Ever since I’ve been enjoying apple ciders from my Scotland trip this summer, I’ve been looking for BC-produced apple ciders. Just before the end of August, I went to Kamloops to visit the wineries there and see how their grapes were maturing. I was surprised to see at Privato Winery an adjacent building called the Woodward Cider Co. I was told the sparkling apple ciders were being made by the 3 sons of John and Debbie Woodward, Ben, Adam, and Tim. The cidery opened up in May 2019 (this year). There are currently 3 ciders for sale, but my guess is that as they continue to experiment there will be other ciders produced.
I picked up the 3 ciders and brought them back to Vancouver where I could sit down, properly taste them and write about them. Their 3 ciders are:
- Blue Tractor Modern Dry,
- 5 Liner Not So Dry, and
- Send It Raspberry Infused
All the ciders are 7.3% alc. Many of us are probably familiar with the larger mass-produced ciders in Canada and their associated sweetness. These ciders are all dry to slightly off-dry, which I prefer. The labels all refer to something related to their family. Blue Tractor is an actual Blue Ford tractor that has been on the family farm for many years. The 5 Liner is a tribute to their Grandmother (Gramma) Anne who at age 95 has taken to writing funny and often crude limericks about her family and their friends. You can read a few of Gram’s limericks here. Send It is a saying, (which may be a family motto considering they opened a cidery and a winery), that you should just do it and don’t think about it; have confidence and just Send It! The Send It Raspberry Infused apple cider certainly is different and I think they just did it and had a great result.
One thing I wish I knew about the ciders is which varieties of apples went into each cider. Similar to knowing which grapes go into a bottle of wine.
My Cider Notes
The Blue Tractor Modern Dry is a pale lemon colour. Medium-sized bubbles gathered on the side of my glass. It has a medium intensity crisp fruity apple nose. It’s dry with a medium-plus body and fruit flavour, and higher acidity. Definitely crisp apple flavour. Medium-sized bubbles that add texture but not extra acidity. It finishes with apple and apple peel flavours. 
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The 5 Liner Not So Dry still is mostly dry. Nowhere close to the sweetness you get from some other larger commercial producers. It had a lightly sweet nose and light apple aroma. Very creamy smaller bubbles. The creamy texture is stronger than the apple flavour for this cider. Some floral note as well. A little tart apple and apple skin on the finish. I put the cap back on and then tried it the next day. I noted that the bubble did not diminish significantly, and I thought the apple flavour was a bit stronger, so maybe no need to worry about drinking a bottle in one sitting on your own. –
I really enjoyed the Send It Raspberry Infused apple cider a lot. Beautiful bright raspberry/strawberry colour. Lots of raspberry aroma on the nose. It is very slightly off-dry with a medium persistent biting bubble. It starts with ripe raspberries flavour along with a touch of tart cranberry and floral, then you get crisp and bruised apples. It finishes dry with tart red and raspberry fruit. If you like Rosé wines but would like to try a variation, give this cider a try.
Where Can I Buy These Ciders?
You can purchase the ciders from their cidery in Kamloops, or purchase the ciders from a few shops in Kamloops. This link shows the shops in Kamloops. Hopefully, they will be offering their ciders in the lower mainland through retail outlets, or maybe purchasing it online. Time will tell.
