Drink

The only thing better than a fall jaunt to the orchard for apple picking is sitting down with a bushel of friends to drink a vintage of apples from a bottle. The kiddies, of course, can have the fruity sweetness of fresh cider. But I'll go for the dry and kicky fizz of vintage-dated hard cider from the Pays d'Auge in Normandy, a region of France that really knows its apples.

This 2007 Bouché Brut from Etienne Dupont, a producer also renowned for its Calvados apple brandy, delivers the intense perfume of pressed apple skins to the nose, but is delightfully dry to drink, with a light, bright sweetness and a frothy finish that faintly evokes earth and mulling spice.

The Brut is available at some beer stores in town (including Food & Friends, noted below). The South Philly Tap Room (1509 Mifflin St., 215-271-7787), also occasionally serves two of Dupont's more complex higher-tier ciders, including the Cuvée Colette, which blends bittersweet and acidic apples for a floral apple sparkler ($7 a glass when available), and the ice winelike Givre ($9), which is tarte tatin sweet without being cloying.

- Craig LaBan
The 2007 Cidre Bouché Brut from Etienne Dupont is available for $17.95 a 750ml bottle at Food & Friends, 1933-35 Spruce St., 215-545-1722.