1785 Cider
At 1785 Cider, the time-honoured tradition of Black Forest farmstead cider lives on, albeit in a modern guise, combining the best of the Old World – heirloom varieties from old orchards, organic practices and manual harvest, with slow fermentation over the winter months – allied to modern technology with a personal ‘makers twist’.
Founded and run by Wendy LeBlanc and Patrick Mann. Wendy hails from Seattle, the epicentre of USA West Coast craft cider, whilst Patrick grew up in the Black Forest, drinking old school farmhouse cider. Together, they are bringing the cider revolution from Seattle to Germany: high quality fruit and an artisanal approach, combined with creativity and innovation, in the pursuit of new taste experiences.
Their Black Forest farmhouse cidery is located at an 800m elevation. Built in 1785, generations of subsistence farmers have been making the simple cider that is typical for this region. 1785 Cider revives this tradition using these guiding principles:
- To only use fruit from meadow orchards, sourced within the region (indeed, within a radius of 25km)…
- To pay fair prices that incentivise landowners to properly maintain the old trees in their orchards where the cidery has harvest rights…
- To process the fruit only minimally, reflecting the character of the region…
- To open consumer minds to the potential of cider and perry as high-quality beverages, equal to any grape wine.
1785 Cider, Mooslochweg 4, D-78089 Unterkirnach, Germany