477: 2025 Ultimate Cider Pairing Guide for Thanksgiving

477: 2025 Ultimate Cider Pairing Guide for Thanksgiving

Author: Ria Windcaller: Award-winning Cidermaker, Podcaster | Craft Beer Columnist November 12, 2025 Duration: 39:38

Learn how to pick the right Cider and Perry for every dish on the Thanksgiving table.

This week we are not chasing brand names. We are building flavor intuition.
Consider Thanksgiving not as one single taste on a plate; it is a stack of distinct taste worlds. Each one asks for its own kind of cider or perry.

In this holiday feature, Ria and the Talking Pommes a.k.a. Perry Pear, Mr. Quince, and The Medlars talk through the art of pairing cider and perry for the entire Thanksgiving feast, from the welcome sip to dessert.

You will learn how to shop with confidence, how to read a label for style rather than brand, and how to bring bottles that make every part of the meal sing.
There is also a downloadable Thanksgiving Cider Shopping Checklist PDF below to make your trip to the store simple and stress free.

Chapters for Episode 477

00:00 Introduction and Talking Pommes

00:47 Welcome to Cider Chat

02:02 Thanksgiving Traditions and Preparations

06:05 Upcoming Cider Tours

07:40 New York Cider Events

10:26 Ultimate Cider Pairing Guide for Thanksgiving

14:00 Choosing the Right Cider for Starters

18:33 Main Course Cider Pairings

20:37 Turkey Preparation and Cider Pairing

21:12 Smoked Turkey and Barrel-Aged Cider

21:49 Creamy Sides and Semi-Dry Cider

22:31 Fruit Ciders for Roasted Vegetables

22:57 Choosing the Right Cider

23:58 Introducing Cider to Friends and Family

25:01 Low Alcohol Ciders for Gatherings

26:30 Dessert Pairings with Cider

31:31 Serving Cheese and Fruit Plates

33:01 Thanksgiving Table Preparations

36:19 Final Thoughts and Recommendations

Mentions in this Cider Chat


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
019: Neil MacDonald | Orchard Park Farms, UK [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:10
Neil MacDonald is a self described "man of the soil". He co-launched Orchard Pig Cider in 2004. His specialty is apple growing and the primary process of the cidermaking at Orchard Pig Cider. This recording was taped wit…
018: Darlene Hayes | Cider Cocktails, California [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:55
You might know Darlene Hayes by her blog All into Cider. There you can find some quick cider cocktail lore and recipes. Yes, Cider Cocktails are hot…again! That's right, again! Mixing spirits with cider has been favored…
017: Got Juice? | Apple Juice Supplier, US to UK [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:30
Getting the right blend or single variety juice to make the perfect cider is part of every business plan for cideries both in the startup phase an ongoing. If you are not growing your own orchard, getting apple juice cou…
016: John Bunker | Super Chilly Farm, Maine [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:41
John Bunker "Friend of Apples" John Bunker in this chat helps to trace the lineage in the US between cider apples and cidermakers. If you ever doubted whether you are on the right track with your cidermaking skills, Have…
015: Chris Jackson | FreedomFarmTV, Georgia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:05
At Freedom Farm, cider is on! Chris Jackson who is new to cidermaking has an enthusiasm for fermenting that is contagious. At the Farm his family is working towards sustainability and he is blogging about it all, via his…
014: Joe Getz | Kurant Cider, Pennsylvania [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:18
Kurant Cider co-owner and head cidermaker, Joe Getz's business is expanding, just after one year into producing cider commercially in the eastern region of Pennsylvania outside of Philadelphia. Besides making cider at Ku…
013: Ryal Schallenberger | Northwest Mobile Juicing, Montana [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:16
Mechanical engineer and entrepreneur Ryal Schallenberger is helping cidermakers throughout the northwest by providing a mobile juicing service. He drives truck and trailer right in to the orchard and in 30-minutes is rea…
012: Randall Grahm | Bonny Doon Vineyard, California [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:05
Who is Randall Grahm Randall Grahm has been rocking the world of winemaking for over 30 years. He began commercially selling wine under the Bonny Doon Vineyard label in 1983 when he opened the winery's tasting room in th…
011: Cider in a Kvervi at Castle Hill Cider | Virginia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:42
Wooden barrels are so 2014. What is old is new again as Castle Hill Cider has brought to the states an ancient fermenting vessel that was used for over 7000 years. Qvevri or Kvevri, as it is called on this Virginia estat…
010: Margot Sanderse |Het Ciderhuis, Utrecht NL [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:48
Utrecht cider importer Margot Sanderse brings in ciders from the UK and Wales via her mobile bar and online shop Het Ciderhuis. She is an entrepreneur who is touting cider to the Dutch and slowly helping transform their…