Review of Bertolinos Hard Cider, from Italy.  Its the first Italian cider I’ve tried.  Here is an interesting article I found on the Italian cider industry.

Cider:  Hard Cider
Cidery:  Bertolinos
Cidery Location:  Friuli Italy
ABV:  6.5%
How Supplied:  750ml bottle, wine cork
Style:  Italian cider, made from native apple varieties

 

Availability:  unknown

Description:  The Da Pozzo Family has been making the highest quality hard cider in Friuli Italy using only 100% pure Friuli apple juice at Ecomela for over two decades.  They have been recognized at the World Cider Awards in England as making the Best Cider in the World, medium category.  This is a full bodied, very well balanced Cider with an intense floral fresh Friuli apple Aroma! Please join us and enjoy Bertolinos. From our Family to yours!

Price:  $7
Where Bought:  Schilling Cider House in Seattle WA
Where Drank:  home
How Found:  Browsing.  I was intrigued as I’ve never tried Italian cider, and it was affordable.

First Impression:  Medium straw yellow hue.  Moderate carbonation with some foam.  Smells of apple juice and honey.

Tasting Notes:  Semi-sweet.  Medium bodied.  Low tartness and acidity.  No bitterness, sourness, funk, or tannins.  Notes of honey, pineapple, and grapefruit.  High apple flavor.  Moderate to high sessionability.  Low complexity.  Moderate flavor intensity.

My Opinion:  Yum!  I enjoyed it.  It was definitely on the simpler side, but was tasty and easy to drink.  I can see this being a very widely appealing cider, as long as someone doesn’t mind on the slightly sweeter end of the spectrum.

Most Similar to:  French cidre, except without the richness (as it was apple-forward and higher carbonation).  I like this better than most apple-forward sessionable American ciders.

Closing Notes:   I’m curious if I’ll be able to find any more Italian ciders locally, as this is the first I’ve seen.

Have you tried Bertolinos?  What did you think?