ACA Receives Grant for “Year of the Apple” in Virginia
The American Cider Association is proud to announce a new partnership with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services through a USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant awarded for $70,012. Starting in early 2022, the American Cider Association (ACA) and their partners in Virginia cidermaking and agriculture will launch “The Year of The Apple,” an integrated public awareness, food industry professional outreach and market research campaign.
Virginia is the country’s 6th largest producer of apples and home to 48 independent cider makers, from the celebration-worthy bottles to adventure-ready cans. Virginia also boasts perhaps the longest and most storied history of cidermaking in North America, with apple orchards that date back to the 1600s. Yet both the restaurants and food lovers of Virginia don’t choose home-grown cider enough—Virginia has lower sales-per-capita than other cider making states.
Virginia Association of Cider Makers President Anne Shelton is excited about the opportunity the grant may bring. “Our state has a bountiful array of homegrown apple varieties, a deep history of cidermaking, and a super talented community of cidermakers crafting a wide variety of styles. We hope this grant can increase awareness around this with consumers and buyers and promote Virginia apples.”
In addition to creating awareness and understanding around Virginia cider, the grant will pay for survey research to learn more about the supply of the unique mix of apples that grow best as well as more about the state of the cider industry in Virginia.
From Shenandoah peaks to gentle ocean beaches, Virginia is home to a uniquely American diversity of landscapes, people, and ciders. “With just a little reminding, I think the drinkers of Virginia are ready to embrace the diversity and deliciousness of our uniquely Virginian ciders,” says ACA member Courtney Mailey of Blue Bee Cider in Richmond.
Letter from Board President Eleanor Leger
Dear Cider Friends –
As the new year begins, I am reflecting on the special challenges our incredible industry faces. 2022 will inevitably require more adaptation to supply chain issues, inflation, labor shortages, and the ongoing impact of the pandemic on sales channels and business models. These conditions are impacting all sectors of the alcoholic beverage market, but the special challenges we face in cider are a function of our small category size and the limited resources and power we have among ourselves to build awareness among consumers and achieve leverage in distribution.
I believe more than ever that cider’s future is strengthened when we draw the connection from apples to orchards to cider. Stories of growers, varieties, and the flavors that apples bring to ciders and to food pairings are what can move people to a greater appreciation of the diversity among cider offerings and a greater openness to considering cider as a choice on the shelf or at the table. These stories will benefit large and small cideries alike, across all price points and methods. Our fruit is what makes our product more expensive than grain or cane sugar based alcohols. We all must celebrate it if we are to claim the price points we need for economic sustainability across size and method. In this sense, we are truly united in our “big tent” approach. All cider is made from apples and we as a category share pride in that.
On an exciting note, we are seeing new cideries continue to open across the country. Also increasing are wineries and breweries who are adding ciders to their product line ups, including new orchard operations. These will be more voices helping to spread the word about apples and cider. Concurrently, as an association, we have invested this year in more projects to measure and report on the growth of cideries. Additionally, for the first time, we are reporting on trends in the segments of the market that are often missed by data services such as Nilsen and IRI, including cellar door and cider club sales and sales to smaller and/or regional on-premises accounts. This will allow us to create a fuller picture of the American cider market. Stay tuned for more exciting data announcements!
We are excited to include this new data perspective in our CiderCon® program in Richmond next month. The ACA team, volunteers and partners have worked hard to identify the best tracks, presenters and topics based on your feedback, from apples and orcharding to production, compliance and more. CiderCon® covers these important topics across a range of experience and business models: from enthusiast to expert, from taprooms to cider clubs, and from high volume cans to small batch natural ciders. Michelle and the Board are working to make sure we can hold CiderCon® safely in the current environment, and there will continue to be updates as the date draws nearer.
I wish all of you, your families and team members health and prosperity for 2022. In the meantime, if I can be of service, if you have questions, if you have comments or suggestions, I will always be delighted to hear from you.
CiderCon 2022 Health and Safety Guidelines
The American Cider Association is taking utmost precautions to create a safe CiderCon environment. Our health and safety guidelines require all persons present at CiderCon 2022 to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by January 21 or to provide a negative PCR test within 3 days of arrival or to provide a negative antigen test within 24 hours of arrival. One of these two things, proof of vaccine or a negative test result within the above timeframe, will be required to attend CiderCon 2022. Verification will happen outside registration at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. Absolutely no exceptions will be made.
