250. Calvados: Orchard Structure, Appellation Rules, and the Architecture of Distillation

Calvados: Orchard Structure, Appellation Rules, and the Architecture of Distillation

Among the major French spirits, Calvados is often underexamined. It lacks the historical prestige of Cognac, the rural loyalty of Armagnac, and the commercial reach of either. Yet its production rests on a system that is no less rigorous and no less expressive. Calvados is not made from grapes but from apples and pears, fermented into cider and perry, and then distilled and aged under a framework defined by both tradition and regulation. It is shaped by orchard agriculture, by fermentation timelines, and by distillation methods tied to geography. The result is a spirit whose structure reflects botanical composition more than barrel signature, and whose variation across subregions is built into the legal identity of the product itself.

From Orchard to Still: The Foundation of Cider Distillate