After years of being stuck close to home, foreign travel has come roaring back to finally surpass pre-pandemic levels, and it is an exciting time to be heading out to explore a wider world. As a cider lover, you may have been assembling your own bucket list of places to visit. While the Baltic states may not be on that list, if you are a cider lover, they should be.
Latvia is a great example. Riga, its charming capital city on the coast of the Baltic sea, still bears the maritime stamp of its membership in the powerful Hanseatic League that, for more than 400 years, shaped the economy, trade and politics of Northern Europe. The winding streets of its historic center are a living history in architectural form from the medieval core to the 19th-century tree-lined boulevards that lead to the suburbs.
Buildings from contrasting eras bear witness to this lovely city’s prosperous and often complex past. A blocky concrete cuboid built by the Soviet government in 1971 to commemorate the 100th birthday of Lenin (now the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia) stands next to the fanciful Schwarzhäupterhaus built in 1334 as a meeting place and warehouse for merchants. The city boasts of the largest number of Art Nouveau–style buildings in the world. It is no wonder, then, that the city center is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Your Latvian Cider Adventure Starts Here
Latvia is also home to some mighty fine cider. At a latitude of 56˚, the cool, relatively short season makes it a challenge to grow any but the most cold-tolerant wine grapes, but it is a place where apples truly thrive. Apples are, in fact, the country’s most widely grown fruit, even in Riga where many backyard gardens wouldn’t be complete without at least one apple tree. Modern commercial cider production began in earnest about 25 years ago, and today there are a host of cider companies producing some 132,000 gallons of cider a year, mostly from local apple cultivars. Not bad for a country about half the size of New York.
Fiercely proud of their culture and their relatively new independence, Latvians are eager to share all that makes their country unique, especially in the countryside. Whether it is experiencing local wildlife or learning about crafts and foodways, the Latvian tourist sector has you covered, and that includes a well-planned cider route. A downloadable brochure and map tells you everything you need to know to start your Latvian cider adventure. Any road out of Riga will send you through magnificent native pine forests, trees so tall and straight that they look for all the world like a collection of landlocked ship’s masts, followed by open fields of grain, and other farm crops and orchards. You can travel independently, of course, or book an arranged tour which will often get you a look behind the scenes and typically includes stops at choice hiking spots, local food and craft festivals, and/or unique dining experiences.
Cideries Worth Seeking Out
No matter how you plan to move about this charming country, the following award-winning cideries should be on your list.
Abavas Family Winery: A winery, cidery and distillery founded 20 years ago by Martins and Liene Barkane, Abavas is now the largest producer of craft alcoholic beverages in Latvia. Their ciders feature local apple cultivars such as Kurland and Serinka, and are sometimes infused with locally harvested herbs and flowers. Be sure to try their multi–award winning Meadows Cider with its hauntingly delicate floral character.
Mr. Plume: Māris and Dace Plume have been making cider together since 2010, experimenting with different styles and production techniques, and have been using fruit from their own orchard of Latvian and other European cultivars since 2015. Their thoughtful and imaginative ciders and perries are a delight with a depth of character to rival any fine cider in the world.Sabiles Sidrs: Sold under two labels,
Sabiles Sidr and Gardeners, Aldis and Baiba Circeņi lovingly refer to their products as “bottles of sparkling joy.” Taking advantage of the large old apple trees around the small town of Sabile, they brought new life to an abandoned factory complex — adding a modern twist to a place whose winemaking history dates back to the 16th century. They, too, have been winning renown in competitions across Europe with their bright, juicy ciders that often embrace additions of other Latvian-grown fruits such as quince and black currants.
For those travelers with insufficient time to devote to a countryside excursion, all is not lost. You’ll find plenty of places in Riga to both try and buy the local ciders, including the warm wood-paneled Sidrerija and somewhat challenging to find (but well worth it) Čē. The intrepid Cider Explorer has a pretty comprehensive list of places to find cider in Riga on her blog.
While Latvia may not have the cider history of some other European cider meccas, it has warmth and charm and a fresh outlook that will reward the cider lover with a whole new perspective.
