043: Colin Davis | Shacksbury Cider, VT

043: Colin Davis | Shacksbury Cider, VT

Author: Ria Windcaller: Award-winning Cidermaker, Podcaster | Craft Beer Columnist August 24, 2016 Duration: 1:01:33

Colin Davis is Production Manager and cidermaker at Shacksbury, a cidery based in northern Vermont in the town of Shoreham.  Shacksbury was incorporated in 2013 and began selling ciders in 2014. Unlike many new startups that focus locally, the decision was made early on, to sell broadly.

David and Colin Shacksbury Cider Founders
David and Colin

Shacksbury Beginnings

The immediate success of Shacksbury can be credited to both Colin Davis and his business partner David Dolginow. They hit the road running by creating a formidable team with the likes of Simon Day from the UK's Once Upon a Tree and Ainara Otaño, a Basque cider maker from Petritegi .

The Basque collaboration with Ainara is now bottled in Spain.  Shacksbury's Arlo, Farmhouse, and Classic ciders are all blended with a Spanish base cider and their own Vermont cider.

There is also a base blend that is pre fermented in the UK and shipped to the US.  Simon and Colin work with the Dragon Orchard in England, a 40 acre orchard and decide together what apples go in the base cider.

Don't be fooled into thinking that this is all imported cider. Sunrise Orchards is a local Vermont orchard that they work with, as well as, having planted their own trees with scion wood from the Poverty Lane Orchards.

ep 43 Shacksbury Cider Produciton
Shacksbury Cider Production Barn

Happenings and Future Plans

Lost Apple Project,  using local apples found on "feral trees" in the Vermont backwoods. As they find the perfect apple that tastes just right they are trying to propagate new trees.

What is new for Shacksbury?

  • A tasting room in being built and should be ready for 2017.
  • A new selection of canned ciders is in the works for 2017

Contact info for Shacksbury Cider

Mentions in this Cider Chat

Keep #ciderGoingUP - become a Patron via the Cider Chat Patreon page


There’s a whole world in a glass of cider, and Cider Chat is your invitation to explore it. Hosted by award-winning cidermaker and writer Ria Windcaller, this podcast travels far beyond the bottle to meet the people who make the global cider culture so vibrant. Each conversation is a journey-you might find yourself in a heritage orchard learning the history of forgotten apple varieties, in a bustling taproom with an importer explaining regional traditions, or in a kitchen with a chef pairing cider with unexpected foods. The discussions get into the delightful nuances, too, whether that’s the semantics of what we even call this drink or how the concept of terroir translates from soil to sip. It’s not just about production; it’s about the community, the travel, and the stories that fermentation unlocks. This is for anyone curious about the craft, history, and sheer enjoyment of fermented apple juice in all its forms. So, pour a glass and settle in for a series that feels like a wide-ranging, informative, and genuinely good-humored chat with friends who happen to be obsessed with cider. You’ll come away with a deeper appreciation for every effervescent, tart, or sweet sip, hearing directly from the growers, makers, and enthusiasts who are shaping this drink’s exciting present and future.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 501

Cider Chat
Podcast Episodes
458: Sodo Sidriné and the Rise of Lithuanian Craft Cider [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:08
Donatas Genys didn't set out to launch Lithuania's first keeved cider. But after trips to England and Normandy, years of experimentation, and the planting of over 6,000 cider apple trees, that's exactly what he's doing.…
457: Snow Capped Cider: A Family Legacy at 7,000 Feet | CO [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:08
At the base of Colorado's Grand Mesa, the world's largest flat-top mountain, five generations of fruit growers have worked the land. Today, Snow Capped Cider carries on that legacy, crafting estate-grown ciders from frui…
456: From Oregon to Norway: Abram Goldman-Armstrong's Cider Journey [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:19
This episode of Cider Chat, was recorded in person with Abram Goldman-Armstrong at CiderCon2025 in Chicago. Hear his journey to cider. From growing up in Oregon's Yamhill County to his current work in Norway's Hardanger…
455: Zero Percent Sh*t  | John Edwards Returns [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:50
John Edwards, longtime cider maker and integral team member at Ross on Wye Cider & Perry Co., and the creative force behind his personal label Fly be Night Cider was last on the podcast in 2019. John Edwards In this Cide…
454: Wild Ferment Meets Fine Cider: Inside Oliver's Barrel Room [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:43
Rainy Days Goes Best with Dry Cider in the Barrel Room Walking into the barrel room at Oliver's Cider and Perry Company, you might think you know what to expect. But surrounded by whitewashed stone walls, standing beneat…
453: Homage to Perry Legends by Tom Oliver at AppleFest | UK [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:38
Celebrating Perry's Past, Present, and Future Tom Oliver began his keynote by saying, "At this year's Applefest Banquet, I had the honor of lifting a glass to the people behind the pear—specifically Perry. It wasn't just…
452: Mac to Redfield: Four Phantoms Brewery Embraces Cider | MA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:18
Drew Phillips opened the doors of Four Phantoms in Greenfield, Massachusetts in 2021. He began his fermentation career in the Pacific Northwest, and while waiting to open his own brewery, he took on the role as cider mak…
451: Hello Season 10 and The Berkshire Roundtable [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:32
In this Season 10 premier of Cider Chat, "Introductions" are featured from over 40 persons in attendance at the annual 2025 Berkshire Roundtable. Kicking off Season 10 of Cider Chat The opportunity to begin Season 10 wit…
450th Roger Wilkins - The Cider King [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:01
Looking back at Season 9 and Forward with Roger Wilkins In this season ending episode we visit Roger Wilkins at his Lands End Farm. Cider King – Roger Wilkins Roger Wilkins, is known globally as the "Cider King," and is…
449: Exploring Hereford's Museum of Cider with Elizabeth Pimblett [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:05
The Role of the Museum of Cider Elizabeth Pimblett's background and her journey to the museum The history of the museum, founded in 1887 by the Bulmer brothers The significance of the building and its historic cider cell…