CiderCon

CiderCon® is one of the most robust, diverse, thorough and connected professional cider conference in the world. We pride ourselves on being a host to international attendees year after year. The 14th annual CiderCon® will take place in beautiful Portland, Oregon from January 16-19, 2024. We expect well over 1,000 people to attend. We are requesting proposals from other countries to send a diverse representation of their regional cidermaking community to be featured guests of honor at CiderCon® 2024. Previously featured countries are Spain, France, UK, Canada, New Zealand and Ireland. Guests from these countries continue to attend future CiderCons because of the quality programming and because CiderCon® is an exchange of ideas, understanding and knowledge that enriches the global cider community. 

Costs: The American Cider Association will waive CiderCon® registration fees, provide up to 5 nights hotel for up to 4 cidermakers, and pay for and help coordinate cider imports for educational sessions. Guest countries are asked to further fund cidermaker expenses (airfare, taxi, per diem). Cidermakers may also fundraise through sponsorships, and we are happy to brainstorm strategies. ACA will also provide professional photos of cidermakers participating in CiderCon®, suitable for PR uses by their home country. 

Proposals will be considered on the following priorities: (A) evidence of guest country financial commitment (B) compelling cider story (C) depth of cidermaking knowledge for proposed speakers (D) diversity of proposed speakers, in cider style, cider opinions, and demographics. We are also prioritizing countries that have not been featured before. 

Countries in close proximity to each other may want to team up if there are less cideries available in their own country. We welcome creative proposals. 

Proposals are due June 1, 2023 at 5 PM Pacific Time. Please contact Michelle@ciderassociation.org if you have any questions. 

• The 13th annual CiderCon® was held in Chicago, Illinois from January 31 – February 3, 2023, celebrating a return to Chicago after a four year absence.
• 965 people registered for CiderCon 2023, including attendees, vendors, volunteers and speakers.
• Attendees were from 40 different states including Alaska and Hawaii.
• New York had the most registrants followed by Michigan, Illinois, California, Washington, and Virginia.
• Attendees from 9 different countries participated in CiderCon®, including Austria, Canada, France, Guam, Ireland, Korea, New Zealand, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
• The ACA welcomed keynote speaker Sunny Gandara, former Global Wine Director for the Mathew Kenney Restaurant Group and the founder and owner of The Plant Curious Table, a digital dual-purpose education and wine consulting company, to CiderCon® 2023. Her talk explored vegan market growth and trends, who plant-based consumers are, why cider is perfect for this growing group, and how to market to these consumers.
• There were 38 educational sessions held during CiderCon® covering topics in the areas of Better Business, Cider Production, Branding, Marketing & Sales, Orcharding, and Apples, Flavor & Terroir. The Cider Institute of North America helped to develop the cider production track sessions once again. The schedule can be downloaded HERE.
• There were 12 tasting sessions, including a traditional perry tasting with Claude Jolicoeur, author of the recently released Cider Planet and of The New Cider Maker’s Handbook, which has been acclaimed worldwide as a major reference on the topic of cidermaking. Other tasting sessions included orchard trials from New York state, sensory analysis sessions, and sessions addressing pet nat cider, carbonation, blending, and spontaneous fermentation.
• There were several data driven sessions featuring speakers from the National Beer Wholesalers Association, Market Technology, Sovos ShipCompliant, 3 Tier Beverage, CGA Strategy, and Good Beer Hunting.
• Mary Guiver of Whole Foods Market Inc and Mark Venegoni of SpartanNash joined CiderCon® 2023 on our retail panel discussing how to create positive relationships with chain retailers.
• The ACA once again offered its Certified Pommelier™ exam at CiderCon® 2023. The Certified Pommelier™ is an advanced second level designation of the ACA’s Certified Cider Professional program geared toward beverage and hospitality industry professionals. Close to 40 people sat for the challenging test that includes a blind sensory evaluation section. The new cohort of Certified Pommeliers^™ will be announced in 6 weeks. 
• About 150 individuals participated in tours for CiderCon® 2023, including tours featuring Chicago’s cider scene, an historical tavern tour, a Frank Lloyd Wright architecture and cider tour, and a tour of the Bronzeville neighborhood, beloved as a center for African-American life and culture in Chicago.
• There were numerous networking opportunities, including a Newcomer Networking session, a BIPOC Cider Professional Meetup, a Pomme Pride Meetup for LGBTQIA+ cider industry professionals, and an Orcharding Meetup.
• The TTB and the FDA both held sessions at CiderCon® 2023 and were available to attendees to answer questions regarding topics ranging from labeling to licensing to recipes.
• The Trade Show sponsored by FruitSmart featured 92 vendors from around the country and the world, and featured several new vendors as well as many who have returned year after year to support the cider industry.
• The American Cider Association’s annual board elections happen concurrently with CiderCon®. Newly elected board members were announced during lunch on Friday. New board members welcomed are Sarah Hemly of Hemly Cider as Pacific Coast Chair and Breanne Heuss of Golden State Cider, and newly re-elected board members are Dave Takush of 2 Towns Ciderhouse and Philippe Bishop of Alpenfire Cider, both to At-Large Seats, Marcus Robert of Tieton Cider Works as Northwest Chair, Talia Haykin of Haykin Family Cider as Mountain West Chair, and John Behrens of Farmhaus Cider as Midwest Chair.

