The world of sparkling cider is a vast and wondrous one. We’ve explored some of it already by looking at the science behind the little bubbles that dance around in our glasses of cider, as well as some of the key historical events that went into harnessing the bubbles in our favourite alcoholic drinks. Now the fun begins—tasting and exploring our way across the different types of sparkling cider that there is on offer. So let’s look at the main types of sparkling cider you might come across, how they work to produce carbonation, why makers may opt for these methods and some examples of ciders if you want to try these methods for yourself. Then, to help you get the most out of your bubbles, we’ll take a little look at some of the best ways to store and serve your sparkling cider. Getting thirsty? Let’s dive right in.
Photos by Rebecca Fletcher
A wine and cider writer, featured in Wine52’s Glug magazine, Pellicle magazine, Burum Collective and Two Belly. The mind behind wine newsletter J’adore le Plonk and an untiring advocate for spritzing every drink she can get her hands on.
Pétillant-Naturel the oldest method in the book when it comes to sparkling drinks, so where better to start? So old, in fact, it is often referred to as the Ancestral Method—or Méthode Ancestrale—and dates back to the 16th Century.
Pétillant-Naturel, or Pét-Nat as it is commonly abbreviated to, involves bottling cider before its first fermentation has completed. As the last of the fermentation occurs inside the bottle— which can lead to this method being referred to as a form of bottle conditioning—the yeast eats the remaining sugar and the carbon dioxide made as a result becomes trapped inside the pressure of the closed bottle.
Two things happen as a result of this. First of all, the trapped carbon dioxide causes a soft, smooth fizz that froths and foams like a very good bubble bath. The bubbles are bigger and the speed of the carbonation is slower creating a friendlier mouthfeel than the slightly pricklier Traditional Method we’ll come onto.
The second is that once the yeast has fermented all the sugar into alcohol it dies, turning into dead yeast cells—or lees—often resulting in a harmless sediment that settles on the bottom of the bottle.
There are many reasons a producer may choose this method of carbonating their cider. As you’ll soon see, Pét-Nat involves slightly less stages and interference in comparison to other methods, making it a favourite amongst natural cider producers. It is also a much speedier way of naturally carbonating cider as the maker only has to undergo one fermentation, as opposed to two.
A downside to this is that once the cider is in the bottle there is no room for error. Bottle too early and you may find yourself with an exploding cider and bottle too late and the fermentation may leave very little sparkle in the glass. So it’s always a sign of an expert maker when you get a bottle that is bang on.
Here are some examples if you want to see for yourself:
– Find & Foster, Pét-Nat Cider
Next up, is perhaps the crème de la crème of sparkling cider methods. Traditional method, sometimes known as Champagne Method or Méthode Champenoise, owes a lot to English innovators and cider makers in the 17th Century, as discussed in more detail in this Enthusiast’s Guide to the History of Sparkling Cider . But thanks to the marketing minds of the Champagne region, it’s a method that is replicated all over the world.
Whereas Pétillant-Naturel involves just one fermentation and the trick is all in the timing, the Traditional Method is a little more complicated.
Apples are picked, pressed and fermented into a still, base cider. This cider is then bottled with a crown cap, with the addition of what is referred to as a liqueur de tirage.
Liqueur de tirage is a solution of cider, yeast and sugar that is added to our aforementioned base cider as it is bottled, kick starting a secondary fermentation in the process. The added yeast feeds on the added sugar creating—as with Pét-Nat—excess carbonation and dead yeast cells in the process.
Now, with Pét-Nat the leftover yeast is allowed to stay in the bottle, it’s part of its charm. But with the Traditional Method the yeast is removed in order to achieve a drink that is as clear and sediment free as possible. This is done by two processes called riddling and disgorging.
Riddling refers to the technique of slowly rotating and tilting the bottles so that the sediment loosens and becomes trapped in the neck. This process is very time consuming and meticulous and can either be done by hand or by machine. The aim is to encourage the sediment to the neck of the bottle without disturbing the rest of the cider in the process.
