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
468: Foraging Flavor: Pierrepont Cider | NY [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:06
Cider Maker and Founder Lee Van DeWater of Pierrepont Cider shares his story in this episode on how he is forages apples to share a taste of terroir from New York's North Country. Lee Van DeWater Foraging Apples for Cide…
467: Canton Apples and Frosty Twig: New York Cider Makers Unite [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:25:13
How Canton Apples and Frosty Twig Fused Two Brands into One In New York's "North of Upstate" region, in the town of Canton is the Canton Apples production building. It is now also home of a partnership shaping the local…
466: Growing Cold-Hardy Trees at Saint Lawrence Nursery | NY [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:18:06
A Century of Cold-Hardy Trees Saint Lawrence Nursery in Potsdam, NY, has been helping cold-climate growers find success since the 1920s. Originally founded by Fred Ashworth and later expanded by Bill MacKentley, the nurs…
464: Czech Cider: From Roadside Apples to Cellar Ferments [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:01
A conversation with Czech Cider Fan Dan Samek This episode brings us to the heart of Europe by way of Vermont. Ria sat down with Dan Samek, a cider enthusiast and home distiller from Prague, to talk about the evolving ci…
463: Zydeco Meadery: Fermenting Roots from Trinidad to New England [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:19:00
Eric Depradine of Zydeco Meadery crafts mead with Heart, Honey, and Heritage As securing permission, Eric was able to start his fermentation journey in high school with a science project using cane juice. That spark stay…
462: Cider in a Cathedral of Opulence | The Newt, UK [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:43
A Digital Media Empire Embraces Cider at The Newt The Newt in Somerset is a world-class estate blending cider-making, luxury hospitality, and horticultural excellence. The estate is owned by South African owners Karen Ro…
461 RAW Levi Danielson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:24
Levi Danielson is the founder and cider maker at RAW Cider, based in Dayton, Oregon. With roots in the Driftless Region of Minnesota and a cidery nestled among cider apples and pears in the Willamette Valley, Levi's stor…
460: James B. Forbes on Little Pomona's Ciders & Legacy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:47
An intimate sit down with James Forbes of Little Pomona to talk about grief of losing his wife and business partner Susanna Forbes, the growth of the cidery, and the evolving identity of one this select cidery. Rememberi…
459: The Apple Finch's Pet-Nats at de Groote Wei Cider | Netherlands [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:43
Fourth-Generation Farmer, First-Generation Cidermaker Sophie Horstink of De Groote Wei, which means The Great Meadow in Dutch, is crafting Dutch cider as a value added project at her family's farm. Located in the eastern…