280: The Cidermaker's Fuzzy Slippers

280: The Cidermaker's Fuzzy Slippers

Author: Ria Windcaller: Award-winning Cidermaker, Podcaster | Craft Beer Columnist July 14, 2021 Duration: 37:50

Grab the slippers, the house is on fire!

In February of 2021, Nicole and Felix Todd had a chimney fire at the their home and the damage done made it unlivable. Having a fire even in the best of times is an ordeal, but during a pandemic is a whole other ball of wax. Felix ran out of the house in his socks, because fires are that scary and when it is raining embers you don't have time to lace up your boots. Which is why he ended up wearing a pair of slippers that evening after the Cal Firefighters brought him a choice of Nicole's Doc Martens (boots) and her fuzzy slippers.

Later they learned that was a bit of firefighter humor. But that is only part of the story for this endearing couple. I first met the Todds back in 2015 when I record episode 60 featuring the cidery that Nicole and her sister Natalie founded called Santa Cruz Cider Company. Today, the cidery has a Tasting Room located 1 minute from Highway 1, which is the coastal route that stretches along the coast. It is open Friday, Saturdays and Sundays and they also have a booth at the Farmer's Market held in downtown Santa Cruz every Wednesday from 1-6pm.

Ep 280 Fluffy Slippers at Santa Cruz Cider Company

Getting Back to the Slippers

This recording took place at a campsite where the Todds have plans to build their new home. This new site came about because after the fire they had moved into a camper/trailer but luck threw them another left turn when high winds caused damage to that temporary home. They temporarily move in with sister Natalie but had their sites on some land not too far from the cidery.

Around the Campfire with no Slippers but lots of cider

During this recording we discuss a spontaneously Keeved Cider from juice offered up from a neglected orchard in the area. The apples are the variety known as Gravenstein and being that the orchard had little nutrients is considered why the juice then keeved. This is a limited release cider that they bottled in 500 ml glass and have on tap at the Tasting Room.

[caption id="attachment_6341" align="aligncenter" width="300"]ep 280 Santa Cruz Cider Company Keeved cider 2020 Santa Cruz Cider Co. Keeved Cider label - look for the Gravenstein with Green![/caption]

Listen to episode 26 as Neil Worley explains Keeved Cider

Contact for Santa Cruz Cider Company

Website: santacruzciderco.com

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/santacruzciderco/

eMail:

natalie@santacruzciderco.com

nicole@santacruzciderco.com

Mentions in this Chat

Mentions in this Chat

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
029: At The Hop | Oliver's Cider and Perry, UK [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:49
Tom Oliver shares his approach to hopped cider and the best of what the US and UK have to look forward to in the cider market. What he saw in US hopped ciders back in 2013 ignited his desire to try his hand at adding hop…
028: John Bunker | Apple Identification [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:48
When John Bunker talks or teaches Apple Identification he doesn't begin with the apple. He always goes back to the root of the tree…unless it is one of the Eric Clapton apples, i.e., you immediately recognize it as a var…
027: Aaron Anderson | Austin Eastciders, Texas [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:14
Austin Eastciders is helping to make Austin Texas a cider mecca in a land where the apple root faces harsh growing conditions. Aaron Anderson is the R&D Coordinator at this growing cidery. He sat down for a chat with me…
026: Neil Worley | Worleys Cider, UK [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:28
Keeving Made Simple, but oh so Dandy at Worleys Cider Neil Worley's makes cider in the area of Great Britain called Somerset. Climb the high hill at the farm and your can see the Bristol Channel. It is a remote location…
025: Jim Wallace | Cider Pairing with a Cheese Maker [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:51
Jim Wallace is a cheese maker and cheese tech a.k.a the "Cheese Guru" at New England Cheesemaking Supply in Ashfield Massachusetts. When not helping the cheese world sort through problematic cheeses, he teaches classes a…
024: Leonard Koningswijk | Bear Cider, Netherlands [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:29
Leonard Koningswijk owner/cidermaker of Bear Cider in the Netherlands is turning his country towards cider one palate at a time. The idea was sprouted at his family home in the rural village of Beerze on the border of Ge…
023: Alec Steinmetz | Buskey Cider, Virginia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:04
Alec Steinmetz, Will Correll and Matthew Meyer are sharing their story of starting an urban cidery. This is Part 1 of what will be an ongoing story of the start-up Buskey Cider of Richmond, Virginia. The cidermaking tank…
022: Gregory Hall | Virtue Cider, Michigan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:17
Getting to cider for Gregory Hall, was one part luck and a whole lot of beer. When his father John Hall founded the Chicago based Goose Island Brewery in 1988, it took only 3 years before Greg was at the helm of brewing.…
021: Bill Bradshaw | Bill Bradshaw Photography, UK [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:21
Bill Bradshaw is a photographer, an author of three cider books and consider by many to be a Cider Ambassador for UK ciders. I met with Bill at the United States Association of Cider Makers annual conference in Portland…
020: Curtis Sherrer | Millstone Cellars, Maryland [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:58
Curtis Sherrer is barreling aging single variety apples at Millstone Cellars. An old grist mill dating back to the 1850s houses the Tasting Room. "We will have 50 barrels and then settle on 15 to pick from to blend for t…