CIDER is coming out of the closet as the preferred tipple of the thinking and drinking classes as preparations are finalised for the Welsh Cider Festival in Gwent over the holiday weekend.

Connoisseurs of the Red Longdon, the Dabinette and Kingston Black apples, their palettes as finely attuned as any wine tippler, will be at the Clytha Arms near Raglan to sample the best Wales has to offer.

"A lot of people are getting into the cider making business you would never have seen in the days of darkened country pubs haunted by old soaks with red noses," Arfur Daley, the event's publicist said.

"The top producers include a Cardiff schoolteacher, a doctor and a former officer in military intelligence.

"The term 'scrumpy' which people still associate with country cider is still used for marketing purposes, but the drinks themselves are in many respects as sophisticated as wine.

"Each of the pressings have their own characteristic and have their own following."

A rebirth of interest in Welsh cider making has seen old orchards with long-forgotten fruit varieties being rediscovered and pressed into use. Many of the names are exotic - Sheep's Nose, Broom and Brown Snout being examples.

The names of pears for use in perry are similarly colourful, one of them glorying in the name Bastard St Brides. The third Welsh Cider festival, organised by the Welsh Cider Society, will feature almost 50 ciders and perries from a dozen producers across Wales - all vying for the coveted titles of Best Perry and Best Cider.

Potent as well as palatable, the finest ciders have to be sampled with discrimination. Seidr Dai, produced in Monmouthshire, has a complex taste with a hint of tannin. Seidr O Sir has a slightly musty taste and Gwynt-y-Draig a slightly burnt, peaty flavour from the Islay malt barrels in which it matures.

Gwynt-y-Draig Gold Medal, from the same Monmouthshire stable, a medium to sweet drink, is smooth and honeyed and very, very more-ish. Clytha landlord Andrew Canning said a special range of dishes designed to be washed down with ciders and perries is being put on. "You often see food cooked with wine but not very often in cider or perry," he said. Dave Matthews, secretary of the Welsh Cider Society, which has close links with the Campaign for Real Ale, said cider and perries were probably Britain's oldest alcoholic drinks.

"They are also among the greenest available because there are no additives and the fruit trees we take the fruit from are free from sprays and fertilisers."

The event's organiser's have anticipated that many attending the festival will not wish to drive afterwards.

"People can pitch their tents in the Clytha's grounds and a free bus service is being provided from Abergavenny," said Mr Daley. For details contact: Clytha Arms on the B4598 between Raglan and Abergavenny on (01873) 840206 or Dave Matthews on 02920 758193.