321: Cider Styles with Eric Bordelet

321: Cider Styles with Eric Bordelet

Author: Ria Windcaller: Award-winning Cidermaker, Podcaster | Craft Beer Columnist May 25, 2022 Duration: 35:08

French Cider Tour with Eric Bordelet

Reservations for the Normandy and Brittany Cider Tour have been extended to June 15, 2022. Find the trip itinerary and reservation link at https://ciderchat.com/france-cider-tour

At the Cidery with Eric Bordelet

In this episode we hear about techniques and classifications of cider made by  the well known French cidermaker Eric Bordelet, during a previous French Cider Tour in 2018.

Eric Bordelet tshirt w:Didier Dagueneau Eric Bordelet t-shirt w:Didier Dagueneau on Front

This chat takes off with Eric talking about the difference between apples and pears and that it is critical to watch the PH of Pears when fermenting. This clip is taken from a longer clip that is part of a bonus audio   available to all at the Cider Chat Patreon Page.

  • Steps from crushing to blending
  • Collage - a French winemaking term that he uses to fine the juice and cider
  • Bentonite - a clay used in fining - the clay dust binds with the heavy juice particles and they drop to the bottom and are removed
  • Transitioning a family business
  • Temperature control in cidermaking
  • Instead of bentonite clay for fining the cider Eric uses porcelain filtration system
  • Controlling the speed of fermentation - how to extend fermentation if the outside temperature is fluctuating.
  • Eric use of words to explain his products - for instance "gastronomic"
    • he makes two kinds of ciders gastronomic and Bretagne which he explains in this episode. He will make a Cidre Doux (a sweet cider) with a variety of apples
    • The gastronomy cuvee Eric use a wide variety of apples and uses the same proportion or percentage of apple (or pears for his poire) each year. This way you can compare the vintage from year to year. The weather will make each vintage unique. He uses his own palate to decide how it will be and "does not leave the choice to others"
  • Stopped fermentation
  • Separating cider to make different blends

Then we move out of the sun and and offer up the last couple of minutes for you to listen as we move into the tasting room.

Contact Eric Bordelet

Mentions in this Chat

Group photo the roof of the Castle at Eric Bordelet Group photo the roof of the Castle at Eric Bordelet

Please Help Support Cider Chat Please donate today. Help keep the chat thriving!

Find this episode and all episodes at the page for Cider Chat's podcasts.


There’s a whole world in a glass of cider, and Cider Chat is your invitation to explore it. Hosted by award-winning cidermaker and writer Ria Windcaller, this podcast travels far beyond the bottle to meet the people who make the global cider culture so vibrant. Each conversation is a journey-you might find yourself in a heritage orchard learning the history of forgotten apple varieties, in a bustling taproom with an importer explaining regional traditions, or in a kitchen with a chef pairing cider with unexpected foods. The discussions get into the delightful nuances, too, whether that’s the semantics of what we even call this drink or how the concept of terroir translates from soil to sip. It’s not just about production; it’s about the community, the travel, and the stories that fermentation unlocks. This is for anyone curious about the craft, history, and sheer enjoyment of fermented apple juice in all its forms. So, pour a glass and settle in for a series that feels like a wide-ranging, informative, and genuinely good-humored chat with friends who happen to be obsessed with cider. You’ll come away with a deeper appreciation for every effervescent, tart, or sweet sip, hearing directly from the growers, makers, and enthusiasts who are shaping this drink’s exciting present and future.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 501

Cider Chat
Podcast Episodes
139: New Zealand's Cidermaking Calendar w/Alex Peckham [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:17:04
New Zealand's Peckham Cider is featured in this podcast episode #139. I was able to sit down with Alex Peckham at CiderCon2018 held in Baltimore, Maryland. CiderCon is the annual trade conference put on by the United Sta…
138: Chairman Richard Liu | Ontario Craft Cider Association [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:32
Richard Liu is the Chair of the Ontario Craft Cider Association and owner of Ironwood Cider and Sunnybrook Winery. This chat was recorded while I was on tour with Ryan Monkman of Fieldbird Cider (Prince Edward County) wh…
137 Ontario's County Cider Story | Jenifer Dean [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:08
County Cider based in Prince Edward County in the Canadian Province of Ontario began selling cider in 1996. It was launched by Grant Howes a formidable man considered the Grandfather of Cider in Ontario. In 2000 Jenifer…
136: Cidermaker of the Year 2018 - Tells All [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:29
This is a mini version of the main podcast this week - as I am super duper busy - so I call this "Cider Chat Live" which is a mini me version of the main podcast - Subscribe to Cider Chat Live too via https://anchor.fm/c…
135: Viejo High Pours in Fishtown | Philadelphia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:40
Viejo is a barrel aged cider made by Joe Getz of Kurant Cider. This cider is a single varietal cider made with Winchester apples. Described on Kurants website as: "a blend of wild fermented ciders created by using some o…
134: Medlars "Pomme Rock Stars" &  Judging Cider [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:38
What are Medlars? Medlars are pommes. It can be either a tree or a large bush. The small brown medlars are picked in the fall. Because Medlars are eaten in the winter months they were very popular at a time when fruit wa…
133: Cider's Chemical Fingerprints [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:15
Attention Cider Makers! Understand Your Cider's Chemical Fingerprints John Edwards presented "Cider's Chemical Fingerprints" at the United States Association of Cider Makers (now referred to as the American Cider Associa…
132: Barrels & Bâtonnage [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:25
Bâtonnage is a winemaking technique that is also used in Cidermaking. It involves raking the lees or what is seen as the heavy particulars of yeast cells that fall out of solution and down to the bottom of the barrel dur…
131: Cider Barrels with a Cooper, a Maker & Thierry Lemaire [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:21:16
Cider Barrel Maintenance The craft of making an oak barrel is called "cooperage" and the person who applies this craft is called a "cooper". The skills of this trade have been passed down through the centuries. The tree…
130: Cider Voices from Grand Rapids & #2GLINTCAPorBUST [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:07
Cider Voices from Grand Rapids Cider Week and the Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition On the evening of May 14th Joby Willson, Mark Gryska, Charlie Olchowski and William Grote and myself headed out in a…