Normandy

It's still a favourite! A cellar in the countryside, nestled in an undergrowth. A stone house, a stream, a small bridge... We linger before passing the wrought iron door. The cachet of the place is as much admired as the number of bottles wisely lined up. An eye on the calvados, rums and whiskies with 500 labels. A stop in front of the 5,500 references of wines, classified by region. The Coleaux family is able to tell you about each bottle. And we let you discover the treasure that lies under your feet!

Housed in an old half-timbered farmhouse (^17th-18th centuries) surrounded by a rose garden and kitchen garden, Pressoir d'Or comprises a farm, a 27-hectare orchard and a cellar. In the cellar, you'll have the opportunity to discover the tools used in the past to process apples. On foot, by tractor or by coach, immerse yourself in the passionate world of this producer and discover the different ways to enjoy apples: in cider, in apple juice, but also in the form of jellies, jams or preserves...

Since 1957 when it was established in Louviers, Maison Clet has never stopped thinking bigger. It can now be found at numbers 4 to 8 of the same street, in a sumptuous and spacious space that offers a wide range of wines and spirits and all the best of the delicatessen. In addition to the thousand wines on offer, you will find nearly four hundred whiskies, rums, cognacs and calvados to suit all tastes, as well as a fine selection of foies gras, truffles, chocolates, jams, teas... Norman products are naturally given pride of place.

Away from the small village of Triqueville, the Jaouen family has been cultivating a 14-hectare orchard for 25 years, where about 9,500 apple trees are perfectly aligned. A lot of work was needed to get the farm back on its feet, especially after the war and the passage of the Germans, but this challenge did not scare the Jaouen couple, who were determined to change their lives.

A challenge won since today, the Domaine de Ponctey, like a Norman bocage overlooking the valley, is gaining in reputation while working its 9 varieties of apples in accordance with the history and authenticity of the farm. Last but not least, its Normandy AOC pommel (3 years old and over) won the gold medal at the 2018 General Agricultural Competition.

The apple trees, all carefully replanted by the Jaouen family upon arrival at Le Ponctey, now deliver their delicious fruits picked, sorted by hand and then transformed into pure juice and pure fruit farm cider, into exquisite pommeau or even into calvados aged in oak casks. In a shop, in an old stable, the gourmet aesthete will also be seduced by products that combine know-how and tradition, such as unfiltered cider vinegar in the traditional way, but also original creations such as homemade apple jelly, which goes perfectly with foie gras, and a surprising cider brandy, which will delight mixologists in their quest for new products. Apple juice, a natural product with no added water or sugar, is added, made in the house. An apple art, according to the Jaouen family, to discover!

Beer enthusiasts all know this place with an easy-to-remember name: Beerz. Here, no less than 500 references of beer, 30 of cider, and about twenty references of spirits are proposed to you by Christelle, the mistress of the place. It is possible to taste on the spot, inside or on the terrace, with or without boards. The place, which aims to be a beer academy, also proposes workshops around the famous beverage, all in an educational and pleasant atmosphere. A choice and advice of great quality, we validate!

This is the temple of wines and spirits in Granville: the Maison du Vin, which bears its name well, offers hundreds of references. Wine productions of course, but also whiskies, rums, sometimes rare spirits, there is no lack of anything here. The place is vast, the opening hours wide, and the advice here is not an empty word. Parking is easy and practical. Of course, the shop offers a wide range of services for your private events, be it weddings, banquets or other receptions.

After a long period on Rouen's left bank, Au Coeur des Vignes moved to Bonsecours a few years ago. The store still offers a superb selection of wines from all regions of France. Although it specialises more in Rhône and Languedoc, the shopkeeper readily admits to having a weakness for Burgundy, and increasingly for the Loire. His selection of over 200 wines caters for all budgets, as he also knows how to find local wines at affordable prices.