Per Virginia Department of Health and CDC recommendations, we are currently strongly urging attendees to receive booster shots against COVID-19 by January 21, 2022. The CDC recommends receiving a booster shot if it has been 6 months since your second mRNA or first Johnson & Johnson shot.
Additional precautions:
- Masks must be worn at all times at indoor CiderCon events with the exception of during meals and tasting events where specific safety protocols will be in place. This includes tour buses.
- Security and staff will enforce mask adherence.
- CiderCon staff and volunteers will participate in daily health screenings.
- At this time, the hotel and the Greater Richmond Convention Center require their staff to wear masks.
- Tasting sessions will be in expansive rooms and will be socially distanced as much as possible.
- The Cider Share welcome reception is being divided into two sessions, with featured cideries rotating off. We will be capping attendance of Cider Share to 200 per session. The room has the capacity for 600, and we will encourage social distancing.
- Thursday’s and Friday’s lunches are box lunches so you can easily opt to eat where you would like. Tables will be set at less density than normal.
- Please do not attend CiderCon with symptoms.
We are working closely with the hotel, the Greater Richmond Convention Center. and the Virginia Department of Health to ensure all possible safety precautions are taken. The list above is not exhaustive and we will be sure to update registrants as things evolve.
We are carefully monitoring the COVID-19 restrictions in Richmond and Virginia. Your safety matters to us.
Let’s take care of each other, get boosted, wear our masks, and have the safe in-person CiderCon reunion we are all craving!
Advocacy Update: In Support of Harvest Dates
The American Cider Association (ACA) recently sent a letter to the TTB voicing the ACA’s support of a specific proposed labeling rule included in Notice 176, published in late 2018.
NOTICE 176
The notice contained proposed rules for modernizing wine (including cider), spirits and malt beverages labeling and advertising regulations. The ACA, many regional cider guilds and dozens of our members submitted comments on the notice during the official comment period. The comments included support for many but not all of the proposed rules.
Some positive change has resulted from those comments. We are hopeful our letter will usher further TTB announcements in favor of our official comments first made in 2019. This letter is our third mention of our support of harvest dates since our official comments posted.
OUR LETTER
The ACA’s recent letter to the TTB reiterated our support for the Notice 176 proposal to allow the use of harvest dates on qualifying wines and ciders. Harvest dates would create an important opportunity to distinguish a maker’s cider from season to season. Read our letter for further details of the proposal and our reasons for supporting it.
THE VOICE OF THE INDUSTRY
Our members’ support allows the ACA to amplify the voice of cider and to develop relationships with the TTB and others for the benefit of our industry. Through the collective power of our members, we have a stronger voice for cider when it matters. Our recent letter in support of harvest dates is one example of our commitment to advancing the needs of all cider producers, big or small.
We are grateful for the TTB for seeking the input of industry members regarding the proposed rules in Notice 176, and we eagerly await further announcements regarding the creation of harvest dates.
Beer Kulture, ANXO Cider, and The American Cider Association Partner to Increase Diversity in the Cider Industry
ANXO, Beer Kulture Kollaboration Cider Will Help Fund Cider Scholarships
Beer Kulture, ANXO Cider, and the American Cider Association have partnered to introduce three scholarship opportunities designed to bring new Black, African American, Hispanic, Latino, Native North American, Pacific Islander, and other BIPOC individuals into the cider industry.
Each scholarship includes:
- Certified Cider Professional Level 1 bundle (including the exam)
- Two Certified Cider Professional Sensory Webinars
- Registration fee for the Certified Pommelier Exam
- Registration for the recipient and a guest to CiderCon®, the cider industry’s annual conference
- Travel to and from CiderCon® for the recipient and a guest
- Lodging at CiderCon® for the recipient and a guest
“We’re excited to expand into the cider industry with the work we’re doing,” said Latiesha Cook, CEO and President, Beer Kulture. “The broader alcohol space is large and offers so many opportunities to people of color as consumers, potential industry employees, and future owners that it makes sense for us to start looking at partnerships beyond beer. By bringing more people of color into these industries at every level, it creates new possibilities, not just as workers, but as founders, so they can own a piece of the space and drive the industry forward too. We’re really excited to work with ANXO and the American Cider Association for our first official scholarship and kollaboration in cider.”
While this is the first official cider scholarship and kollaboration for Beer Kulture, it’s not the group’s first foray into cider. Last year, the group worked with Michelle McGrath, Executive Director of the American Cider Association, to offer a package of free virtual registrations to CiderCon® 2021 to past Beer Kulture scholarship and internship winners. That package also included the Certified Cider Professional Level 1 exam and workshops.
