420: Books, Cider, Cheesecake | Cider Chat Live

420: Books, Cider, Cheesecake | Cider Chat Live

Author: Ria Windcaller: Award-winning Cidermaker, Podcaster | Craft Beer Columnist July 17, 2024 Duration: 18:41

Basque Cheesecake and Santa Cruz Cider

Cider Chat Live brings you a tasting of a celebratory cider from Santa Cruz Cider Company paires with a what is called Basque Cheesecake!

Basque Cheesecake is much less dense than classic New York cheesecake. It is crustless, and has a golden, beautiful caramelized exterior. It also has a much lighter texture and flavor. The cheesecake is baked at a high temperature in order to get that burnt exterior and super creamy interior.

In this Live on Cheesecake and Cider from Santa Cruz!

This mini episode came about when Nicole Todd who cofounded Santa Cruz Cider Company in California with her sister Natalie. Nicole was traveling east to Maine with fellow book club members who she has been meeting monthly since covid kicked off in 2020.

They spent the evening with Ria, went for a swim to avoid the heat and drank copious amounts of cider and ended the evening with a special pairing of the 10 year anniversary cider with the Basque Cheesecake.

Hear about this anniversary cider and how it all started with foraged fruit in the Monterey Bay area of California. It is one part picking up fruit that turned into a relationship with an older orchardist in the Watsonville area of California.

Listen to past episodes with Nicole:

Contact for Santa Cruz Cider Company


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
039: Andreas Sundgren | Brännland Cider, Sweden [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:11
For Andreas' Brännland Cider is Ice Cider Andreas Sundgren of Brännland Cider discusses iscider (ice cider) in this chat. A winner of multiple awards for his ice cider, he follows traditional techniques that are "true to…
038: Eric Foster | Stem Ciders, Colorado [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:50
Stem Cider was started by Eric Foster and Phil Kao, Michigan natives who founded their urban cidery in Denver Colorado. Since opening in 2014, they have already been awarded a bevy of cider medals at the Great Lakes Inte…
037: Tim Larsen | Snowdrift Cider, WA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:56
Who is Tim? Tim Larsen was at the all day event, Pour the Core in Brooklyn, NYC waiting on a long line of thirsty cider drinkers. During a the break between sessions I was able to squirrel away with Tim in a back corner…
036: Shannon Edgar & Ben R-Sano | Stormalong Hard Cider, MA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:12
Shannon Edgar's historical Cider town of Sherborn Massachusetts Stormalong is already winning awards! In spring of 2016, at Michigan's Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition (GLINTCAP) Stormalong Hard Cide…
035: Danielle von Scheiner | Big Apple Hard Cider, NYC [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:57
Danielle von Scheiner is putting the "BIG" back into New York City's apple love, with her new cidery Big Apple Hard Cider. Danielle von Scheiner Danielle began learning the science of fermentation at the age of 12 while…
034: Adam Krakowski | Author : Vermont Prohibition [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:57
Adam Krakowsk's new book Vermont Prohibition: Teetotalers, Bootleggers & Corruption (2016 Arcadia Press) carves out the state of Vermont's cider, beer, and spirits history in relationship to prohibition. Vermont Prohitio…
033: Farnum Hill Cider ( Part 2) | Lebanon, New Hampshire [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:46
Part 2 at Farnum Hill Cider Delve into tasting 7- ciders with the Farnum Hill Cider team. This is Part 2 with this OG cidery and orchard. Steve Woods, whom along with his wife Louisa D. Spencer who founded the cidery, ex…
032: Steve Wood | Farnum Hill Cider, NH [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:49
Enjoy Part 1 of a two part chat with the founders and cider makers of Farnum Hill Cider, in Lebanon New Hampshire. This OG cidery sits on the slope of Farnum Hill with nearby town of White River Junction and the Connecti…
031: Sam Reid | Willie Smith's Cider/President Cider Australia, AU [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:15
Sam Reid is based in Tasmania, a state of Australia. He is a partner at Willie Smith's Cider and President of Cider Australia. Sam Reid Cider in Australia Tasmania is what Sam calls the smallest state of Australia…which…
030: Nat West | Reverend Nat's Hard Cider, Oregon [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:49
"There is always something going on" say Nat West at his Reverend Nat Taproom in Portland Oregon. Nat West in the 3500 square foot Packing Room In this Cider Chat Ria met with Nat before she headed over to CiderCon2016 l…