For some cider makers, tannins are the holy grail of the cider business. Without tannins and fermentation, hard cider is merely sweet cider, a confection, and not the beverage whose demand continues to grow significantly. They are the chemicals in apples that, once they survive fermentation, impart mouth feel and body to cider. And it’s bittersharps and bittersweets that have the highest levels. In the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, most of the cider apples grown don’t have elevated levels of tannins, according to Edwin Winzeler, a project assistant at Penn State’s Fruit Research and Extension Center in Biglerville, […]