Cider

Cidre is French cider: a beverage created through the fermentation of fresh apple must, usually slightly sparkling, with residual sweetness and significantly less alcohol than wine.

Cidre is French apple cider: a drink created through the fermentation of fresh apple must, usually slightly sparkling, with residual sweetness and significantly less alcohol than wine.

The Duden dictionary identifies Normandy and Brittany as its home and recognizes the Germanized spelling "Zider." In France, the name is as strictly regulated as a legal product designation: "Cidre" may only be used for products fermented from the must of fresh apples or a mixture of apple and pear must, with or without the addition of water. Poiré is its pear-based counterpart. There is no Europe-wide regulation; each country writes its own, and it is precisely these regulations that account for the differences you taste in your glass.

What is the alcohol content of Cidre?

Between two and six percent ABV, and the sweetness tells you where it falls. With Cidre, the alcohol content is not determined by the variety, but by the moment fermentation ends. Yeast consumes the fructose and converts it into alcohol and carbon dioxide; if it is stopped early, sugar remains in the glass and the alcohol content stays low. In France, the levels are based exactly on this: Cidre doux has a maximum of 3 percent ABV and at least 35 grams of residual sugar per liter; brut is under 28 grams, and demi-sec falls in between. Brittany calculates a brut at 3.5 to 5 percent ABV and calls anything above that extra-brut. The Pays d'Auge designation of origin from Normandy requires at least 3.5 percent ABV in the glass and at least 6 percent total potential ABV, including the sugar still present in the bottle. For a comparison from the shelf: The Cidre L'Inimitable from Maison Sassy has 5.2 percent ABV with 30 grams of residual sugar per liter, the Rosé from the same house has 3 percent ABV, and the Poiré has 2.5 percent ABV. The German guidelines define a range for apple Cidre of 2 to 4.5 percent ABV, as it is only partially fermented.

What is the difference between Apfelwein and Cidre?

The remaining sugar and the carbonation. According to the guidelines of the German Food Code, Apfelwein (apple wine) is fully fermented, has at least 5 percent ABV, and is usually served still and dry; the mention of "Speierling" on the label promises an Apfelwein emphasized by tannins and acidity. In the same terminology, apple Cidre is a partially fermented Apfelwein: fermentation is interrupted, 2 to 4.5 percent ABV remains, along with fructose and carbonation. Since the revised guidelines of January 2026, there is also the category "Apfel Cider," spelled with an 'i': 1.2 to 8.5 percent ABV, carbonation between 1 and 2.5 bar, and production may include apple juice or concentrate, honey, natural apple flavoring, and up to 50 percent water. This is not a value judgment, but a boundary line on the label: if you want to know whether there were only apples in the bottle, check the ingredients. The Pays d'Auge designation of origin mandates the opposite: pure juice from cider apples, no pasteurization, no added carbonation, no water; the sparkle is created in the bottle, just like in sparkling wine. This "cidre bouché" emerged there in the late 19th century, and Normandy's apple culture began following the same specifications in the 11th century, when Norman sailors brought tannin-rich varieties from the Basque country.

How does Cidre taste?

Like apple, but an apple you wouldn't eat raw. Cider apples are small, tannin-rich varieties, and Normandy sorts them according to what they contribute to the glass: bitter and bittersweet varieties with high tannin content, plus acidic and sweet ones. In the Pays d'Auge, at least 70 percent of an orchard must consist of tannin-rich varieties, with acidic ones accounting for a maximum of 15 percent. The product specifications describe the result as follows: golden-yellow to orange, a sweet opening, a slightly bitter finish, low acidity; when young, the Cidre smells of fruit and fresh butter, and with maturation, notes of leather develop. A brut tastes tart and dry, a doux soft and reminiscent of apple pie. In Schlat, Jörg Geiger uses the Swabian word "räs" to describe what characterizes his old meadow orchard varieties: intensely tart notes from tannin-rich fruits that you wouldn't pick and bite into. The manufactory collects 80 fruit varieties from over 370 farmers within a 100-kilometer radius and consciously pays more than the market price so that the meadows are preserved. Maison Sassy presses its L'Inimitable from 22 Norman apple varieties; the house is located at the Château de Sassy, the family estate of one of the two founders, and according to their own statements, they only press fruit on their own press, handling everything from variety selection to bottling in the region.

How do you drink Cidre?

Cold, from a glass, with food. In Brittany, it was traditionally served in a "bolée," a small bowl made of fired clay, because that was the type of tableware used in the countryside; today, if you want to fully experience the aromas, use a stemmed wine glass, as the Breton tourism board itself advises. The sweetness determines the dish: Cidre doux with crêpes and desserts, brut with buckwheat galettes, extra-brut with seafood. Charcuterie, fish, poultry, pork, a Camembert, and a fruit tart also pair well. A Poiré is the softer, more floral sister that pairs alongside a dessert. And one tip known from sparkling wine: keep the bottle cold, do not shake it, and open it slowly, because the carbonation comes from the fermentation and pushes upward when the cork is removed.

Cidre, Poiré, and Cider from Normandy to South Tyrol

All bottles can be found under Cidre. From Maison Sassy comes the Cidre L'Inimitable, the Cidre Rosé La Sulfureuse, and the Poiré Le Vertueux. From Schlat come the Swabian Cider mild and the Meadow Fruit Cider by Jörg Geiger, and from the South Tyrolean lowlands, the Iduna Apple Cider from the Hofkellerei Maffei, fermented from three apple varieties in pressurized tanks, with 5.5 percent ABV.

Sources

Last checked on September 16, 2026

By Kerstin Uhlenbusch