REGION: Normandy

Patrice Guard, 13th-generation cider-maker and distiller, oversees his family’s farm in the Pays d’Auge, which is divided between a cider orchard and a dairy farm. Minimal intervention is required for this humble operation that results in spritely and lean Calvados.

The Pacory family produces traditional cider and poiré on the farm of Ferme de Grimaux in southern Normandy, where they have lived since 1939. Pacory’s poiré and cider always come from one single vintage and consistently represent the Domfrontais style at its most authentic.

Duche de Longueville was originally founded as a distillery in 1925 and switched to cider production in 1950. It is the only commercial cidery in France specializing in single-varietal, naturally-fermented, artisanal ciders.