Back In 2003, on a whim, Steve Selin joined a group of his neighbors in the Finger Lakes region of New York to forage wild apples to press into hard cider. He was surprised to find that the result was actually pretty good: crisp and dry, more akin to Champagne than fizzy apple juice. “It was a happy accident, starting out with wild apples,” he said. “It’s some of the highest-quality cider fruit imaginable, and I didn’t even know it at the time.”

Since 2013, Mr. Selin has sold ciders under the label South Hill. And though he’s planted an orchard full of heirloom trees, he still collects apples from local hedgerows and forests to make his small-batch Packbasket cider. Other producers, too, have sussed out the singular appeal of apples gathered from the wild and the earthy, intense, bracingly dry ciders they yield.

The first to do it commercially was Andy Crown Brennan of Aaron Burr Cidery. Since 2008, he’s roamed New York’s Catskills to find fruit for what he calls “locational ciders.” To Mr. Brennan, there is no more potent expression of terroir.

At Carr’s Ciderhouse, in Hadley, Mass., Jonathan and Nicole Carr began making a foraged cider three years ago. Mr. Carr said the apples they collect range from softball-size to specimens resembling quail eggs. He believes the key isn’t choosing the perfect variety but blending a diverse mix. “There’s no real Cabernet Sauvignon of apples,” he said. Wild apples also tend to be higher than farmed ones in the acid and tannins that bring body and nuance.

Annie Bystryn offers some of these wild-harvested ciders via the new online retailer Cider in Love. “I continue to be intrigued by the surprising flavors,” she said, “often bitter, acidic, tannic and complex.”


Ciders from so-called feral orchards—cultivated trees left to revert to a wild state—have a similar appeal. In Sonoma County, Calif., Ellen Cavalli and Scott Heath produce a cider from an old orchard of European cider varieties that hasn’t been tended in decades. “Everything that comes from that orchard has a wild herbal note to it,” said Ms. Cavalli.

Each of the ciders above is wild in its own way. Their dry acidity and spiky tannins pair well with hearty winter meals.

1. Carr’s Ciderhouse Wild Apple Blend (7% ABV), $19 for 750 ml A dry-yet-fruity still cider with a baked-apple aroma.

2. Tilted Shed Lost Orchard (8% ABV), $20 for 750 ml This gently sparkling cider tastes faintly of bitter herbs.


3. South Hill Cider Packbasket (8.3% ABV), $19 for 750 ml This light golden cider made in the style of Champagne is brisk, fizzy, and very tart.

4. Aaron Burr Cidery Homestead Locational Ciders (7.8% ABV), $20 for 500 ml A collection of ciders foraged in different parts of the Catskills. Expressions vary but tend to skew bright and austere.