DO CIDER APPLE VARIETIES REALLY MATTER?

Ask someone who knows their wine and they might happily spend ten minutes explaining the difference between Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Ask a beer fan about hops and you could find yourself in a detailed conversation about Citra, Mosaic, Nelson Sauvin and Nectaron.

But ask most people which variety of apple is in their cider?

Probably not.

So does the apple variety actually matter?

Yes.

And also, perhaps, not as much as you might think. 

Apples are to cider what grapes are to wine

There are hundreds of apple varieties used in cider making and they don't all taste the same.

Some bring acidity. Some bring sweetness. Others contribute tannin, bitterness, aroma or body.

Traditional cider apples are commonly divided according to their levels of acidity and tannin, including sweets, sharps, bittersweets and bittersharps.

A cider maker can therefore choose different apples depending on the character they're trying to create.

It's not a million miles away from a winemaker choosing grape varieties or a brewer selecting hops.

Change the raw ingredients and you change the possibilities for the finished drink.

Does that mean you need to learn hundreds of apple varieties?

Absolutely not.

Unless you want to.

There are people who find the differences between individual apple varieties fascinating. There are exceptional single-variety and single-orchard ciders that exist specifically to showcase them.

That's brilliant.

But there is another skill in cider making that's arguably just as important:

Blending.

A cider maker can combine different apples and different batches of cider to find the balance they're looking for.

One apple might provide acidity while another gives sweetness. Another might bring tannin and structure. Put them together and you can create something greater than any individual component.

The National Association of Cider Makers describes blending as the cider maker's "dark art", and there's a reason for that.

Consistency matters.

Which brings us to the bit that really matters

We can talk about apple varieties, tannins, fermentation and orchards all day.

But most people aren't standing in front of the fridge thinking:

"I'd really like something with the appropriate balance of bittersweet and sharp apple varieties tonight."

They're thinking:

"I fancy a cider."

And there's nothing wrong with that.

Sometimes the mark of a good drink isn't complexity.

It's reliability.

You know what it's going to taste like. You know you enjoy it. You know that when you open one cold from the fridge, it's going to hit the spot.

That's what we're interested in with Red Fin.

We use 100% fresh pressed apples from Somerset and make cider that's crisp, refreshing and easy to come back to.

The apples matter enormously to us because they're what allow us to make the cider we want.

But we're not going to give you homework before you're allowed to enjoy it.

Know every apple in the orchard if you want to.

Or don't.

Ultimately, the best cider is the one you actually want another glass of.