This wine cellar already has over 25 years of bottles (enjoy the word game)! A safe value in Evreux to carefully choose your wine or spirits. Experts in wine pairings, it will be a pleasure to help you with your choices, for your receptions, gifts, or simply for yourself! In the Auge Valley, we do not just offer you wine, we also serve it! Don't miss the tastings, often accompanied by gourmets…

What do you say? It is simply an exceptional address, one that is not available every day. The outside may not attract you, and you would be wrong not to return. More than 250 references of rum, plus 300 whiskies and rare products. A young and talented team that finds its customers nuggets, really, an address to keep and visit regularly.

An essential producer on the Cider Route! It is impossible to pass through Cambremer without visiting one of the most beautiful and ancient cider cellars in Normandy, founded in 1865 by François Huet. The techniques have evolved, the installations too, but the recipe remains the same, rich in know-how and ancestral transmission. If you want to know more about cider and calvados, this is the place to be! Then head for the shop, where precious beverages (AOC-AOP Pays d'Auge cider, AOC Pays d'Auge calvados...) are waiting for you.

Théo Capelle tells the story of cider, calvados, apples, and its fabulous nectars, from a family production. The Théo Capelle cider-distillery consists of 10 hectares of orchards, 6,500 apple trees, fifteen varieties, a press and a shop. The orchard, distillery and shop can be visited all year round. You can stroll through the apple tree alleys, listen with delight to the sweet vocabulary of apple work, and discover the still where the AOC Calvados and the AOC Normandy pommeau are distilled. Of course, you can taste some of the clever potions!

In Grosville, in the authentic setting of the Commanderie, Jean-François Vaultier invites you to discover his cider products. He also makes calvados, pommeau (an aperitif made from cider and calvados), apple juice, cider vinegar, cider confit, as well as apple, elderberry and rhubarb jam and blackberry jelly. During the visit of the press dating from 1942, still in use in this old farm, you will be explained how cider is made... It's interesting and you can leave with your bottles!

We can't talk about the production of this organic cider farm without evoking the history of the Château de Canon. Built in 1745, its farm was designed to allow its inhabitants to live in autarky, as advocated by the "Physiocracy" (an economic and political doctrine that bases economic development on agriculture). Nearly three centuries later, the same philosophy is applied to the cider farm as to the adjoining educational farm. The orchards, planted with ten hectares of tall apple trees and three hectares of pear trees, produce some 50 tonnes of fruit per year. The apple juices and organic drinks are made on the farm and are traditionally prepared with many varieties from the Pays d'Auge : raw organic cider, semi-dry organic cider, sweet organic cider and traditional organic cider - drier and less sparkling than raw organic cider -, organic Halbi (Norman speciality, a blend of apples and pears), perry, organic apple juice, organic AOC calvados, organic cider vinegar... Many of these products have won medals in various competitions.

Christophe and Delphine will be pleased to present their operations, property of the Boissel family since 1792. Located in the heart of the Auge country 1880 kilometres from Deauville and Honfleur, Cidricole manufacturing has been transmitted from father to son since. Production comes from the only processing of apples harvested on the 15 hectares of orchards, the quality of products resident in the assembly of some fifty varieties of apples. No name for this stuffy stuffy cider: for five generations, know-how has been a reputation for excellence. The Alliance of New Technologies and respect for traditions makes this cider an authentic beverage that meets everyone's taste: raw cider (rather bitter, perfect on dishes and especially cheese in raw milk), half-dry cider (fruity slightly sweet for aperitifs and desserts), sweet cider (very sweet and scented very little alcoholic alcoholic ideal for desserts). Particularly attractive, "Arsène" is typical of the house: it is a cider whose crushed apples steeped a week in their juice before pressing. The fermentation takes place, then in small oak was new to bring a vanilla note. Produced in small quantities, it is a function of vintage and is not (unfortunately) produced every year. Calvados AOC Country of Auge, pure juice juice, cider vinegar, cider jam, pommel and perry are all other productions in this area which also houses a cottage that can welcome up to 13 people every year.

