The cider comeback

Cider sales are booming in New Zealand. As the Nielsen figures show, supermarket sales almost doubled over the last two years; take it back another three years and there’s 300% more cider being drunk than five years ago.

At a recent Idealog company trip, the cider ran out practically before the boat left the wharf, while beer still flowed – and if that’s not scientific proof of the popularity of cider, what is?

Centuries ago, the drink was a staple in Britain, and it was distributed around the world with the colonials – the American Pilgrim Fathers celebrated their first Thanksgiving in 1621 with “mugs of hard apple cider”. And druid-types in the west of England still practice wassailing, a custom involving banging pots and reciting incantations to apple trees to drive away evil spirits and please good ones.

In New Zealand it’s a bit more staid. Still, there’s a Fruit Wine and Cider Makers industry body, which is mulling over a code of practice and a proposed minimum 35% juice content.