Once all of that yeasty sediment has settled in the neck of the bottle, the bottle is then dipped in a brine solution and frozen, ready for the next process: disgorgement.
Speed is of the element here. In order to successfully disgorge a cider, the crown cap must be removed, the frozen sediment taken out of the bottle and a liqueur d’expedition added, just before the cork and cage is inserted all whilst maintaining pressure so as not to lose the fizz. A liqueur d’expedition—also known as dosage—replaces the volume of cider lost during the disgorgement process, often with a further addition of cider, sometimes with additional sugar, too.
Then et voilà! We have traditional method cider! Quite the journey, isn’t it?
This is a method of carbonating cider that takes a lot of time. From harvest to finished product, traditional method cider can take many months if not years to make, even more so if the maker is aiming for a more complex, finished product.
So why go to all that effort?
Well for starters, it tastes really good. That second fermentation doesn’t just add those wonderful streaming beads of bubbles to the cider, it adds wonderful complexity to its flavour as well. Think walking down the street to your favourite bakery as you get a waft of freshly baked brioche, then the powdered sugar flakes of almond croissant gathering on your tongue or the smooth vanilla flecked custard of a plum danish. The lees—leftover yeast cells—works to introduce lots of wonderful bakery product flavours into the cider that is hard to replicate. Here are some examples if you want to see for yourself:
On the other end of the sparkling spectrum from the traditional method is perhaps the force carbonated method.
Not unlike the soda streams you can buy for your own home, force carbonating is the practice of creating fizzy cider by, as the name suggests, simply forcing carbon dioxide through the cider to create bubbles.
Whereas Pét-Nat relies on the maker’s knowledge of fermentations and timings, and the Traditional Method involves a lot of complex processes, force carbonating is a slightly more accessible method of creating sparkling cider that can be done any time once a cider has fermented.
It is a method also favoured by those who want to ensure there is consistency across their carbonation, as there is far less margin for error with this method. The ciders will experience changes to their textures, but their taste will remain the same as no extra yeast—dead or alive—will have been added to the cider in order to carbonate. This is a method that prioritises the flavour of the fruit over the flavour of processes.
This method is also frequently used by homebrewers, as well as commercial cider making companies. If you’re intrigued by the style it might be worth talking to your local home brew groups but it’s also likely that most large scale cider makers looking for efficiency and consistency will carbonate their cider this way.
You may be familiar with the Charmat method—sometimes referred to as the tank method—as that is the method of choice for Prosecco production.
Although widely known for its use in Prosecco making, the Charmat method is a French invention, developed and patented in the early 20th century in Bordeaux by a man named Eugene Charmat.
In order to carbonate a cider using the Charmat method you would first allow your juice to fully ferment into cider. Then,this cider would be taken, placed into a large tank and have yeast and sugar added. A secondary fermentation would take place in the tank, under a lot of pressure and the freshly carbonated cider will be bottled—also under pressure—once it is done.
The result is a cider that tastes as if bubbles have been added to it, as opposed to a cider that has additional tastes and characteristics as a result of a secondary fermentation. So whereas Pét-Nat and Traditional Method ciders may have flavours they have acquired from their time on lees, those ciders made with Charmat Method will stay true in flavour to their base cider form.
This tank method also allows for sparkling cider to be made in bulk and over a much faster timeline—no riddling or disgorging required here!—which would make it a more economical option for some producers.
An example if you would like to try this for yourself:
A cross between Pét-Nat and the Charmat method, the lesser spotted Col Fondo is Italian for “with the bottom” and is a method also used predominantly for Prosecco variant wines in Italy.
Whereas Pét-Nat involves one fermentation in the bottle, Col Fondo undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle but is not disgorged like traditional method ciders. The result is a slightly hazier cider, with lots of aged, yeasty complexity resulting in pastry and baked sourdough flavours.
