242: Selecting Cider

242: Selecting Cider

Author: Ria Windcaller: Award-winning Cidermaker, Podcaster | Craft Beer Columnist October 7, 2020 Duration: 30:41

Tips on "SelectIng Your Perfect Cider"

With so many choices on the shelf, purchasing cider can begin to feel daunting! This episode will provide tips to help you make that choice when faced with a wide range of cider styles.

242 Selecting Cider

Here are the key tips to consider when -  Purchasing Cider

Look for:

  • Cider made from 100% apples.
    •  Look for single varietal ciders to begin honing in on the wide variation of one cider to another
    • Stay away from the fruit and hopped cider until you have a sound idea of what a dry cider to semi sweet cider presents
  • Look for a Dry Scale
    • Look for the horizontal graph below on most of all New York ciders
      New York Orchard Based DrynessScale2019 slide 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Color - the range can be from light straw to deep amber. There are redflesh apples like Redfield, which will lend a red hue like a Rosè.
  • Cans or Bottles - what really matters is the cider within.
    • Cans have become increasingly popular with even some high end cider finding their way into cans. Plus they are better for the environment, because they are easier to recycle than glass, weigh less than glass thus decreasing shipping cost and are more compact to pack.
    • bottles are nice objects with long stems, often cork and cage which offer up a "Pop" when opened. For a date night, it is always bottle 100%!

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
049: Agathe Letellier | Manoir d'Apreval, Normandy - France [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:13:21
Are you a cider fan? Then follow this podcast on twitter @ciderchat In this chat: Agathe Letellier is making cider, pommeau and calvados at her cidery Manoir d'Apreval in Pennedepie in Normandy, France. It is a coastal c…
048: Heleen Nobel & Eelco Huizinga | Appels en Peren, Netherlands [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:40
Appels en Perren is the first retail store in Amsterdam selling only Apple and Pear products from the Netherlands and European countries such as France, Germany and the UK. In this week's chat we speak with Heleen Nobel…
047: CiderDays 2016 Schedule | The Oldest Ciderfest in the US [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:44
Simultaneous cider events! Oh My! In this chat I provide insider tips on: The 2016 CiderDays Schedule, held in Franklin County Massachusetts on the first week of November since 1994 Where to buy cider Where to find bulk…
046: Going to CiderDays | Insider Tips, Massachusetts [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:35
With a bit of history on the oldest Cider Fest in the US held the 1st weekend of November. CiderDays (yes it has always been spelled as one word) was founded in 1994, by Judith and Terry Maloney or West County Cider in C…
045: J. Cline Ph.D. & D. Plotkowski | Pomology Cider Research, Canada [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:59
Dr. John Cline and Derek Plotkowski chat on the study of pomes, i.e., Pomology and their current research on cider apples. They are based at the University of Guelph in Ontario Canada. John Cline Pomology and Cider in On…
044: Sebastian Lousada | Flag Hill Farm Cider, VT [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:57
Meet Sebastian Lousada Flag Hill Farm makers of what they call Vermont Organic Hard Cider, is fully off the grid, certified organic, and producers of both cider and Pomme-de-vie AND I bet you haven't heard of it! So Grab…
043: Colin Davis | Shacksbury Cider, VT [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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 t…
042: Jennifer Smith & Sara Grady | Women Leaders in Cider for NY [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:55
Jennifer Smith the Executive Director of New York Cider Association and Sara Grady Founder of NY Cider Week discuss the state's commitment to cider and upcoming events. I sat down for a chat with these two women who are…
041: Emily Ritchie | Northwest Cider Association [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:45
Emily Ritchie is the Executive Director of the Northwest Cider Association a region covering Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and British Columbia. This region's cider scene is on fire and growing! Emily Ritchie The No…
040 Diego Rivera | Quebrada del Chucao, Chile [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:58
Quebrada del Chucao is a family owned cidery in Villarica (vee aree-ka), a village located in southern Chile. The Nahrwold family along with cousin Diego Rivera have been making cider commercially since 2012. Villarica i…