- Pierre Huet, Cambremer
- Dupont, near Cambremer
- Manoir D’Apreval, Pennedepie, Honfleur 14600
- Calvados Boulvard, Coquainvilliers 14130
View our list of French cider producers.
We hope you enjoy the photos, and encourage you to visit this special area of France!