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The art within an apple: Sea Cider
By Holly Rose
Located on a picturesque hillside in Saanichton, the Sea Cider Farm & Ciderhouse is a thing of beauty. Not only is the view from the Ciderhouse a spectacular panoramic ocean view, but the orchard trees stretch out in front, heavy with the burden of growing apples.
Some might even speculate that it is the beautiful ocean view that sweetens these apples. But one sip of cider hints at the many secrets stored in the flesh of this, the original fruit.
Cider has a rich history with its noted variations from country to country. Cider can be classified from dry to sweet. Its appearance ranges from cloudy with sediment to entirely clear, with colour ranging from brown to orange to light yellow. These variations in colour and sediment are mostly a result of the filtering done between pressing and fermentation.
In Canada, cider making was forbidden during the early years of British rule because it conflicted with the British brewers’ interests (most notably, perhaps, John Molson). There are a few delightful reasons for cider's resurgence.
1. Apples are approachable
While there is a great deal of lore and mystery surrounding the divine grapevine, apples are equally unabashed. They are your mother's fruit (baked in manya pie), the doctor's recommendation and the bounty of fall.
2. There is simplicity to serving cider
I have found cider to be strangely unifying. I’ll confess, there have been dinner parties where I wanted the simplicity of serving something lovely without fussing over the beer drinkers who might be in attendance or the number of red vs white wine drinkers. Amazingly, cider has always proved to be the unifier. It's wonderful to pair with food and even better to pair with guests. 3. Apples grow well in British Columbia
This means we are writing our own ticket and people, like the owners of Sea Cider, are playing with their fruit without trying to make it fit a specific mold. While there are the standards, like the old world Scrumpy that hails from the West Country of England, there is a whole new generation at play that our taste buds purely benefit from.
Owner Kristen Jordan nurtured a love of cider during time spent in her youth in Wales. Her husband Bruce shares that passion and together they have grown Sea Cider into a thriving award-winning Ciderhouse.
You can enjoy their organic cider on location and even experience a flight of nine different Sea Ciders for $16. I highly recommend sharing, as the portions are generous. The Ciderhouse also offers an artisan plate of cheese and nibblies for under $15, which truly showcases the possibilities for food pairing.
Well, here we are at the end of our time this week, and we have barely scratched the surface of the tasting notes to be found at Sea Cider. So look forward to next week as we delve into the apple's effervesce and savour the unique flavours found at Sea Cider.
- Photos & text by Holly Rose©