In the Serrée family, here is the father, Rémy, and his sons, Ludovic and Axel. It would take a book to write their story. As conscientious and passionate heirs, they share the work to get the best out of their orchards - Cambremer terroir and Pays d'Auge vintage - the best of the best. The case is not new. Because in the tight family, we must not forget the grandfather with eloquent titles: producer, harvester, distiller and itinerant distiller. That's all said and done. All you have to do is push the door of the "Pressoir" and imagine that not so long ago, cider was made in the old-fashioned way, in the press (hence the name of the farmhouse). To say that the family was born in an apple is only a step away. From family consumption, Rémy went into business (in 1999) with a passion and know-how that was carefully balanced. No medals here! Word of mouth is more than enough for reputation. Let's add some authenticity to it. Not the one you read in the books but the one you see in your eyes. The virus is naturally transmitted since Ludovic and Axel have, in turn, taken over in recent years. Very raw, very dry, semi-dry and sweet cider are among a wide range of ciders that you will have to taste before leaving the region. You will be welcomed with open arms for a (free) tasting of cider but also calvados and pommeau (AOC), in the heart of a small house by size but big by talent. A house at man's height and at soul's height...

A glass of cider is worth, sometimes, better than long speeches. Don't be careful here! It is really good and especially instructive to listen to Denise and Hervé, two passionate nature and gastronomy lovers tell their story before daring to dip his lips. We are not anywhere: perhaps you will take a lesson in oenology! Denise and Hervé, we said, had the very good idea of planting their first apple apple on their farm in 1992. A perfect land, located on a hillside of shells and shells of jurassic limestone, a lot of time, patience and perseverance, today is the notoriety of these high quality cigars. And from production, as a whole, pommeau, calvados forming part of this beautiful family, 39 times medalist in 23 years in the General Agricultural Competition of Paris. The 2014 edition has yet to grow the list. As with wine, the nature of the soil is important, giving balance and aromatic richness to the finished product. You'll hear here about pommings… they're at the cider what the grape varieties are to wine, assemblages too. Cider tradition, sparkling cider, Red Bruyère (the top of the house), rosé cider, extra crude cider and ice cider. Names sing as bubbles. Affiliated with the collective brand «Cider of the countries of Haute-Normandie», the domain reserves other beautiful surprises (apple juice, cider vinegar, frozen apple-calvados. We don't tell you everything… go see!

The Domaine de la Flaguerie is certainly the one where you will be told the most beautiful stories. Stories of apples, of course, because they are cultivated here with love over decades We will talk to you, also, about organic farming: since 1998 - already 20 years! -that is the one that we are putting forward. The visit of Ducy Vergers, created in 1835, is exciting and playful at a time, illustrated with a video-video regularly updated. Will you guess the number of kilos of apples needed to make a liter of cider? Or what material are the cider tanks made of? All of these questions will be answered with the greatest of passions. At the end of the visit, rich of new knowledge and great respect for the profession, we press in the shop for a tasting, first and then shopping. Cider, apple juice, of course, but also calvados aged in oak barrels, pommeau, marmalade, frozen and vinegar and the famous "44" based on calvados, orange liqueur and coffee beans, fragrant of five cloves. It's hard to take everything. You will need to come back or order online!

Stéphane and Lucille Grandval will be delighted to introduce you to this superb Augeron estate, rich in history. Here, know-how has been passed down for three generations. It was Yvon, the grandfather, and his producer friends who created the Syndicat des producteurs du Cru de Cambremer and the Route du Cidre. A detour is therefore essential to discover the site, its timber-framed buildings, some of which (cellar and press) date from the 16th century, and the 20 or so varieties of apples grown: AOC Pays d'Auge cider, AOC pommeau, AOC Pays d'Auge Fine calvados, Hors d'Age...

For almost 30 years, this independent wine merchant has been taking us on a journey to the heart of the vineyards, overlooking... the sea, the lighthouse and the port. Over 300 wines from the best grape varieties of our terroirs in this Ali-Baba (rne) cellar, 90% of them from small growers. Local wines (do you know Coteaux du Giennois?) or grands crus, spirits, ciders, beers from local brewers, rums from overseas and elsewhere, there's something for every palate and every budget. There's nothing flashy about it, but the presentation is neat and tidy, with regular new arrivals.