Beverages are a significant feature at the Tasmanian Taste festival and with ciders becoming increasingly popular, it is timely to find out a bit more about the revival of this ancient drink.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Listen Duration: 3 minutes 40 seconds 3 m 40 s Taste test for top ciders. ( Margot Foster ) Download 1.7 MB

A panel of judges have just completed judging the awards for food wine and cider.

Louise Radman is director of Radpublic and Domaine Simha is an international show judge who sits on numerous judging panels including Australia's wine list of the year awards, best sommelier of Australia competition and the London International Wine Challenge.

Ms Simha said: "it's really important to recognise the different styles of ciders that are being made."

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Listen Duration: 7 minutes 42 seconds 7 m Gold to Red Brick Road cidery ( Margot Foster ) Download 3.5 MB

"We have here a growing number of the heritage apple varieties like Sturmer Pippin, Bulmers Norman [and] Kingston Black.

"And the ciders in Tasmania are made from proper real apples.

"They are not made from concentrate like they can be in other places, so you're getting a really quality product."

Karina Dambergs, cider maker and co-owner of Red Brick Road Cider House in Launceston, took out the gold medal for her perry cider.

Technically, ciders have to contain some apple but more twists on the traditional ciders are emerging said Ms Dambergs.

Taste of Tasmania 2015 cider winners: Best top traditional - Lost Pippin Special Release 2014 cider

Best top traditional - Lost Pippin Special Release 2014 cider Runner up - Willie Smith's Bone Dry

Runner up - Willie Smith's Bone Dry Top contemporary - Doc Cider

Top contemporary - Doc Cider Top sweet style - Frank's Summer Apple Perry winners Red Brick Road Top Perry

Red Brick Road Top Perry Lost Pippin Sparkling Pear

"So you'll see things labelled as fruit ciders, like the cherry ciders and we work on the fact that apples make cider and pears make perry," she said.

Ms Dambergs has tasted a lot of ciders in her work and also as a judge, and said a distinctive Tasmanian style of cider was emerging.

"Usually they say for any product, it takes about ten years of making it there and you'll really start to see a sense of place," she said.

"So you'll start to see this Tasmanian style of cider emerge."