Cidrerie du Vulcain (Normandy, France)
Cidrerie du Vulcain is a cider project from Jacques Perritaz - a legend amongst cider enthusiasts and wine lovers for his artful cider and perry making while in Switzerland. His in Swizterland included foraging apples and pears from over 150 trees, all regional varieties from old, high-branched trees with exceptionally small yields, harvested only every other year.
In 2022, Jacques bought a farm in Normandy, France in the Domfrontais - the French land of Poire (Perry)! It's the first time in 17 years producing ciders, coferments & perry that he now owns his orchard, his facility & his home (used to be the other way around in Switzerland: 100% rental, as no one lets go of real estate there). All the farming is organic, he also has sheeps, cows & chickens - a true farmer's dream for him.
For all of his cider and perry products, Jacques presses the fruit and then clarifies the juice before fermenting it slowly on indigenous yeasts in stainless steel and epoxy tanks. After the juice is fermented to half of its potential alcohol, he filters the cider to remove particulates, then decants into sealed vessels to allow “ancestral” secondary fermentation. He then draws off the lees, clarifies it, and then bottles the naturally-effervescent ciders.