Cidre de Bretagne

Appearance & taste

Cidre de Bretagne is clear or cloudy, finely beaded and lightly sparkling. The carbon dioxide forms during fermentation and/or is added. The specification describes the aroma as rich, balanced and rustic, or with fruity and floral notes, sometimes with spicy aromas of maturity. Some ciders taste predominantly acidic and are rather pale, others predominantly bitter and mahogany brown; according to the specification, it is known for its balance between bitter, acidic and sweet.

The total alcoholic strength is at least 5.0 % vol., the actual alcoholic strength at least 1.5 % vol. Quantities for industrial purposes and for compound products may also be marketed as non-sparkling.

Production

Only cider apples whose juice contains at least 0.6 g/l of tannins are used; dessert apples are excluded. Bitter and bittersweet apples grow on slightly less than half of the orchard area, sharp and acidic ones on a third and sweet ones on the rest. From these the producers make up their blends. At most 40 % of the must may come from concentrate.

Growing, pressing and fermentation take place in the area. The raw juices are extracted with unheated water, and fermentation takes place cold or at ambient temperature. Caramel is the only colouring permitted.

Origin & history

The area covers all municipalities of the departments of Côtes-d’Armor, Finistère, Ille-et-Vilaine and Morbihan as well as individually listed municipalities in Loire-Atlantique, Maine-et-Loire and Mayenne. The maritime climate, with small temperature differences, regular rainfall, mild summers and few days of frost, favours apple trees but is poorly suited to viticulture.

According to the specification, the cider apple orchards have been planted since the Middle Ages with varieties from Spain (Vizcaya); producers, breeders and nurseries adapted them to the soil and climate, so that a great many varieties emerged. Until the middle of the 19th century cider was made on farms, and after that also in artisanal and industrial businesses. Before 1789 high taxes imposed by the Parliament of Brittany restricted trade; in the first half of the 19th century cider from northern Brittany was shipped to Newfoundland and to the French colonies. Around 1950 the cider houses began to pasteurise sweet ciders. According to the specification, Brittany is the second-largest cider apple region in France.