Where to Find Artisanal Ciders in Phoenix AZ

Artisanal Ciders Offer Wine-Like Pleasures

Although this website--and my career--are devoted to wine, it's sometimes fun to explore intriguing beverages made from fruit other than grapes.  When I tasted ice wines for a previous WRO column, for example, one of the most delicious versions was made from apples. 

In search of a new twist on New Year's Eve bubbly for this year's pre-holiday column, I stumbled across some fascinating sparkling ciders in a local wine shop.  These ciders were not the mass-produced type that you find in 12-ounce beer bottles, or on tap at Ye Olde English-Style Pub; these were packaged in stylish 750ml Champagne bottles that sold for up to $19 per bottle.  Clearly, these ciders were a different animal. 

But before I get into detail about these artisan-made ciders, let's review a quick history of cider's place in American beverage culture.  In Colonial times, hard cider was America's most popular drink--particularly for working-class folks.  Carrying the tradition over from England, many people made their own cider and even preferred it to water, which wasn't always fit for drinking.  But by the time Prohibition rolled around, its popularity had waned considerably.  Some say that German immigrants turned the locals from cider to beer; others say that apples became too scarce and expensive for the working man.  Either way, the result was the same: cider practically disappeared from American households and taverns, and Prohibition essentially finished it off. 

Meanwhile, it continued to flourish in England and France, as well as Spain and other European countries. 

In the 1980s cider made something of a comeback in the U.S., with English brands like Woodpecker and Blackthorn appearing in bars and on grocery store shelves.  But it has never regained the mass appeal of pre-Prohibition times. 

Fast-forward to the 21st century and you'll find that a new cider renaissance is taking place--one in which artisan producers aim to elevate cider from the status of 'sweet beer alternative' to a complex beverage akin to wine. 

One such producer is Wandering Aengus Ciderworks, based in Salem, Oregon.  The cidery uses sustainable and organic farming practices to produce four different ciders, ranging from dry to dessert-style.  

I sampled the Wandering Aengus Heirloom Blend Cider, and found it to be golden-hued, lightly effervescent and very tasty.  With a sweet apple-juice aroma, the cider had a surprisingly dry apple flavor, good tannin structure and a crisp, tart finish.  In other words: It was nothing like the ciders I've tasted in English/Irish pubs in the United States.  So what makes ciders like this one so different?

'The most important aspect of our ciders is they are real ciders made primarily from cider apples, not eating apples,' explains James Kohn of Wandering Aengus. 

As with winemaki...