Norwegian Cider in Hardanger

We had booked a package tour through the Historic Hotels to do a “cider safari” in Hardanger. After 18 months at home during the pandemic, we were thrilled to get out and about again. And we had a fantastic weekend at Utne Hotel, largely thanks to the incredibly good service from the hotel staff.

“Cider safari”

We enjoy stopping at vineyards in France for a little tour and a taste of their goods. Now you can do the same in Norway. In Hardanger, it’s possible to go on a cider safari to visit different cider producers, almost like in France.

Mountain view at Haukeli crossing

We had a lovely drive from Oslo over Haukelifjell. An extra “bonus” was that a couple of the tunnels were closed, and we were rerouted onto the old road. It offered narrow, winding roads with fantastic views! We hope these roads can be opened for other tourists during the summer season. It’s much more enjoyable than tunnels.

We arrived at Utne Hotel just before 6 PM, in time for the cider tasting that was part of our package.

Tasting by the Director

We got to taste four different ciders from the small fjord Sørfjorden, an arm of Hardangerfjord. On both sides of the fjord, fruit is cultivated. Mostly apples, but also plums and blackcurrants, which have eventually been turned into cider.

We particularly liked Heldre. It’s not sold at Vinmonopolet, so we jokingly asked if we could order a case to take home. Heldre wasn’t part of the farms we were visiting the next day.

We enjoyed both the cider and some snacks in the beautiful rooms of the hotel. The hotel dates back to 1722, and the style is consistent throughout the hotel.

The other ciders were also very good. We liked both Store Naa Cider Company’s 57.2, Aga’s Bøddel, and Edel from Åkre Farm. We were just as excited for the next day after the tasting.

3-course meal with cider

Dinner was another round with more cider, as it should be. We chose an ice cider from Alde for dessert.

Since we were staying at the hotel for two nights, we asked if we could save half the bottle for the next day. You often only drink one glass of dessert wine, after all. That was no problem! However, we were warned that the next day’s dessert might not pair as well with the dessert wine as the chocolate cake did. My response was that maybe the chef could make a dessert that paired well? It’s worth a try, isn’t it?

The dinner was delicious, and the old, charming dining room exudes centuries of history. A beautiful setting for the meal.

Off to a Rocky start

The next day, we were told to be at the pier well before the boat departed at 9:15 AM. It was supposed to take us to Kinsarvik, where a bus would drive us to Lofthus. The problem became apparent when the ferry that arrived wasn’t going to Kinsarvik but back to Kvanndal. I went to the reception and stated that we had a problem…

Behind the desk we found the hotel director, dressed for his breakfast duty in full chef’s whites. He thought for 10 seconds before saying: “Well, then I’ll have to drive you!” He took off his apron and told us to meet him outside the hotel. And off we went around the entire fjord.

The tour of Alvavoll was supposed to start at 10:15 AM, so we didn’t have much time. The drive takes an hour and twenty minutes… if you follow the speed limit that is. We called Alvavoll to let them know we’d be a bit late. They had 25 other guests to take care of, so they had to start the tour without us. We had a fast but enjoyable drive, with lots of interesting information about Hardanger, the hotel, and the Historic Hotels. Our driver would very much preferred to skip it, but he did what he had to do to get us on the tour.

First stop Alvavoll

We arrived at Alvavoll and joined the tour through the apple orchard. There, we learned a lot about why apples and fruit thrive so well in Hardanger, how they work with thinning and tying, watering, and fertilizing the trees. We also heard about how the dry summer of 2018 affected the apple season of 2021.

After lots of information, we headed into the “factory” where Harald served us three different ciders they produce on the farm. Dry, fruity, and tart ciders that we in Norway should drink more ov. We could start by replacing cheap prosecco with high quality local produce. One of the ciders was flavored with hops, which gives both a good taste and a very floral aroma. We bought some bottles of “Fjording”, named after one of our national horse breeds.

Ferry cross the fjord

The next stop was the fantastic new electric ferry Vision of the Fjords. It would take us from Lofthus to Aga Cidery on the other side of the fjord. The only downside was that the trip was too short and the weather was a bit gray and wet. If you have the opportunity to do a cruise with one of these electric ferries, either on the Sognefjord or the Hardangerfjord, I highly recommend it.

It is part of the «Norway in a Nutshell” trip. 

Upon arrival at Aga, we were greeted by the boss himself, Joar Aga. He has run the farm since 2018, and already the following year, he went all-in on cider production. He has won an award for the cider Lagmann, which was one of the three we got to taste, along with Bøddel and Humlepung.

