Apfelwein

Apfelwein with Bembel

Apfelwein (Germany, apple wine),^[1][2] or Most (Austria, Switzerland, South Germany, must) are German words for cider.^[3] It is mainly made from eating apples or cooking apples, such as Granny Smith or Bramley, respectively. It has an alcohol content of 4.8%–7.0% and a tart, sour taste.

Apfelwein is also regionally known as Ebbelwoi, Äppler, Stöffsche, Apfelmost (apple must), Viez (from Latin vice, the second or substitute wine), and saurer Most (sour must). The name Äppler, mainly used by large producers, is generally not used in restaurants or by smaller manufacturers who instead call the beverage Schoppen or Schoppe, which refers to the measure of the glass.

In the Frankfurt area, berries from the service tree (Sorbus domestica), are added in bags to increase astringency,^[4] this specific type of Apfelwein is called Speierling.

Production

Apfelwein is made from pressed apples. The juice or must is fermented with yeast to produce an alcoholic beverage usually around 6% abv. It can be made with the addition of the unprocessed juice from the fruit of a small, indigenous tree known as Speierling (Sorbus domestica) or Speyerling, an endangered species that is easily confused with the wild apple.

Apfelwein is mainly produced and consumed in Hesse (where it is the state beverage), particularly in the Frankfurt, Wetterau, and Odenwald areas. It is also found in Moselfranken, Merzig (Saarland), and the Trier area, as well as the lower Saar area and the region bordering on Luxembourg. Several large producers are located in these regions, as well as numerous small, private producers which use traditional recipes. Some of the most famous restaurants where Apfelwein is served are in Sachsenhausen (Frankfurt am Main). Some of these regions have regular cider competitions and fairs, in which the small, private producers participate. Cider songs are composed and sung at these events. The Merzig region crowns a "Viez Queen", and the lower Saar area a "Viez King".

Culture

Cider-making equipment on display along Viezstraße

Viezstraße road sign

Apfelwein is served in a Geripptes, a glass with a lozenge cut that refracts light and improves grip—a holdover from the past, when some meals were traditionally eaten without cutlery.^[5] Traditional Apfelwein restaurants serve a "proper" 0.30-litre (10-oz) serving, although some establishments may also have a 0.25-l or 0.50-l version of the glass.^[6] A Geripptes filled with Apfelwein is also called a Schoppen.

Most establishments also serve Apfelwein by the Bembel (a specific Apfelwein jug), much like how beer can be purchased by the pitcher in many countries. The paunchy Bembel (made from salt-glazed stoneware) usually has a basic grey colour with blue-painted detailing. In the Eifel region, near Hunsrück, around Moseltal, along the lower Saar and in Trier, the drinking container is called Viezporz and consists of white porcelain or stoneware.

Hot Apfelwein is commonly taken as an old household remedy against colds, or as a warming beverage in the cold season. The Apfelwein is heated and served with a cinnamon stick, possibly with cloves and/or a slice of lemon.

An official Viez route, (Route du Cidre) connects Saarburg with the border to Luxembourg. An annual Viez Fest is celebrated in Merzig. The date is usually the second Saturday in October.

Commercial Varieties

Examples of commercial apfelweins sold in Germany
Heil Eschbacher Traditions Apfelwein  Höhl Der alte Hochstädter Speyerling Apfelwein  Kelterei Heil Apfelwein Speierlinge  Müller Speierling Apfelwein  Müller Wetterauer Apfelwein  Possmann Frankfurter Apfelwein  Possmann Frau Rauscher Speierling  Rapp's Meisterschoppen Naturtrüb  Rapp's Wetterauer Gold Apfelwein  Uhl Apfelwein

See also

• Fruit wine
• Handkäse mit Musik

References

External links

• French-language site about Route du Cidre
• German-language site about Viezstraße

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Apples
List of apple cultivars
Species	Malus pumila Malus niedzwetskyana Malus sieversii
Table apples	Adams Pearmain Akane Åkerö Alkmene Allington Pippin Ambrosia Anna Annurca Ariane Arkansas Black Ashmead's Kernel Aurora Golden Gala Baldwin Beacon Beauty of Bath Belle de Boskoop Bellflower Ben Davis Birgit Bonnier Braeburn Brina Cameo Champion Civni (Rubens) Claygate Pearmain Clivia Cornish Aromatic Cornish Gilliflower Cortland Cosmic Crisp Court Pendu Plat Cox's Orange Pippin Crimson Gold Cripps Red Cripps Pink (Pink Lady) Delbard Jubilee Delbarestivale Delrouval Discovery Dorsett Golden Dougherty Duchess of Oldenburg Egremont Russet Ellison's Orange Elstar Empire Enterprise Envy Esopus Spitzenburg Eva Fiesta Flamenco Florina Fuji Gala Gascoyne's Scarlet Geheimrat Dr. Oldenburg Ginger Gold Golden Delicious Golden Orange Goldspur Granny Smith Gravenstein Grimes Golden Haralson Honeycrisp Honeygold Idared Ingrid Marie James Grieve Jazz Jersey Black Jonagold Jonathan Jubilee Julieta Jupiter Kanzi Karmijn de Sonnaville King Byerd King of the Pippins Knobby Russet Lady Alice Laxton's Superb Liberty Liveland Raspberry Lodi Lord Lambourne Lucombe's Seedling Macoun McIntosh Melba Melrose Mutsu Newtown Pippin Nicola Opal Pacific Rose Pam's Delight Papirovka Paula Red Pink Pearl Pinova Prima Pristine Rajka Ralls Genet Rambo Red Astrachan Red Delicious Redlove apples Rhode Island Greening Ribston Pippin Rome Roxbury Russet Sandow Sekai Ichi Spartan Splendour Star of Devon Stayman Sturmer Pippin Summerfree Sundowner Sunset Suntan SweeTango Taliaferro Tartu Rose Tentation Tompkins King Topaz Wealthy Winesap Winston Worcester Pearmain Wyken Pippin York Imperial Zestar
Cooking apples	Antonovka Bismarck Blenheim Orange Bramley Calville Blanc d'hiver Chelmsford Wonder Creston Crimson Bramley Flower of Kent Golden Noble Granny Smith Grenadier Manks Codlin Newton Wonder Norfolk Biffin Northern Spy Reinette du Canada Upton Pyne White Transparent Wolf River
Cider apples	Antonovka Brown Snout Chisel Jersey Coccagee Crimson King Dabinett Dufflin Ellis Bitter Foxwhelp Golden Russet Golden Spire Hangdown Harrison Cider Kingston Black Michelin Redstreak Slack-ma-Girdle Styre Tom Putt Woodcock
Ornamental apple	Flamenco Goldspur Wijcik McIntosh
Apple products	Apfelwein Apple butter Apple cake Apple chips Apple cider Apple cider vinegar Apple crisp Apple dishes Apple juice Apple pie Apple sauce Apple seed oil Apple strudel Applejack Calvados Candy apple Caramel apple Cider Ice cider Jewish apple cake Pectin Pommeau
Agriculture	Apple diseases Apple picking Apple scab Applecrab Countries by apple production Fruit tree pruning Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae Johnny Appleseed Lepidoptera that feed on Malus Malling series Malus Pearmain Pollination Pome PRI disease resistant apple breeding program Reinette Russeting US Apple Association
Cultivars Production