An example if you would like to try this for yourself:
Keg conditioned, as you may have guessed, involves a cider’s fermentation finishing inside the keg, not the bottle, which gives the drink an ever so slight effervescence. Sometimes referred to as live cider, keg-conditioned cider adds a slightly vivacious spritz to the drink that complements an apple’s characteristics, without changing it too much or distracting from the intended flavour or structure.
A little leftover yeast will occur during this process, but not enough to change the taste and texture as can happen with Pét-Nat or Col Fondo methods, instead they add some ageing potential to the cider as well as acting as a barrier against oxidation.
Whereas force carbonated cider often involves cider having to be sent away to be carbonated before being returned to the maker, keg conditioned can be done on site, in a similar manner to bottling. This not only makes it a more economical option for the maker, but also works to reduce the amount a cider has to travel throughout its production.
A great example of keg conditioned ciders are those made by the Ross On Wye Cider & Perry Company, should you like to seek this style out for yourself.
So you’ve got a thirst for some sparkling cider and you’ve bought some bottles to try all these different styles for yourself. How best to store them?
As a rule there are a couple of things that your bottled cider won’t like: really warm temperatures, bright lights and lots of movement or vibrations. Storing them on their side when you can, away from direct sunlight and sources of heat is ideal, but if you plan on drinking them soon then most places in your home should be fine.
Not everyone has access to a specialised cider cellar so for long term storage some good options that have never failed me are in a cupboard, in a wine rack, in a garage or under the bed.
Now comes the exciting part, serving your sparkling cider!
If you’ve been storing your cider on its side now is the time to place it upright, probably about 24 hours before serving if you can. If you have a style that is prone to sediment (Pét-Nat or Col Fondo) then this gives the sediment a chance to sink to the bottom of the bottle and separate itself from the rest of the cider. Think of it as a reverse riddling process.
Ideal serving temperatures are between 2-6°C—sparkling drinks like to be cold, especially in preparation for being opened—but as long as you remember to place your bottle in the fridge a few hours before serving you’ll be absolutely fine. If not, a trick of the sommelier trade is the salt/ice/water trick. Adding salt to ice and water encourages the ice to melt faster which in turn should cool your bottle down in a much quicker time.
Just remember that the pressure involved in bottling sparkling cider is not to be trifled with. Make sure your cider is cold before opening as the bubbles won’t be so aggressive when the cider is properly chilled down. Ensure the bottle isn’t pointed at anyone or anything that could easily break and with your Pét-Nat styles perhaps ensure you are near to a sink—just in case! There’s nothing to fear with opening sparkling cider, but it’s important to stay safe all the same.
In terms of glassware there is no wrong option here, but there are a couple of styles that lend themselves to sparkling drinks. Flutes work well to emphasise the bubbles in your glass and—as covered in the Enthusiast’s History of Sparkling Cider—is actually one of the oldest known cider glass styles in existence. So who are we to break from tradition?
A tulip shaped wine glass works well too. If anything, a wider glass will work to help you get all those wonderful cider aromas and flavours as well as the textures from the bubbles. But really, as long as you enjoy the cider and the people you are drinking it with, there’s no right and wrong glass for anything. Go with whatever speaks to you the most.
And there we have it, a connoisseur’s guide to sparkling cider!
You should now feel a little more confident in navigating the differences between sparkling cider methods and understanding why those makers have made those choices. The only thing left to master now is the drinking side!
There’s lots of fun to be had here. You can try and tick off each method to see if you can notice the difference between the bubbles. Perhaps once you’ve done that you might want to try the same variety over different sparkling cider methods or taste your way through one maker’s journey through different methods. How does Pét-Nat differ from the Traditional Method? How do the two compare to the Charmat method? And where does your pint of keg conditioned cider fit into this sparkling spectrum?
There’s a whole world of fizzy fun to be had now. You’d better get started.
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