Twelve members of our Cider Club visited Cambremer in an attempt to learn all about Normandy cider.
Between the 30th June to the 2nd of July 2025 we cycled around the area visited 6 cider makers and had a number of tours to learn the skills they use in brewing and the apples they consider worthy of adding to their cider and Calvados. A good time was had by all and some even thought our “Old Hoody” cider tasted better! well who am I to object!
Join the Cider Club in order to get involved with future adventures.
Normandie Cider Tour Details
The 25 mile “Route de Cidre” bike tour started just after breakfast and bike prep. It was about 4 hours of gentle cycling on very quiet roads plus time at 4 cider makers a church and lovely village so a full day. There were some steepish hills with a total assent of 400 metres spread over the 25 miles so the hired e-bikes came in very handy for some. We waited until the next day for the last two tours! Well all good things are worth waiting for.
Tour 1. Domaine du Manoir de Montreuil en Auge – Cambremer vintage
https://maps.app.goo.gl/SSHHdGZ5Qsw49TpCA
The GIARD family produces AOC Pays d’Auge cider, apple juice, Pommeau de Normandie, and Calvados (from 4 years old to great vintages over 40 years old) tasting and sales on site. They offered us an unexpected tour when we arrived by bike. Some voted this the best cider and returned by car the following day to buy a few cases!
Visit 2 Ferme de la Vallée au Tanneur
https://maps.app.goo.gl/E9azPVCD3JCUzdGT6
An organic producer located on the Cambremer Cru Cider Route, Ferme de la Vallée au Tanneur produces Pays d’Auge PDO cider, Calvados, Pommeau, perry, cider vinegar, and apple juice. Pays d’Auge raw milk cheeses and honey were also available. No tour here as just the sales office was open but they offered us a chance to top up our bikes water bottles.
Visit 3 Desvoye Cider Farm
https://maps.app.goo.gl/8hviKSCuf9pLHGun6
At the heart of the cider route, this organic family farm is typical of the Pays d’Auge region, with its old press, half-timbered buildings, and traditional “Haute Tige” orchards.
tasting, and sales could have been on site but when we arrived they were closed for lunch.
Visit 4 Cave Denis
https://maps.app.goo.gl/L5eJ8JiLYBierPb5A
Producer harvesting in Saint-Aubin-Lébizay: cider, perry, calvados, cider vinegar, jelly and jam, apple juice, sparkling apple juice, and various products. The old granite press tower. This cider maker was closed for the week and away on holiday. Didn’t they know who we were?
Tour 2. Domaine Antoine Marois
https://maps.app.goo.gl/2WTZWcPqsnhSZ28d8
Antoine Marois became an agronomist in the wine world and initially worked in many regions of France and Navarre. In 2016, he returned to his home region on his grandparents’ estate with the desire to reveal the great cider-producing terroirs of the Pays d’Auge
in order to create exceptional ciders representative of a particular soil, apple varieties, vintage, and organic production. Each cuvée in the range comes from a single orchard where a mix of apples (tart, bittersweet, red binet, etc.) is grown, resulting in a single-plot cuvée expressing the diversity of its terroir.
Antoine’s approach and his range of ciders are inspired by the world of winemaking: hand-harvesting, single-plot and vintage cuvées, and natural fermentation in the bottle. This unique approach allows us to offer gourmet ciders that are found on the tables of passionate chefs. Committed to healthy and sustainable agriculture, the estate is currently undergoing conversion to organic farming. email antoine@domaine-am.com
Antoine’s tour was fascinating and he took time to explain all the equipment he had recently purchased to enhance his cider making. Great tour
Tour 3 Pierre Huet Calvados
https://maps.app.goo.gl/kYUTS6U3ZppW23GK6
Combining tradition and innovation, the Huet family has been producing and selling Calvados, ciders, and Pommeau de Normandie since 1865, in the heart of the Pays d’Auge. The estate, composed of 30 hectares of orchards, has been equipped
since 2011 with an innovative distillery unique in Normandy, heated with wood chips.
we had a guided tour, tasting and the opportunity to buy. I would say this cider maker was the most commercial one in Cambremer and offered a very interesting tour. It was a very very hot day so the cool Calvados storage cellars at 11 Deg C were very inviting.