“Last year’s partnership with Beer Kulture went so well that we wanted to continue the relationship with them this year,” explained McGrath. “Much like the beer industry, cider has historically struggled to diversify, especially beyond gender. Partnering with Beer Kulture is an opportunity for us to proactively reach people of new backgrounds and welcome them into our industry.”
This year, the partnership expanded to include Washington, D.C.’s ANXO Cider.
“We’re really focused on doing the work to help move the industry forward,” commented Rachel Topelius, co-founder and Director of HR and Community Outreach, ANXO Cider. “When we started talking with Latiesha and Michelle about this scholarship opportunity, we thought about how we could go further and drive more impact. After Latiesha mentioned that past Beer Kulture scholarship winners have given feedback that it can be intimidating being the only person of color at a conference, the idea came up to fund sending a plus one, to make each winner feel more comfortable and welcomed.”
The three scholarship packages will be funded by a new cider kollaboration from ANXO, Beer Kulture and the American Cider Association. The cider, a 7.3% ABV dry cider named Kulture, is a unique blend of 50/25/25 Albemarle Pippin, Dabinett, and Harrison apples, developed in conjunction by ANXO and Beer Kulture. The resulting liquid will be juicy with bold and gripping tannins producing a textured mouthfeel accompanied by balanced acidity.
“Kulture contains an exceptional blend of apples,” explained Sam Fitz, co-founder and President/Director of Production, ANXO Cider. “All the apples were sourced from Virginia and Pennsylvania within 100 miles of our facility in D.C. They were each then fermented naturally in wood prior to the blending.”
Black, African American, Hispanic, Latino, Native North American, Pacific Islander, and other BIPOC individuals interested in the scholarships are encouraged to apply by visiting this LINK.
Kulture, the new dry cider kollaboration, will debut at a release party at CiderCon® on February 2, 2022. Follow ANXO and Beer Kulture to learn more details about the release party closer to CiderCon®, including the time and location.
About Beer Kulture
Beer Kulture builds trust and strengthens communities by using craft beer to foster inclusion, equity and diversity. Together, we can change the world – one beer at a time. Learn more at www.beerkulture.com.
About ANXO Cider
ANXO Cider (pronounced Ahn-Cho) is a Washington, DC-based craft cidery inspired by centuries of American and European cider making culture. The idea of ANXO was first planted in the minds of Founders and Co-Owners Sam Fitz, Rachel Topelius, and Cooper Sheehan during a life-changing trip to the Basque country of Spain and the West Country of the United Kingdom where Sam was introduced to the rich history of farming and fermenting apples. ANXO’s mission is to grow cider culture in the US by creating and importing the finest ciders that are the purest expressions of the apples they are made from. ANXO makes cider much like vintners make wine, embracing an #ApplesOnly approach, using apples and yeast. Fermented in stainless steel or wood vessels the resulting product is sugar and gluten free and low-carb and is as complex as wine and accessible and sessionable as beer. Learn more at https://anxocider.com/.
About the American Cider Association
The American Cider Association is an organization of cider and perry producers in the United States. It gathers and shares information about cider production, regulations and cider apple growing to help members improve their operations, raise awareness and advance cider in the market. The organization was founded in February 2013. Learn more at ciderassociation.org.
CiderCon Session: Can I Say That? Health and Nutrition Labeling Restrictions and Requirements
Both the TTB and the FDA regulate what you can, can’t and MUST say on your cider packaging and in your promotions. Amidst a consumer-driven health craze, it’s important to know how these regulations impact your cidery. In this workshop, beverage-specialist attorney Marybeth Williams will walk you through these regulations when it comes to health claims and nutrition disclosures. She will cover the regulations for ciders both over and under 7% ABV.
About Marybeth Williams
Marybeth Williams is President of Williams Compliance and Consulting Group, LLC, near Richmond, VA, which provides compliance services and legal consulting to the alcohol beverage industry. She works with suppliers, focusing on the day to day compliance issues and trade practice parameters within which industry members must function. Ms. Williams graduated from the University of Denver College of Law in 1996, and has practiced in both the public and private sectors.
CiderCon Session: New Skins: How Brand Positioning & Packaging Design Can Reinvigorate a Category & Connect with New Drinkers
New CiderCon® 2022 Session! New Skins: How Brand Positioning & Packaging Design Can Reinvigorate a Category & Connect with New Drinkers
Beyond packaging trends and gimmickry, there’s an opportunity for every brand to better understand and communicate a meaningful story. As a brand strategist in the beverage alcohol space, Michael Kiser will share industry analogs and frameworks for aligning brand position, customer experience, and retail strategies that have helped companies new and old connect with their audiences.
