French fancies

Ted Bruning understands the ciders of France as he explores the Contentin peninsula in Normandy

All that British tourists usually saw of the Cotentin peninsula – Normandy’s cheery little thumbs-up in the English Channel – was the N13 trunk road.

After a seven-hour crossing, the Cotentin was never more than the first leg of the slog from Cherbourg to the sun.

But Brittany Ferries’ Fastcraft catamaran might just change all that.

Portsmouth-Cherbourg takes only three hours now, so a short break in the Cotentin is a good option – and definitely worth it. Its climate may not be much better than ours; but it’s pretty; it’s tranquil; it has long sandy beaches, quaint towns, and great food (especially seafood); and, of course, being part of Normandy, it has farm cider.

And although Cotentin is so near, you’ll be surprised at how different its cider is from its English cousin.

Like English cider, it’s made from special high-tannin apple varieties.

But it’s rarely fermented to complete dryness, and is usually bottled before it has quite stopped working, creating a natural sparkle that has to be imprisoned within thick glass, corked and wired like Champagne.

The resulting cider’s residual sweetness balances the natural bitterness of the apple, while its creamy mousse that has none of the carbonic attack of artificial gassing.

It’s also slightly less alcoholic than a more fully-attenuated English cider – 4-5% ABV rather than 6-7%, making a 75cl bottle a perfectly feasible option for a lazy lunch.

Another delightful difference is that even small makers hold back much of the.....

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By Ted Bruning

Section : Cider Special

Page number : 46