490: Let Cider Lead

490: Let Cider Lead

Author: Ria Windcaller: Award-winning Cidermaker, Podcaster | Craft Beer Columnist February 11, 2026 Duration: 22:32

An editorial on leadership, scarcity, and why cider no longer needs to borrow authority from beer or wine.

In Let Cider Lead, host Ria Windcaller steps back from interviews to offer a clear-eyed reflection on the state of the cider industry, drawing on more than three decades in cider and nearly eleven years documenting the modern cider movement through Cider Chat.

00:00 Introduction and Episode Overview
01:02 Upcoming Cider Events
03:10 Totally Cider Tours
06:37 Cider Chat Schedule Update
08:00 Reflections on Cider Industry Leadership
10:53 Cider Industry Norms and Challenges
18:44 Call to Action: Let Cider Lead
19:50 Conclusion and Sign Off
20:25 Outro Song: Strange Apples
 

Find the full show notes for this episode at CiderChat.com
Episode 490: https://ciderchat.com/podcast/490-let-cider-lead/

Listen to Episode 490 of Cider Chat® wherever you get your podcasts and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss what's coming next in Ciderville.

Prefer to watch?
Find Cider Chat on YouTube for more cider stories, orchard adventures, and global cider culture.

💛 If you love what you're hearing, please consider supporting Cider Chat.
Your support helps keep the podcast on the air and makes it possible to share more conversations like this one.


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
089: Reusing Oak Barrels for Cider [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:51
Find this episode with photos and all archived episodes at the page for Cider Chat's podcasts Subscribe and Listen via iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher (for Android), iHeartRadio and wherever you love to listen to podcasts.…
088: In Tasmania w/Patrick Meagher of Simple Cider [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:52
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. Simple Cider's is located on the southern tip of Tasmania in a re…
087: Cyser or Cyzer? Kombucha & Mead - Oh My! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:18:28
Find this episode and all episodes at the page for Cider Chat's podcasts. Listen also at iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher (for Android), iHeartRadio and where ever you love to listen to podcasts. Follow on twitter @cidercha…
086: Cider Press History | Make Cider [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:09
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. Cider presses have come in a number of different shapes and forms…
085: Attorney Lindsey Zahn | Cider Law [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:48
Attorney Lindsey Zahn specializes in wine law, but there is no denying her interest in cider and the laws governing it commerce…and yes these there is a difference between wine and cider! Her wine blog On Reserve has bee…
084: The Elements of Cider | Sensory Analysis w/Charles McGonegal [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:42
Charles McGonegal has been teaches a workshop on Sensory Analysis for cider judges, makers, enthusiasts and at both CiderCon (the United States Association o Cider Makers annual conference) and GLINTCAP (Great Lakes Inte…
083: Charles McGonegal | AEppelTreow Winery & Distillery,  Wisconsin [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:09
Enter the Giveaway for 2 tickets to Cider Circus August 26, 2017 at Copper Mountain Ski Resort in Colorado http://cidercircus.com/ Enter by subscribing to eCiderNews and be automatically entered or become a Patron of Cid…
082: Joe Getz | Kurant Cider, Pennsylvania [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:49
Kurant Cider is back on Cider Chat discussing the opening of a Tasting Room in the area of Philidelphia called Fishtown. Cider will be available to go in can and growlers at the 436 E. Girard Ave location. The production…
081: Stephanie & Aaron Carson | Gypsy Circus Cider Co., Tennessee [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:40
Gypsy Circus Cider Company founders and makers, Stephanie & Aaron Carson, are helping to put cider on the map in Tennessee. They have two facilities with one dedicated to barrel aging ciders and the main production site…
080: Teddy Weber | Tin Hat Cider, Vermont [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:14
Tin Hat cidermaker Teddy Weber is stewarding a 25 year old orchard in Waitsfield Vermont. This musician by trade got his taste for cider in the UK during his music gigs while there. He teamed up with Sue and Gib Geiger w…