The Return of Fine Cider

From: Avishay Artsy
Length: 03:27

A fine cider revival could provide a lifeline to struggling New Hampshire apple growers. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: The Return of Fine Cider
From: Avishay Artsy

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Thanksgiving is just over a week away. A day when many of the grateful wash down turkey and stuffing with a glass of wine, or celebrate visits from old friends over a cold beer, or two.

One New Hampshire farmer hopes we’ll try sipping on artisanal cider instead. Hard cider is a New England tradition that dates back to the Founding Fathers, and as falling apple prices leave orchard owners struggling to stay afloat, a cider revival could provide a lifeline to New Hampshire growers.

Producer Avishay Artsy went to taste for himself.

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Piece Description

Thanksgiving is just over a week away. A day when many of the grateful wash down turkey and stuffing with a glass of wine, or celebrate visits from old friends over a cold beer, or two.

One New Hampshire farmer hopes we’ll try sipping on artisanal cider instead. Hard cider is a New England tradition that dates back to the Founding Fathers, and as falling apple prices leave orchard owners struggling to stay afloat, a cider revival could provide a lifeline to New Hampshire growers.

Producer Avishay Artsy went to taste for himself.

Broadcast History

Versions of this story aired on New Hampshire Public Radio's Word of Mouth and on NPR's All Things Considered on Nov. 17, 2009.

Transcript

On a late fall day, the production floor at Poverty Lane Orchards in Lebanon, New Hampshire is bustling. A half-dozen seasonal employees from Jamaica grind the apples, press the juice and add yeast. The workers then move the cider to outdoor fermentation tanks, where it sits for as long as 16 months, before bottling and shipping.

Owner Steve Wood began converting his orchards to cider apples twenty years ago. Red Delicious apples from Washington State and cheap imports from China were flooding the market.

"You know, we were growing the same fruit and getting the same praise we had done before, but we weren’t getting as much money, and it was clear we couldn’t keep doing it," Wood said.