CiderCon® 2024 will be held in Portland, Oregon from January 16-19, 2024.

CiderCon® was created to offer the commercial cider industry an outlet to meet, share ideas, collaborate and affect positive changes in cider making and cider fruit production best practices, the cider market and cider regulations. CiderCon® is organized by the American Cider Association whose mission is to grow a diverse and successful U.S. cider industry by providing valuable information, resources and services to our members and by advocating on their behalf.

Have you been procrastinating on registering for CiderCon® 2023? If you have, now is the time to do so before registration prices rise and the hotel room block deadline arrives. (Registration prices go up on January 10 and the deadline for our hotel room block is January 8!)

As an added incentive for registering ASAP, we are offering a raffle for a five night hotel stay for CiderCon® 2024 (in a TBA location) for anyone who registers between December 20, 2022 and December 31, 2022 at 11:59pm Pacific Time for CiderCon® 2023 in Chicago.

Ready to register and enter for your chance to win this awesome prize?

The American Cider Association welcomes wine industry professional Sunny Gandara, DipWSET, CWE as the featured keynote speaker for CiderCon® 2023. Sunny is the former Global Wine Director for the Mathew Kenney Restaurant Group and the founder and owner of The Plant Curious Table, a digital dual-purpose education and wine consulting company. Sunny has nearly 20 years of experience in the food and wine industry with a focus on plant-based foods. Her expertise is connecting with “plant curious” clientele over her wine knowledge. She is a Certified Wine Educator and Specialist of Spirits through the Society of Wine Educators and a holder of the WSET Diploma. She is a professionally trained chef through the Institute for Culinary Education (ICE) in New York and a Vinitaly Italian Wine Ambassador.

According to the Plant Based Foods Association, “one-third of Americans are actively reducing their meat and dairy consumption. While a small number of Americans identify as vegetarian or vegan, flexitarians represent the largest growth opportunity for plant-based foods.” 60% of Gen-Z wants to eat more plant-based foods and 79% eat plant-based 1-2 times a week. This is where Sunny’s “plant curious” lens can help open new markets up for cider.

 As the keynote speaker, Sunny will explore vegan market growth and trends, who plant-based consumers are, why cider is perfect for this growing group, and how to market to these consumers.

CiderCon® 2023 will take place in Chicago from January 31 to February 3, 2023, at the beautiful Hilton Chicago. Early registration closes November 9. Learn more about all our fantastic speakers at www.ciderassocation.org.