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
079: Dan Young | Tandem Ciders, Michigan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:19
Tandem Ciders is the result of two hearts coming together in one spot of Ciderville (the east coast) and finding their way to Michigan. In the late 1990's Dan Young who was the co-owner and brewer at The People's Pint in…
078: Oscar Garcia Busto | Mayador, Asturias [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:57
The Mayador cider brand came about from a lot hard work and ingenuity. Manuel Busto Amandi born in 1906 founded his cider business originally as M.Busto in 1939. Between that time and 1966, Manuel's ingenuity kept the bu…
077: US Cider Trends 2017 | Nielsen Data of Cider Market [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:47
The US cider market share in 2017 is growing. This episode on Cider Trends in the US and abroad is a replay of a webinar from April 5, 2017 presented by Danny Brager and Matthew Crompton of the Nielsen Company. The webin…
076: Lou and Sue Chadwick | Grafting at Second Chance Farm, MA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:22
Lou and Sue Chadwick of Second Chance Farm in Greenfield Massachusetts are what I consider the "Apple Pied Pipers". For nearly as long as CiderDays (the oldest cider event in the US) has been running I have seen the Chad…
075: Alan Shapiro | Cider Summit, USA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:27
Alan Shapiro wasn't looking to get involved in cider, being a craft beer enthusiast, one sip at the right time changed his mind and he isn't looking back. He is founder of the widely popular Cider Summits that takes plac…
074: Nicole and Rafe Ward | Forgotten Ciders, Michigan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:13
Nicole and Rafe Ward of Forgotten Ciders are celebrating 3 years of cidermaking this April of 2017. This Michigan cidery has over 1000 variety of apples growing on 16 acres, many of which are cider varieties and red fles…
073: Shea A.J. Comfort | The Yeast Whisper [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:20
The Yeast Whisper's Back Story Having read extensively the books of the day he is, suffice to say, a self taught technical yeast expert. "You realize you have to get some type of competency in science…basic formulas, con…
072: Lost Apples of the Quabbin | Massachusetts [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:21
Lost Apples of the Quabbin is a presentation by Al Sax and Matt Kaminsky documenting their 2016 research and quest for mapping out the apple trees in this historical reservoir region. The Quabbin Reservoir was created to…
071: Jeppe Gents | Fejø Cider, Denmark [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:15
Jeppe Gents opened Fejø Cider in 1999. He calls himself a "cider farmer" having founded his cidery on an island 200 kilometers south of Copenhagen. You can take a 15-minute ride on a ferry to the island and visit this ce…
070: Mattie Beason | Black Twig Cider House, North Carolina [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:48
Mattie Beason's passion for cider led him to open Black Twig Cider House in 2016. This new cider bar is located in Durham, North Carolina right across the street from Duke University. A good location is a key factor as y…