Dan Pucci - American Cider: A Modern Guide to a Historic Beverage

Sommelier Pucci and food journalist Cavallo impress in this deeply researched account of the history of apple cider.This fascinating guide will appeal to history buffs and imbibers alike.

Publishers Weekly

American Cider is not just a thorough guide to the history of apples and cider in this country; it is an inspiring survey of the orchardists and cidermakers alive today who are devoting their lives to pomaceous diversity, agricultural sustainability, and a fairer food system for all.

Alice Waters , owner of Chez Panisse, founder of The Edible Schoolyard Project

Starting five hundred million years ago and continuing through to the tasting rooms of today, American Cider meticulously explores each branch of ciders family tree. Pucci and Cavallo are thorough and enthusiastic chroniclers, who celebrate ciders pomologists and pioneers with infectious curiosity and passion.

Bianca Bosker , New York Times bestselling author of Cork Dork

For years, American craft cider has been one of the most dynamic players on the contemporary beverage scene, a delicious and distinctive drink seemingly appearing from nowhere, but as Dan Pucci and Craig Cavallo show, cider and America have been deeply entwined for more than four hundred years. Until now, weve had only glimpses of this story, but American Cider puts it all together, weaving history, botany, anthropology, and insight into the first comprehensive account of what American cider is and how it got that way. This is an essential volume for anyone wishing to navigate the extraordinarily diverse landscape of contemporary cider, but it is much more than that. By tracing the human and natural forces at work over four centuries, Pucci and Cavallo provide a new context for understanding how America has shaped ciderand, in so doing, a new way for understanding America.

Rowan Jacobsen , author of Apples of Uncommon Character and A Geography of Oysters

Pucci and Cavallo survey the American cider landscape with a compass both diplomatic and passionate. Its a far-reaching scene, dotted with tidbits and profound with consequence, but our guides are skilled artisans; the painting is both intimate with detail and bucolic in its sum.

Andy Brennan , cider maker, apple grower, and author of Uncultivated

Whenever Ive had questions about cider, Dan Pucci has long been my first stop for expertise. Now he can be everyones go-to expert, thanks to this thorough, comprehensive guide on ciders and the apples used to make them.

Kara Newman , author of Cocktails with a Twist and spirits editor, Wine Enthusiast magazine

American Cider is a deeply researched road map to modern ciders revival, reminding readers why well-made cider should always be the apple of drinkers eyes. All too often, cider is seen as the sugary stuff thats sold by the juice box. Cider evangelists Pucci and Cavallo take readers on a centuries-spanning journey from colonial Americas historic orchards to todays visionary makers that are spearheading the juiced-up cider revival. After reading American Cider, youll never eye an apple the same way again.

Joshua M. Bernstein , author of The Complete Beer Course and Drink Better Beer

American Cider offers a multilayered narrative that will appeal to anyone curious about the past, present, and future of this iconic beverage, which is as rich and diverse as America itself. Dan Pucci and Craig Cavallo delve into the social, political, and geographic history behind ciders rise, decline, and rebirth in this country, and profile many of the influential figures on the contemporary cider scene. Highly recommended for ciderphiles and history buffs alike.

Ben Watson , author of Cider, Hard and Sweet

A welcomed and informed deep dive into our little, growing industryshedding a much needed light on what were really made of: interesting people, from all walks of life, trying to get the best from the fruit we exalt.

R yan J ames B urk , head cidermaker, Angry Orchard

Welcome to the emerging and dynamic world of cider in the United States of America. While this book can steer you to great bottles, amazing orchards, and unforgettable experiences, it can also serve as your guide to the changing tides of this country, its farmers, fermenters, and imbibers. American cider is standing at the precipice of a new era, with contributions drawn from around the world to create a unique American chorus filled with voices big and small, established and rising, revolutionary and reactionary.

When we embarked on this project, we were committed to outlining for cider drinkers of all experiences how cider and apples vary throughout the United States. We talked to growers, pomologists, cidermakers, and orchardists from all over the country, and explored the historical significance of apples and cider throughout the nations development. We believe that by sharing these differences, we can help the reader better understand the industry and become an informed cider drinkerprovided with the knowledge and foundation to comprehend what has been a boom in apple growing, cidermaking, and cider drinking in the United States.

American cidermakers, along with cidermakers around the globe, are adapting contemporary techniques from agriculture, brewing, winemaking, and marketing to breathe new life into this historic beverage. Cider, like wine, is not a monolith. It is a category with a diverse range of options that can satisfy nearly every drinker without compromise. With nearly a thousand cider producers across America as of 2020, as well as a wide array of different styles and formats, the beverage can be intimidating to the newcomer. But its important to remember that cider is about exploration, from the drinker who is willing to push their palate and expectations to the producer who betters their technique and understanding of their craft year after year. This budding collection of beverages is poised to build a unique and definitive American identity that is shaped by its community, history, and geography, as cidermakers and consumers learn more about the potential of the land around them and the apples among us.

Diane Flynt, of the late Foggy Ridge Cider in Dugspur, Virginia, was the first phone interview we conducted for the book. She is an advocate for Dan and his passionate work in New York City on (coincidentally) Orchard Street at the since-closed cider bar Wassail. Flynts own passion and depth of knowledge, we thought, would be the perfect place to dive in.