Silly question - we're off to France in a few weeks and my daughter has recently developed a taste for those hideous flavoured ciders that taste like squash, does anyone know if they sell them in France? If not, I guess she'll just help us drink our beer (at least our wine is safe!!)
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Just back from France. You can get cider in most areas now whereas a few years ago it was more restricted to cider producing areas. There were certainly fruit flavoured ciders available in Normandy/Brittany but to be honest I didn't look elsewhere. However, they can taste very different to the sickly drinks you get here so I'd suggest she tries one before stocking up :-)
There were also a lot of fruit flavoured lagers, much to my OHs disgust when he accidentally bought them instead of regular lager (he hates them).
In some places there were boxes and bottles of sangria (cheap) which she might like and the supermarkets now have lots of wines with fruit in different flavours which she also might enjoy if she has a sweet tooth.
You can get Brittany cider , in champagne cork style btls in strawberry or raspberry flavours at about 2 to 3 euros for a75cl btls they were in most supermarkets . They were on sale in the vendee so are probably available nationwide .
I am sure when we were in the Dordogne last year I bought a bottle of vin pomplemousse, in other words wine with a hint of grapefruit.
Is this local to the Dordogne as it was rather yummy.
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That so called cidre on sale in UK is specifically produced for you and is not sold in France. Like the West Country in UK Normandy and Brittany produce many wonderful ciders which have their own distinctive flavours. If you have a sweet tooth its best to avoid the Brut but the Doux cider sare lovely and in many cases not more than 2 per cent. One of best commercially available is Val de Rance who produce a wider range and yhou can visit cider factory at Pludihen south of St Malo and close to Dinan.
Otherwise if you are in our part of the world visit the bar Chez Bernard right by the bridge at St Martin Sur Oust between Malestroit and La Gacilly. They produce their own cider locally and it is fantastic having won a number of prestigious awards. I think its about 6 euros a bottle in the bar but about 3 to buy at their shop next door!!
I don't think it's any great surprise that Stella Artois Cidre is really made for the UK market!
From my experience of holidaying in France (Brittany, Normandy, Vendee, Loire valley) with a female cider drinker, there is a wider selection of fruity flavoured ciders than in the UK. Ciders flavoured with raspberry, strawberry, peach, citrus, pear (perry then!) are available from the main brands (Ecusson, Loic Raison, Val de Rance etc) and also supermarket own brands. In fact, my daughter asked me to bring some home last year as she had also discovered them the previous year!
Several beers too flavoured with a wide variety of fruit and with a lower abv. I even tried a pastis rose (ugh! sacrilege!)
I have to say that personally I really dislike the Stella Artois Cidre, I even left it - which is unheard of!!! My daughter isn't overly keen on "real" cider, but she doesn't like apple juice, so I guess I can see where she's coming from.
She's too young to currently drink in bars, so we'll stick to the bottled stuff from the supermarkets.
We visited a small independent cider producer in Wells-next-the-Sea this last weekend and brought some back with us - proper stuff, not the funny flavoured variety
Quote: Originally posted by MrDasherD on 16/7/2015
...I even tried a pastis rose (ugh! sacrilege!)
Not sacrilege at all if what you're talking about is "une tomate" which is pastis with grenadine. It turns the liquid pink. Less sharp than straight pastis and very refreshing in summer.
Ken
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Quote: Originally posted by MrDasherD on 16/7/2015...I even tried a pastis rose (ugh! sacrilege!)
Not sacrilege at all if what you're talking about is "une tomate" which is pastis with grenadine. It turns the liquid pink. Less sharp than straight pastis and very refreshing in summer.
Ken
No I'm not talking about 'une tomate' ... 51 Rose is a pastis infused with pink grapefruit, raspberry, strawberry and with a reduced abv. It was only introduced in recent years and is usually served with water. Probably equally refreshing, but far too 'sickly sweet' for me. I like my pastis just served with ice or a splash of water!
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Topic: Cider or is that Cidre...
