Archive for May 2023
Celebrate World Cider Day on June 3!
Saturday, June 3, 2023 is World Cider Day! We hope you’ll join us in the international declaration of love for the beverage we all hold dear. Whether you’re sipping on a crisp apple driven cider or a unique perry, take a moment to snap a photo and share it on your social channels this Saturday. Posting about your favorite cider can help raise awareness about this beautiful beverage and also gives you a chance to connect with other cider enthusiasts and cidermakers around the globe. Show your support for cidermakers and small businesses, and join the conversation using the hashtags #WorldCiderDay and #WCD2023 and tag us @pickcider. Let’s raise a glass to cider and cheers to a great day!
A Little History on World Cider Day
World Cider Day was launched by the members of the Association of Apple Wine and Fruit Juice Press Houses in Hesse, Germany in 2013 to promote cider and the meadow orchards in the region. Since then it has been embraced by cideries, bars, restaurants, cider associations and cider lovers all over the world. Learn more and find resources on the World Cider Day website.
New ACA Member Benefits!
We’re excited to share some new ACA member benefits with you this spring. Read on to learn more about our brand new resource hub, the new 3 Tier Beverages dashboard just released with Nielsen Q1 2023 data, and a free Crafted for All account now available to all members.
Resource Hub
We’re so excited to share that our new digital Resource Hub is now live! The resource hub is exclusively for ACA members and is filled with items useful for cider businesses of all sizes. The resource hub already includes a wealth of information and members can expect a quarterly release of new resources and will be notified via email when these updates occur.
Nielsen Q1 2023 Data on New 3 Tier Beverages Dashboard
3 Tier Beverages, in partnership with NielsenIQ, is proud to be the official data supplier of the American Cider Association. Part of this partnership brings you quarterly dashboards with key market data and insights to help you drive your business forward. The first dashboard is now available with data through Q1 2023 (3/25/23).
Crafted for All Account
We’ve had the privilege of working with Dr. J Nikol Jackson-Beckham and her organization Crafted for All for several years now and we’re so pleased to be able to expand our partnership and offer all ACA members the opportunity to create an account with Crafted for All where you’ll find a wealth of resources.
We’re Looking for Vendors for CiderCon® 2024
Did you know that the largest gathering of cider producers in the world is coming to Portland, Oregon next January for CiderCon® 2024? In addition to a wide range of educational sessions and events for cider producers, we also host an extensive trade show where our attendees can meet vendors with products and services that can help them thrive. CiderCon® 2024 will be held at the Oregon Convention Center from January 17-19 and the trade show will be right in the middle of it all. We haven’t been back to Portland since 2016, so we’re anticipating a great turn out!
If you haven’t been a vendor at CiderCon® before, now is the time to get involved and showcase your products and services to the rapidly growing cider industry. Our attendees always appreciate the chance to meet new vendors.
Have you already been a vendor at CiderCon®? Then you already know how much our attendees love the trade show and seek it out to connect with you!
Booth prices for CiderCon® 2024 are $3000 for a 10’ x 10’ space – and that includes 3 passes to the conference as well as lunch on Thursday and Friday!
Interested in joining us? Email our Trade Show Coordinator Ellen Husch for more information!
Know a company that you think would be a great fit? Send their contact information to Ellen.
There are also numerous sponsorship opportunities available for vendors. Supporting the American Cider Association is a great way to gain brand visibility at CiderCon® and beyond. There are a myriad of reasons why sponsoring the ACA works in your favor. We shout out our appreciation for our sponsors far and wide at CiderCon®, on our website, on social media and our members hear us. Our Executive Director Michelle McGrath is eager to work with you on creating a custom sponsorship experience that meets your brand’s personality and needs. Email Michelle to schedule a meeting.
Webinar: How Cideries Like Santa Cruz Cider Are Preventing Catastrophic Climate Change
There are a significant number of reasons why cideries like Santa Cruz Cider are looking to become more sustainable. Agriculture health, ingredient accessibility, customer engagement, preserving the bottom line, and protecting the planet are all driving cideries to focus on sustainability.
Join Jenny Morgan from Tradewater and Nicole Todd of Santa Cruz Cider Co. on June 6 at 10:00 AM Pacific for a discussion of the ways that Santa Cruz Cider committed themselves to sustainable action and how they came to partner with Tradewater.
We will also dive deeper into the high-impact climate projects that Tradewater leads and how each cidery can do their part to prevent catastrophic climate change.
Interested in learning how you can take action on sustainability in your cidery? Download this PDF with suggestions from Tradewater.
Our Speakers
Jenny Morgan joined Tradewater in 2022 as the Market Development Manager. In her role, she partners with organizations to help achieve carbon neutrality through sustainability consultation, emissions reduction, and the purchase of carbon credits. She operates under the belief that our most challenging problems cannot be solved by government and nonprofits alone – it requires a collective effort. She is passionate in changing the way we view business and industry to be both profitable and purposeful. Prior to joining Tradewater, Jenny has worked within the technology and hospitality sectors, and comes with 15+ years of experience in Business Operations, Market Development, Events, and Community Engagement. Outside of work, Jenny enjoys spending time with her family and friends hiking, running, swimming, and planning themed celebrations.
Nicole’s love for cider started with a truck bed full of ‘found’ apples in a nearby orchard. Having a passion for fermenting anything she could get her hands on, she started Santa Cruz Cider Co. in 2013 with the help of her husband and her sister. They have built the company from the ground up on a shoestring budget with a hands on approach. Nicole lives on a historic apple orchard in Santa Cruz county with her husband and two dogs.
Certified Pommelier™ Exam to Be Held in San Francisco August 13
TAKE THE CERTIFIED POMMELIER™ EXAM IN SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA!
Are you ready to take the next step in your professional development in the cider industry? Already passed the Certified Cider Professional Level 1 Certification and looking for that next challenge? Now’s your chance!
The American Cider Association is pleased to announce that the next Certified Pommelier™ Exam will be held in San Francisco, California! The exam will take place Sunday, August 13, 2023 at Barebottle Brewing, 1525 Cortland Ave, San Francisco, CA 94110.
After the exam you can stick around for a tour and tasting at Barebottle Brewing too!
PREPARING FOR THE CERTIFIED POMMELIER™ EXAM
The Certified Pommelier™ Exam is our second tier of certification and requires in depth study. You must have passed our CCP Level One Certification prior to taking the Certified Pommelier™ Exam. You can purchase a CCP Level One bundle here. (ACA members can find a discount code to purchase the bundle here). The bundle includes an on demand training webinar, a study guide, and two exam attempts.
The ACA has also recently released a Certified Pommelier™ Study Guide that covers the information needed for the theory portion of the exam. It can be purchased here on Amazon.
In addition, several pre-recorded sensory webinars are also available for purchase and can be found here. Please be aware that cider must be purchased separately. Also, be aware that key sensory elements of these ciders may vary from year to year.
Stay tuned for the option to participate in a live sensory analysis webinar this summer prior to the exam in San Francisco. You can check our certification page for the latest news.
WHILE YOU’RE IN SAN FRANCISCO
Why not make it a weekend (or longer) since you’ll be heading to the beautiful Bay Area of California anyway, especially since it’s the weekend of the Gravenstein Apple Fair, which will be celebrating it’s 50th year!