Hot off the press
Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday August 25, 2009
The apple-based drink is back in vogue with new varieties. FOR Gail and James Kendell, the couple behind Small Acres Cyder, their Orange-based enterprise represents a combination of lifestyle and necessity.€śGail said to me one day that she couldn't get a decent cider in Australia,€ť James says of his English-born wife.€śWe were both working in Sydney's corporate world at the time and looking to make a tree change.€ťThey were fortunate to run into David Pickering of the NSW Department of Primary Industry. Pickering has a cider apple orchard in Orange and specialises in seeking and identifying different apple varieties. €śDavid's got about 70 different varieties in his orchard and we've become very good friends,€ť James says.Pickering helped the couple establish their apple orchard three years ago and has supplied them with fruit. They produced their first cider in 2007. Small Acres Cyder is a vintage product with an annual crush. €śWe've tripled our production this year to 15,000 litres,€ť James says.In the Yarra Valley, Darren Kelly launched Kellybrook sparkling €śchampagne cider€ť in 1969. The Kelly family still makes the bubbly cider by methode champenoise, packaged in a corked and wired champagne bottle.For the past 20 years, the winery has held an annual cider festival on the first weekend of May. This year Darren's sons, Gus and Phil, launched their Kelly Brothers Sparkling Cider, sold in 330-millilitre bottles and kegs. €śKellybrook will always be a more artisan style of cider,€ť Gus says.The apples used, all from the Yarra Valley, are a blend of jonathan, granny smith, pink lady, golden delicious and fuji. Gus says they buy "seconds€ť that €“ due to more strict supermarkets guidelines €“ are vastly superior to the apples previously available.He dismisses mass-market ciders made from apple concentrate as €śfermented cordial€ť and reckons every 330-millilitre bottle of Kelly Brothers Cider contains six apples.Little Creatures Brewery launched its Pipsqueak Cider a few years ago and several other craft breweries have followed suit. But the recently released Tooheys Extra Dry 5 Seeds is the first cider brand spun off an existing beer label.Noticeably crisper and more acidic than other mainstream ciders, 5 Seeds is aimed squarely at drinkers looking for refreshment rather than complex flavour. The name refers to the fact that an apple cut across the core correctly should reveal five individual seed chambers.With so many new Australian cider brands, how do you pick the good stuff from run-of-the-mill? In general, premium cider is made from 100 per cent English or French cider apple varieties. The best middle-range brands are produced from apple juice of some description, while fizzy, over-sweet mainstream cider is mostly made from sugar and apple concentrate.TASTING NOTESSMALL ACRES APPSCATO 2009 (7 per cent) Colour Golden tan. Nose Intense cut apple. Palate Softly carbonated, richly complex mid-palate with sweet-acid-sharp apple notes; finishes medium-sweet. Overall A mouthful of apple flavours carried along nicely with the restrained frizzante carbonation.SMALL ACRES SOMERSET STILL 2009 (7 per cent) Colour Medium gold. Nose Earthy with faint apple notes. Palate Tannin and acid notes upfront, mid-palate has red-apple notes, finishes dry. Overall Fine, dry.KELLY BROTHERS SPARKLING CIDER (7 per cent) Colour Clear with faint greenish tinge. Nose Bruised apple skin. Palate Soft apple notes upfront, sweetish mid-palate with nice apple characters, finishes faintly dry. Overall Medium-sweet with solid fruit credentials.TOOHEY'S EXTRA DRY 5 SEEDS (5 per cent) Colour pallid straw. Nose apple sherbet. Palate green apple notes at first, acidic mid-palate, lingering dry finish. Overall refreshing but acid characters override any fruit content.
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald