Cider subscription initiative The Pommelier Club is opening up its service to the wider public to introduce more people to fine cider.
The new service, named The Fundamentals of Fine Cider, has been specifically created for anyone who wants to learn more about the category and expand their knowledge and love of cider further.
The Pommelier Club, which launched during the UK’s first lockdown, was set up to help cider connoisseurs secure select bottlings and releases directly to their door, but the new service proposes to go a stage further and introduce people to cider in a way that builds both their respect and appreciation for it.
The Pommelier Club founder Felix Nash said: “Maybe you’ve heard the words ‘fine cider’ and wonder what it’s all about? Or have seen or tasted a few of our bottles at some of your favourite restaurants (our wholesale side works with restaurants all over the country, from the likes of St John, and The Fat Duck, Lyle’s, to lovely local restaurants, pubs, shops etc.) and heard the buzz in the press about cider undergoing a similar change to what has happened through craft beer and natural wine. The Fundamentals of Fine Cider is the perfect place to start.”
Nash explained that those who sign up the the subscription service “simply and easily taste and learn what it’s all about – afterwards, you’ll know all the basics, all of the simple but important things; the different styles of fine cider, like Keeved cider and what it tastes like, the difference between mass market cider and fine cider, the history of cider, the origin of apples in Kazakhstan and how fine cider is made. A Pommelier is to cider what a Sommelier is to wine; there’s a lot to learn, and so many wonderful new ciders to taste”.
He pointed out that “this is a world away from mass market cider (which in Britain can legally be 35% apple concentrate, and 65% water), that most people know – the cider of today is the aberration in history, an incredibly industrial creation. But before this, especially in the 17th and 18th century ‘heyday’ of cider in Britain, it was known as the ‘Native English Wine’ – made in a wine-like way, with a similar sense of provenance, understanding of apple varieties like wine grapes, and a true sense of terroir.”
As part of the service, subscribers will receive a case of three or six large bottles “mostly 750ml” delivered to their doors – priced at £19 and £48 respectively, excluding delivery. They will also gain access to a series of online articles to teach them the basics of fine cider, access to tech sheets for each of the bottles they taste, information on how each is made as well as suggesting food pairings. There will be free delivery in east and north London but a courier charge for the rest of the country.
Nash added: “For anyone who likes cider, or simply something good to drink, this is for you.”
