Eden Wood Tasmanian Cider is, as the name suggests, a Tasmanian cider. Made by Cheviot Wine Company. Served in an elegant black bottle with gold trim.

And it’s all so boring.

Cheviot Wines make wine to order. If you have a small plot of grape or an idea for a wine, Cheviot will make it to your specifications and wrap it up in a bottle for you, then put it on the truck.

Yes, I am a little cynical about Cheviot. I don’t have a problem with wines or ciders or beers for that matter, made to order. It allows the small players to get started without investing in a full production line.

Eden Wood Cider however, is one of Cheviot’s, own in house labels, but more on that soon.

The Nose

Sweet fresh cut grass hits first, generally it’s a sweet scent sitting somewhere between Chocolate covered strawberries and the old classic strawberries and cream lollies. Hit of nail polish remover and baby food stewed apples.

The Taste

What I thought was freshly mown lawn in the scent, manifests itself in the taste as a popcorn like taste. This is an acid bomb, it’s so sharp. In its quest for crispness the tartness becomes uncomfortable.

While it may sound like a big flavoured cider there are moments of emptiness, moments where it may as well be a soda water.

The tail end has lots of residual sweetness that tries to be cut by acid.

Final Thoughts on Eden Wood

I’m bored with ciders made as a little something on the side for wine makers to do in the offseason. Change the label on this bottle and it could be any one of half a dozen other ciders on the market. If a wine maker goes all in, all or nothing, and fully immerses themselves in apple, the results are amazing. Napoleone is a cider made by wine cider makers. They push the envelope with their MT’s to critical acclaim.

The ciders I enjoy most are ciders made by cider makers. Look at people like Ian Rayne from Custard and Co fermenting with wild yeasts or Tom Oliver of the UK Oliver’s Cider who is the expert in knowing when to blend and when to let a single variety stand proud.

There are so many wine makers out there making inoffensive, light, crisp yet anonymous ciders just like Eden Wood. What do they bring to the industry? Sure Eden Wood made from nondescript “100% real premium apple” (yes singular) and it’s a better alternative to 5 Seeds or Strongbow but other than that it’s just boring. Cheviot’s cider doesn’t taste terrible, there are much worse ciders out there. It just doesn’t get me going like a Harcourt or the Big Hard Woody Cider. It doesn’t push the industry or tastes forward.

It worries me that the online locating information on this Tasmanian cider’s bottle is a street address in Victoria. The two states are separated by about 400km’s of ocean.

Apples are not grapes. There is only so far you can go with wine making knowledge when applying it to apples. The worlds’ best cider makers are cider makers. At some point you have to let go of the grapes and listen to what the apples are telling you and dive in head first or risk becoming humdrum. And that’s the problem with Eden Wood.

Product Eden Wood Tasmanian Cider Company Cheviot Wines Sweetness Medium Sweet Alc/Vol 5.0% Website CheviotWineGroup.com.au Country of Origin Australia Region Tasmanian cider made in Melbourne Victoria.