512: Plant the Damn Apple Tree | Special Edition

512: Plant the Damn Apple Tree | Special Edition

Author: Ria Windcaller: Award-winning Cidermaker, Podcaster | Craft Beer Columnist August 24, 2026 Duration: 10:10

Cider Chat MC Ria Windcaller reads her August eCiderNews editorial, Plant the Damn Apple Tree, reflecting on entrepreneurship, uncertainty, abundance, and what an apple tree might teach us about the time in between.

FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK: SUMMER 2026 NEWS CYCLE REFLECTIONS

Cideries close. People in our community are passing. The weather is never dull.

And somewhere in all of that is a question:

Knowing how uncertain the outcome is, would you choose otherwise?

READ THE ORIGINAL eCIDERNEWS EDITORIAL

Plant the Damn Apple Tree
https://ciderchat.com/plant-the-damn-apple-tree/

EPISODE 512 TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Editorial Welcome
01:08 Maybe and the News
02:16 Why We Keep Trying
02:43 Cidery Closures Context
03:56 My Entrepreneur Ledger
05:45 Choosing Abundance
07:01 Plant the Apple Tree
07:52 Time and My Mom
08:48 Deal and Sign Off
09:50 Ciderville Outro Chant

🍎 Subscribe to eCiderNews

🎙️ Listen to Cider Chat

Support Cider Chat

If you enjoy independent cider journalism and conversations with cider makers from around the world, consider supporting Cider Chat.

🍎 Become a Patron or Commercial Partner: https://www.patreon.com/c/ciderchat

Stay Connected

📬 Story tips: news@ciderchat.com
📱 Instagram: @ciderchatciderville


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: 50

Cider Chat
Podcast Episodes
514: Doing More With Lees | Ryan Monkman [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:39
Lees are more than sediment at the bottom of a tank. Recorded at CiderCon 2026 in Providence, Rhode Island, cidermaker and fermentation consultant Ryan Monkman explores how cidermakers can put lees to work throughout fer…
513: Still Cider, Single Apples and Time | Sowams, Rhode Island [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:34
What happens when a cidermaker decides to do less and give cider more time? Spencer Morris of Sowams Cider Works in Warren, Rhode Island, makes cider with more than 70 apple varieties, old mechanical rack-and-cloth press…
511: Hungarian Cider Comes of Age | Bright Cider [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:15
Hungary may not have a centuries-old cider tradition like England or France, but that is exactly what makes its modern cider movement so exciting. In this episode, Cider MC Ria Windcaller travels to Budapest to meet Andr…
510: From Barrels to the Pub | The People's Cider Co., Michigan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:44
Most cider makers dream of expanding their barrel program. Jason Lummen did the opposite. In Episode 510, Ria Windcaller visits The People's Cider Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where Jason explains why he shifted fr…
509: Mr. Plūme | In the Heart of Latvia's Fine Cider [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:03
Episode 509 takes us to the heart of Latvia to meet Dace and Māris Plūme, the husband-and-wife team behind Mr. Plūme, an award-winning orchard cidery known for both still and naturally sparkling ciders. Their journey beg…
507: Expand Your Universe | Woodfolk Cider, Ontario Canada [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:19
Sometimes all it takes is one sip. It happened to the founders of Woodfolk Cider, Martha Lowry and Alistair Whitehead, and it can happen to YOU! What began as a shared love of food, drink, and hospitality eventually led…
505: Cider Senseis: Discipline, Craft, and the Cost [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:25
There is a question that keeps coming up in cider, small business, and independent media: Is this sustainable? In this episode, Ria sits down with Adrian Luna, known as the Hard Cider Guy, for a conversation that goes we…
504: Why Breweries Are Making Cider (and What It Means) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:20
What happens when breweries start making cider… not because they have to, but because they want to keep drinking beer? That question kicks off episode 504 featuring Dan Kramer and Ben Anhalt of Element Brewing Company. "…