A Better Use For Apples: Hard Cider

Apple picking is a favorite fall activity for those with children or visiting from urban areas. Something about walking through the orchard in the crisp air, picking more fruit off trees than you could ever need, and paying for the experience is quite the attraction. Woodside Orchards in Aquebogue, New York offers more than a couple of hours of manual labor, they now offer tastings of their new hard cider. Beginning earlier this year, visitors are able to enjoy a tasting of the four available ciders for $6 per person. At 6.5% alcohol, each tasting is a healthy pour in a pint glass to be enjoyed in the barn or taken outside to a picnic table. Taking a break from Long Island's wine scene (just for a day at least), a friend and I decided to check it out.

A kind gentleman with an American lab behind the bar explained the tasting and poured the "Traditional"style first. Light, crisp and on the dry side, this cider was sure to be my favorite as I am not a huge fan of sweeter beverages. The next two, Traditional Sweet and Apple Raspberry, were more of what I would expect from a hard apple cider: sweet and sticky. The last pour, Cinnamon Apple, would go perfectly with a warm apple crisp. The flavors were similar to a dessert wine without the syrupy texture. The cinnamon was a tasty touch.

The other usual suspects are available at Woodside Orchards including baskets of apples, pies and breads, candy apples, honey sticks, t-shirts and for those who really enjoy hard cider, there are growlers. This orchard is worth visiting as it is a no-frills, family owned and operated business with locals working hard behind the scenes. Cheers to fall!