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Further evidence of these ciders’ value lies in the Museum of London, in the form of a drinking glass made in London sometime between 1642 and 1660 with an S for Scudamore and exquisitely rendered apples upon it. You wouldn’t use such a glass for scrumpy. In fact, it bears a striking resemblance to a modern champagne flute, a glass designed specifically to keep hold of precious bubbles.
These bubbles could only have been created in England because only in England was glass made strong enough to take the pressure of fermentation — the pressure inside a modern Champagne bottle is something like the tyre-pressure of a bus. The modern wine bottle had been invented around 1633 by Sir Kenelm Digby, a founder member of the Royal Society. Previously glass was delicate and bottles were just for storing. In his snappily titled book The Closet of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelme Digbie Knight Opened, he outlines in detail how to make a strong sparkling cider for bottling. The cider would be bottled and sealed while still fermenting, so that the carbon dioxide would be absorbed and the cider would become sparkling. There was always a danger of fermentation getting too vigorous and bottles exploding, so he suggests storing them in wet sand to keep them cool.
Other members of the Royal Society in London took an interest in apple growing, cider making and putting fizz in the bottles. Some of the greatest minds in the country turned themselves to perfecting this home-grown product. It was soon noted that the bubbles would be all the more vigorous if extra sugar was added to fuel the bottle fermentation. John Beale — from Herefordshire, naturally — read a paper to the Royal Society on 10 December 1662, ten years before Merrit spoke, in which he describes putting a ‘walnut of sugar’ into bottled cider. This is about 20g of sugar, roughly the amount of sugar added to modern dry Champagne.
So why aren’t we all drinking cider now instead of Champagne? Despite all the papers written, these ciders were never more than a minority interest — especially after England’s wine shortage was solved thanks to the signing of the Methuen Treaty of 1703 with Portugal. This led to the establishment of a British colony in Oporto and the creation of a new drink, port, in which powerful Portuguese wine was made stronger still by adding brandy: much more to the English tastes than 10 per cent cider. So after this brief flowering, cider went back to being a drink for West Country labourers, the upper classes drank port, sherry or claret, and everyone else made do with gin and beer.
The desire to make such ambitious ciders has never completely gone away, however. They returned briefly in the Edwardian era. Bulmer’s used to make a ‘Super Champagne Cider de Luxe’. Drinks such as these died out or were bastardised by mass production methods in the 1960s. Now, with the explosion of interest in cider, they’re back. A number of producers around the country are making ciders inspired by Digby and Scudamore. Last week I tried a superb bottle-fermented Devon cider called Ashridge Sparkling Vintage. It was a very elegant West Country cider complete with some tannin and a little scrumpy-like funkiness but with the most beautiful persistent bubbles and an extremely long finish, worth every penny of £13.99. The company that can produce something of this quality but in Moet-like quantities and market it as England’s answer to champagne will be rich. It just needs a catchier name.
• Thatcher’s Green Goblin A serious cider made from a variety of apples including the legendary Redstreak.
• Aspall’s The 5.5% stuff is now available everywhere and delicious with its taste of fresh green apples.
• Gospel Green This bottle-fermented Sussex cider is all fruit and no tannin; as close as cider gets to fine wine.
• Weston’s Wyld Wood A rich and fruity organic cider.
• Halletts Welsh Cider I love this one’s depth of flavour and pronounced bite.
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