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Cidery / The Pairing Notes

What to drink with what.

Twelve ciders, three pairing categories — cheese, chocolate, and game. Reference notes from our tasting-room kitchen, plus three monthly pairing-dinner events.

Cheese

Aged sheep's milk, washed-rind cow, blue, soft-bloom — twelve cheese pairings across the lineup.

Chocolate

70%+ single-origin, milk caramel, smoked cacao, cherry — six chocolate-cider pairings.

Game

Roast duck, venison, smoked trout, charcuterie — pairing the heritage and reserve cuvées.

Events

Two pairing-dinner events per month, four-course menus built around three Windward bottles.

Visual map · what to try first

Find a pairing you'll remember.

Hover over any cell to read the cidermaker's note. The full reference is below.
Featured pairing

Heritage Reserve × aged Comté

Méthode-champenoise dryness against the long, crystalline crunch of three-year Comté. The cellar's defining pairing — the one we open for every visiting sommelier.

Wild Ferment × Roquefort

Brett funk × bright blue salt.

Pommeau × 70% Madagascar

Long apple-syrup match.

Storm Ridge Dry × roast duck

The pairing we put on every Friday's tasting-room menu.

Foxwhelp × venison

Tannin × game.

Cortland × caramel milk

Off-dry × salted caramel.

Kingston Black × smoked trout

Leather and birch smoke meet on the palate. Surprise pairing of the season.

The full reference

Twelve pairings, annotated.

Curated by our tasting-room chef in collaboration with the cidermaker. Each entry lists provenance and the right service temperature.
Cheese · n° 01

Heritage Reserve × aged Comté

Heritage Reserve9% · 2023
×
Comté 36moJura · cow

The fine méthode-champenoise bead lifts the crystalline grain on three-year Comté. Pour at 48°F, serve cheese fully tempered. Add a thin slice of green walnut.

Serve at48°F
Cheese · n° 02

Wild Ferment × Roquefort

Wild Ferment '248.4%
×
Roquefort AOPAveyron · sheep

Brett-driven funk cuts the salt of true Roquefort and amplifies the blue. Decant for an hour, drink at 50°F, eat the cheese with a spoon of orchard honey.

Serve at50°F
Cheese · n° 03

Roxbury Russet × Manchego

Roxbury Russet7.4%
×
Manchego 12moLa Mancha · sheep

Earthy, nutty, gently honeyed. The russet's brown-apple character lines up exactly with the dry, hay-edged notes in mid-aged Manchego. A dependable everyday pairing.

Serve at46°F
Chocolate · n° 04

Pommeau Apéritif × 70% Madagascar

Pommeau '2117%
×
70% MadagascarSingle-origin

The long apple-syrup finish on aged pommeau pulls the red-fruit acidity out of Madagascar cacao. Pour 1.5oz cold, hold the chocolate on the tongue.

Serve at45°F
Chocolate · n° 05

Cortland Crescent × salted caramel milk

Cortland Crescent6.4%
×
Salted-caramel milk40% cacao

The 18 g/L residual on this off-dry meets the burnt-sugar caramel cleanly. The pairing we serve at every kid-friendly tasting evening.

Serve at44°F
Chocolate · n° 06

Kingston Black × smoked cacao

Kingston Black8.2%
×
Smoked 78%Birch-smoked

Leathery cider meets birch-smoked cacao. A short, deep finish — drink slowly, two sips per square.

Serve at50°F
Game · n° 07

Storm Ridge Dry × roast duck

Storm Ridge Dry7.2%
×
Roast duck breastFive-spice rub

The cidery's house pairing — bone-dry green-apple acid lifts duck fat. Render the skin hard, drink the cider very cold, alternate every other bite.

Serve at42°F
Game · n° 08

Foxwhelp Solo × venison shank

Foxwhelp Solo8.8%
×
Braised venisonJuniper · bay

Pure-Foxwhelp tannin meets long-braised game. The most assertive pairing on the menu — works only with deeply caramelized braising liquid.

Serve at52°F
Game · n° 09

Wild '22 Reserve × smoked trout

Wild '22 Reserve8.6%
×
Cold-smoked troutApple-wood

Two-year cellar wild against apple-wood smoked trout. The mineral finish on the cider mirrors river-trout flesh. Serve trout at room temperature.

Serve at48°F
Pairing dinner calendar · 2026

Six pairing nights, RSVP per seat.

Each pairing night runs 6:30–9:30pm in the cellar dining room — four courses, three Windward bottles. Twenty-four seats per dinner.
May 09Friday

Spring cheese & blossom

Five young-spring cheeses paired with the Spring Release lineup, plus a guest pour from Tonal Cheese Cave.

$95
Seats · 14 left
RSVP
May 23Friday

The chocolate evening

Five-course chocolate-and-cider dinner with chocolatier Mara Sola. Includes one bottle to take home.

$140
Seats · 6 left
RSVP
Jun 06Friday

Smoke & game · summer

Cold-smoked trout, duck rillettes, venison loin — paired with Storm Ridge, Foxwhelp Solo, and Heritage Reserve.

$125
Seats · 22 open
RSVP
Jun 27Friday

The blue cheese index

Six blues from three countries, paired top-to-bottom with our wild and reserve cuvées. Most-requested dinner of the year.

$110
Seats · 3 left
RSVP
Jul 11Friday

Pommeau & aperitif evening

Three vintages of pommeau across a five-course summer menu. Outdoor patio seating only.

$135
Seats · 16 open
RSVP
Jul 25Friday

The kid-friendly orchard supper

Family-style dinner, juice flights for guests under 21, cider flights for adults. Reserved tables of six.

$72/$32
Tables · 3 left
RSVP