Menu to Pair with Duche de Longueville French Sparkling Cider

It’s not just all things pumpkin during fall festivities but apples too which makes it cider season! While hard cider is all the rage right now, a cider on the dry side can be food friendly. If you’re trying to sober up this fall, or cut down on your alcohol consumption, or even looking to enjoy something different, why have alcohol removed beverages when you can enjoy a non-alcoholic French Sparkling Cider from Duche de Longueville that’s vivacious, not too sweet, and pairs well with fall friendly foods like apples and squash?

Normandy is on the northwest coast of France not far from England

While we have a long history of apples and cider in the US thanks to Johnny Appleseed and his children (strongly recommend Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan), Normandy is the place for apples in France. Made from 100% French apples with no added sugar, non-alcoholic Duché de Longueville Cider impressed us with its crisp, refreshing flavors— a combination of fruitiness and bitterness coming from the apples and the Normandy terroir.

To pair with the wine, we went with a menu with recipes inspired by a recent issue of Food and Wine which features apples and cider in the recipes— from cider vinegar to hard cider to fresh pressed cider!

Menu to Pair with Duche de Longueville French Sparkling Cider

• Baked Brie plus cheese board with triple cream brie, mushroom brie, Asiago, Parmesan
• Asiago bread
• Matsui Apple Salad with Brussels Sprouts, Prosciutto, Asiago
• Apple, Bacon, Squash Risotto with Parmesan
• Sue’s banana bread with cream cheese frosting

Duche de Longueville French Sparkling Cider

ABV: 0
SRP:  $15
Grapes: Apples

According to the Skunk website, “Duche de Longueville was originally founded as a distillery in 1925, and switched to cider production in 1950. It is the only commercial operation in France specialising in single-varietal, naturally-fermented ciders. These ‘artisanal’ ciders, the traditional drink of Normandy, had become virtually extinct this century before the Duché de Longueville relaunched the style. The name Cidre Bouché refers to the champagne-style cork, and like Champagne, the sparkle is a natural byproduct of fermentation – no ‘pompe bicyclette’ here.” The apples are grown sustainably but not certified.

Appearance:  Golden orange, light little bubbles (after it exploded all over the table)

Aroma: Sweetness, sweet applesauce, fresh applesauce

Palate: Sweet, but not too sweet, applesauce that is bubbly, the bubbles are persistent and long lasting

Pairing: The cider went well with the salad as all of the sweetness in the cider is minimized by the salad. The salty umami of the salad is enhanced by the sweetness of the cider, and it also brings out pepper notes in the arugula making it a very nice pairing. Apple and smoky bacon in the dish are accentuated by the cider. Sue also tried the cider with a ripe gooey brie and it went together quite nicely. It paired well with the banana bread dessert, too.