We enjoyed the tasting of ciders with different kinds of cheese. We do make a brown goats cheese in Norway, not to be compared or confused with the french variety, and that cheese worked surprisingly well with one of the ciders!

The Aga farmstead

After the tasting, we wandered up to Agatunet, the Aga Farmstead, which is right up the road. The word tun describes the part of the farm surrounded by multiple houses.

It is Norway’s oldest “clustered farm” or clustered tun with many buildings. The most important building there is almost 900 years old. Beautiful buildings, many photo opportunities, and we managed to take many pictures before we had a good lunch in the barn.

We were taken on a tour where we got to see Norway’s oldest courtroom, where the “Lagmann,” whom Joar’s cider is named after, presided over cases.

At 3 PM, we were picked up by a taxi to take us back to Utne Hotel. Hotel director Ivar called to check that this part of the trip went as planned. He had tried to arrange another cider tasting for us since we were late for the first one, but unfortunately, it didn’t work out. Instead, they had arranged a “cider surprise” for us back at the hotel as a consolation. We did not feel like we had missed out on much but that was really the most wonderful surprise.

Hardanger Tapas

Back at the hotel, we settled in on the “glass veranda” at the front of the hotel to watch the Euro, the European football championchips. We were treated like royalty with a bottle of blackcurrant cider from Edel and two heaping plates of local “Hardanger tapas.”

Fish cakes, ham and sausage, crispy bread rolls with herb butter. And for dessert, apple marinated in beetroot juice and cinnamon rolls with sugar and cinnamon! Overwhelming and sooo good!

We devoured everything, a bit worried about whether we would be hungry again by dinner. But suprisingly we had room for dinner later.

The whole time, people stopped by to check on us. The chef wondered if it tasted good, the restaurant manager wanted to know the football results, and other guests wondered what we were drinking. I advocated for Hardanger cider to everyone who would listen. Obviously. That’s why we were there in the first place.

We chatted with the couple celebrating their golden wedding anniversary and with the three couples out for a drive in their convertibles. It was really nice to be out among people again after a year of staying home.

The restaurant manager stopped by again too. He told us that the chef had made a dessert (for all the guests) that would pair with the rest of our dessert wine. The chef later told us that he had tested 5 or 6 different desserts to find the one that paired best. I felt a bit bad about my “cheeky” comment from the day before but the cheesecake with a bit of apple cider really did the trick and paired well with the cider.

Alde ice cider can replace many of the well-known dessert wines. It’s a bit more tart and therefore a bit more challenging to match with sweet desserts. But it is possible.

Exceptional Service and Care

Later on, the hotel director also stopped by. Since he had driven us around the entire fjord, he had stopped by Hildre Cider. He bought a case of the cider we had liked so much the day before and offerd us to buy as many bottles as we wanted if we were still interested. Talk walking the extra mile for your customers.

Throughout our stay, we were continually impressed by the thoughtfulness and level of service and the genuine desire for all guests to have a good time. We felt like we were visiting good friends.

Beautiful Hardanger

Hardanger is fantastically beautiful, especially in the summer when the blue sky and green hills reflect in the fjord. Old houses, farms, and villages scattered around, rows upon rows of fruit trees, and high mountains with rivers and streams cascading down from the glacier.

The Historic Hotels sell cider packages where you can choose to stay at either Utne, as we did, or Ullensvang. Later in the season, there are dedicated boats that make it easier to get to Lofthus, where the safari starts.

Electrical ferry

Vision of the Fjords runs a route in the summer between Odda, Lofthus, and Aga. You can get on and off as you please. It’s a shame it doesn’t go all the way to Utne. I would also like to see it stop at even more places. Then it would be easier for people to combine it with a unique hotel experience as well. Imagine being able to step right onto the ferry outside the hotel and visit several cideries over a couple of days.

It’s lovely to enjoy the fjord a bit too, with slightly longer trips. I would gladly buy a two-day boat ticket with cider tastings on both sides of the fjord. We only got to visit two producers this time. We would love to extend the tour to a couple of days to visit more producers. Here’s a free tip: Expand the offer so that we can visit and taste more cider. Run the boat via places where we can have lunch and plan for people to simply spend more time in the area.

All in all, as you can understand, we had a fantastic experience. The fact that we sort of missed the ferry on Saturday morning only made the experience better. We have the contact information for the head chef Nany, who is returning to Czechia to complete his studies. Maybe we’ll meet both him, Hotel Director Ivar, and chef Dennis again at the next crossroads. We would love to come back to Utne Hotel and Hardanger.