About the Speaker
Michael Kiser is an innovation strategist (tech and CPG) working with some of the world’s largest and smallest brands to create innovation pipelines based on emerging market factors and consumer desires. He runs a boutique brand strategy and design practice in Chicago (Feel Goods Company), the world’s leading editorial voice in beer (Good Beer Hunting), and a cross-industry insights newsletter and community for beverage alcohol (Sightlines.news).
Creating Consumer Excitement with Food Pairing Suggestions
Pairing food and cider is an important key to helping people learn to love the complexities and nuances of cider, but we all understand that it can be tricky business. Join us for a dive into putting theory into practice in this session with our Cider Education Outreach Manager, Jennie Dorsey at CiderCon® 2022 in Richmond, Virginia from February 1-4, 2022.
Creating Consumer Excitement with Food Pairing Suggestions
We all know the “Four C’s” of food pairing, but putting theory into practice can be a little intimidating, especially for members of your tasting room staff that are just beginning their adventure with cider. In this session, cider and food pairing expert Jennie Dorsey will walk you through a pairing framework (with tasting samples!) that you can take back to your business, train your staff, and watch your sales grow.
About Jennie Dorsey
Jennie Dorsey is founding member of Pomme Boots Society for women in the Cider Industry and has held numerous positions since she first entered the Cider Industry over a decade ago. Jennie actually began her journey in the coffee industry where she was a nationally ranked competition barista and trainer specializing in sensory analysis with a focus on food pairings. The skills honed in competition led her on the path of beverage discovery, where she fell in love with cider and it’s unmatched pairing possibilities. Jennie is a working member of the Cider Certification team, and she was given the distinguished award of Cider Server of the Year in 2018 by the ACA. Jennie is passionate about food and beverage of all kinds, cinema, vintage lifestyle and can always be spotted by her brightly colored hair. She joined the ACA staff in 2021 as our Cider Education Outreach Manager.
An Intro to Holistic Orcharding for Novice Growers
Intro to Holistic Orcharding for Novice Growers
The American Cider Association is pleased to announce that Mike Biltonen will lead an Intro to Holistic Orcharding for Novice Growers workshop at CiderCon® 2022. In this seminar we will cover the basics of what to look for when you’re seeking a site appropriate for your orchard, whether it be in your backyard, on the adjoining hillside, or in the next county. We will discuss climate, land, and soil characteristics as well as horticultural considerations you need to ponder before you plant the first tree. We will also cover the steps for designing and planting your first trees, as well as the first year’s management focus.
This course will take place Wednesday, February 1, 2022 at the Richmond Marriott Hotel from 12:30-3:00pm. The cost to attend is $15. Be sure to add it on during registration.
About Mike Biltonen
Mike Biltonen has spent nearly 40 years in agriculture – working mostly with orchards, vineyards, and specialty veg and fruit crops. He specializes in all aspects of sustainable orchard production of apples, pears, and stone fruit. An early passion for sustainable agriculture evolved into a profound dedication to the principles and practices of ecologically-focused, biodynamically-driven farming. The last fifteen years Mike has worked as a consultant to novice and seasoned farmers and orchardists alike on all aspects of establishing and managing regenerative and integrated farmscapes. Mike also conducts workshops, seminars, webinars, and has a free newsletter for the truly dedicated. He co-owns Know Your Roots, a novel and innovative family-owned company, with his wife Debbie where they are synchronously using farming and herbalism practices to heal the Earth.
CiderCon 2022 Schedule Released
The American Cider Association is please to share the first draft of the CiderCon® 2022 Schedule! With tours, tastings, educational workshops, demos and more, CiderCon’s return to an in-person event is bound to be one of the most energetic CiderCons to date. Early registration numbers have been record breaking, with more than 400 people already signed up by November 15!
We’ve produced this draft schedule to help you with your CiderCon® 2022 planning. More session are being added each week and the schedule will be updated to reflect those additions. Session times may change as the schedule finalizes. Some sessions require separate registration which can be done during checkout. Details can be found on these sessions on the CiderCon® 2022 Registration page. Following our health & safety guidelines is necessary to participate.
For more details on all things CiderCon® 2022, you can head to the CiderCon® Website. You can download the draft schedule here.