180: Cider Is Wine | Simon Day, UK

180: Cider Is Wine | Simon Day, UK

Author: Ria Windcaller: Award-winning Cidermaker, Podcaster | Craft Beer Columnist May 15, 2019 Duration: 58:21

180: Cider Is Wine | Simon Day of Once Upon a Tree, UK

This chat was recorded at CiderCon2019 in Chicago.

Simon Day and I did not speak directly on the topic of the "Cider is Wine" debate, but I do suspect that his early upbringing which was intrenched in the wine culture certainly informs him today. When Simon was 2 his father got a job working at a vineyard, and that vineyard also had apple and pears growing there too.

On May 20th - 22nd of 2019 he is attending the London Wine Fair with the "Cider is Wine Alliance", a newly formed non profit group based in the UK whose mission is to create a new quality drinks category for ciders & perries produced from 100% apples and pears.

Simon Day, opening a bottle of Simon Day, opening a bottle of "Chapel Pleck" a champagne method Perry

Simon's own background before starting Once Upon a Tree led him to work globally in the business of wine both in the UK to the Pacific Northwest, Australia and on the Channel island of Jersey, which is right off the coast of Normandy. Jersey by the way has a rich cider making history too.

When Simon eventually returned to England, he settle close by the original vineyard. The house was surrounded by orchards.

Like most major life changes there is a pivotal moment in time that can change your life's trajectory and for Simon it was attending The Big Apple Association tasting in the same town where he lived.

In 2007 he started pressing and using the same press, a Voran mill and press, that he had been using in Guernsey. That year he made 3 different ciders and entered them into the International Perry and Cider Competition in 2008. They won first place for all 3 categories

Today, Once Upon a Tree is both making Cider, Perry, Ice Pear Wine and providing other cider makers both juice and cider. Shacksbury based in Vermont was the first to use cider from Once Upon a Tree. Shacksbury uses 25% of their UK juice to blend into Shacksbury's Dry Cider.

In this chat Simon served a 2014 Marcle Ridge cider and a champagne method perry called Chapel Pleck, both outstanding ciders.

Contact info for Once Upon a Tree

Website: https://shop.haygrove-evolution.com/

eMail: mailto:info@onceuponatree.co.uk

Address:

Haygrove Evolution

Little Marcle Road, Ledbury,

Herefordshire, HR82JL

Mentions in this Chat

  • Totally Cider Tour | Normandy September 22-28, 2019

Please Help Support Cider Chat Please donate today. Help keep the chat thriving!

Find this episode and all episodes at the page for Cider Chat's podcasts.


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
278: Still Fishing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:31
Gone Fishing Ok, so maybe I'm not full on fishing this week, but if I get a chance you know where I will be - out on the water with my fishing pole...actually the heat is so high this week that maybe I will just take a f…
277: Spotlight on Cider | Bringing the Bellies to the Bar Pt 4 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:13
Getting Cider into the Spotlight This episode is Part 4 of the 4 Part series from CraftCon 2021 panel discussion on Bringing the Bellies to the Bar. In Part 1 we discussed "Who is Cider's Audience?" and "Who would you li…
276: Tempted by Cider | Bringing the Bellies to the Bar [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:59
Tempted by Cider This episode is Part 3 of the 4 Part series from CraftCon 2021 panel discussion on Bringing the Bellies to the Bar. In Part 1 we discussed "Who is Cider's Audience?" and "Who would you like the Audience…
275: Cider Brand Strategy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:19
Listen to Part 1 of this 4-part series by going to episode 274: Cider's Audience. Brand Strategy for Cider Brand Strategy has the same goal no matter what you are selling. In short it is to get your product or services o…
274: Cider's Audience | Bringing the Bellies to the Bar [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:09
Who is your audience? No matter what business venture, knowing your audience (targeted consumers) is key to one's success and is the first topic of conversation for the panel discussion titled Bring the Bellies to the Ba…
273: The Mountain & Tub | Stories in Ciderville [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:59
Climb Every Mountain Wendy LeBlanc and Patrick Mann met in Washington State before moving to Germany to settle into the 1785 homestead owned by Patrick's parents. One would think that living near the 14,000 foot (4267.2…
272: Blend Cider & Build an Orchestra | Ask Ryan 2021 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:36
Blend Cider is Like Building an Orchestra Ryan Monkman of FieldBird Cider in Ontario has helped Ria sort through the process of getting cider that has been conditon for over two years into the bottle! Now that we have le…
271: The Exquisite Slurry for Bottling Cider | Ask Ryan 2021 Part 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:07
The Yeast and Sugar Slurry Ryan Monkman of FieldBird Cider in Ontario continue on with helping Ria get ready to bottle cider that has been conditioning for over 2 years! In this episode we discuss the amount of sugar to…
270: Cidermaker Tips to Avoid Bottle Bombs | Ask Ryan 2021 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:20
Bottle Safely to Avoid Bottle Bombs If like me you grew up in a house where your parents made homemade everything, chances are they also dabbled in making homemade soda, wine, beer, and cider. Mine sure did and I still r…
269: Gross Lees in the Barrel | Ask Ryan 2021 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:13
The Ask Ryan Series is back! In Spring of 2020 the first Ask Ryan series with Ryan Monkman of FieldBird Cider was posted. This year we return with Ryan once again to dive into more cidermaking questions. In this segment…