Cider Influencers: Movers & S̶h̶Makers on Instagram
Cider is taking the world by storm, and those who are excited about real cider can be found far and wide. Some people make it, many promote it, while others share it. No matter how they’re involved, there are established and new organizations, publications, teams and cider experts championing cider that are worth following.
This is by no means a conclusive list - If I’ve missed someone, please let me know so I can follow their journey as well!
Cider Influencers in North America
Ryan Burk – Angry Orchard - @ryanjamesburk
Ryan is one of the most prominent US cidermakers and his passion for the craft brings something for everyone. He is on the USACM board, and when he’s not making cider he can be found hosting cider tasting and paring events. AO’s line of premium ciders showcase his passion for natural fermentation, barrel aging, blending, collaborations, and experiments.
Ron Sansone – Drinking Cider – @drinkingcider
Ron is the cidermaker and co-owner of Spoke + Spy Ciderworks in Connecticut. His profile Drinking Cider is a fantastic source for shared cider industry news, new cider release announcements, cider events, and cider apple content. You’ll also find periodic and welcome posts about his own @spokeandspy cider and his travel to cider-centric events.
Diane Flynt – Foggy Ridge – @foggyridgecider
Diane was making heirloom cider before it was cool. Final Call, the last Foggy Ridge Cider, was released in 2017 as she decided to focus solely on cultivating cider apples. Foggy Ridge continues to support the cider industry by hosting events on orcharding, cider apples, and orchard-based cider, as well as by selling proper cider apples to cidermakers.
Website: foggyridgecider.com
Cider Culture – @ciderculture
Cider Culture is an online publication for those who love cider, by those who love cider. As the name suggests, it encompasses all things found in cider culture, offering recipes, news, events, interviews, destinations, trends and more across multiple platforms. They also offer photography, writing, and other services to further promote a culture of cider.
Website: ciderculture.com
Ellen Cavalli – Tilted Shed Ciderworks and Malus Magazine – @tiltedshed
Ellen and her husband Scott own Tilted Shed Ciderworks, where they make orchard-based cider from organically grown cider and heirloom apples. They allow the apples and the terroir to speak for themselves. Ellen is also a cider evangelist, cider educator, and editor/publisher of Malus, a quarterly zine focused on cultivating US cider conversation.
Tilted Shed Website: tiltedshed.com
Malus Zine Website: maluszine.com
Mike and Beth – Cider Table – @cidertable
Mike and Beth are a Pennsylvania couple dedicated to sharing the good news of cider. Mike is a Certified Cider Professional and member of the PA Cider Guild and Beth is a seasoned wine taster and baker. They share cider-infused recipes, pairings, tasting notes, travel, and the experiences had while enjoying cider at their table.
Website: thecidertable.com
Ria Windcaller – Cider Chat – @ciderchatciderville
Ria is a cidermaker, writer, and podcaster who extends an open invitation to Ciderville, where Cider Chat takes place. All aspects of cidermaking from the apple to the bottle, terroir, cider-centric events, and those involved in the process are explored in Ciderville. New podcasts are uploaded weekly, so grab a glass of cider and listen along.
Website: ciderchat.com
Ramsay & Julia – Cider Couple Blog – @cidercoupleblog
Ramsay and Julia are based in Boston, Massachusetts but blog about cider from everywhere they go. Aside from a common interest of cider, they both enjoy traveling, program SQL, and both want to get a dog (albeit of different sizes). They share cider reviews, events, cidery visits, recipes, and other content from their adventures in the world of cider.
Website: cidercouple.com
Krista Scruggs – ZAFA Wines – @kristakscruggs
Krista Scruggs is a winemaker, grape grower, cidermaker and orchardist with a motto of “Farm+Forage+Ferment.” Her natural, hybrid wines and ciders are made with as little intervention as possible, to let what’s in the bottle speak for itself. She recently partnered with @shacksbury to open @cocellars, a ZAFA winery and Shacksbury cider tasting room.
ZAFA website: zafawines.com
CO Cellars: cocellarsvt.com
Cider Scene – @ciderscene
Cider Scene is cider blog started by twin brothers Trevor and Nolan O’Malley. Along with other cider industry professionals, they share cider news, reviews, recipes, and more. Their website also features a cidery finder and cidery distribution list quick-reference. Their latest campaign, #CiderIsntBeer, aims to clear up consumer confusion about cider.
Website: ciderscene.com
Eleanor Léger – Eden Specialty Ciders – @edenciders
Eleanor founded and co-owns Eden Specialty Ciders which, among other accolades, was the first US cidery to be granted approval to call their cryo-concentrated cider Ice Cider. Eden now makes many kinds of heirloom, aperitif, and ice cider. She also created Cidernomics, a website with real-world information on the economics of operating a small cidery.
Eden website: edenciders.com
Cidernomics Website: cidernomics.com
Cidercraft Magazine – @cidercraftmag
Cidercraft Magazine is a digital and print magazine focused on cider, industry news, cidermakers and cideries, recipes, orchards, and all other cider happening in North America. Print issues go out three times per year, with loads of digital content in between. Erin James, editor-in-chief and writer of Cridercraft, also wrote the book Tasting Cider.
Website: cidercraftmag.com
Meredith Collins – Along Came a Cider – @alongcameacider
Meredith lives in the cider rich New York Finger Lakes, but in her blog, she explores ciders from all over. She is a Certified Cider Professional who shares cider reviews, travel, and her own expertise on cider gained through years of cider tasting experience and being involved as the industry has grown.
Website: alongcameacider.blogspot.com
Cidercentricity – @cidercentricity
Cidercentricity, as defined in their words, “a: the quality or state of being cider(ec)centric; b: deviation from an established norm; odd or whimsical behavior concerning cider.” And Cider centric they are. Cidermaking as a hobby (and the challenges that come with it), cider reviews and cider travel. This cider-centric account has it all!
View this post on InstagramPinch me! The New Hampshire Liquor and Wine Outlet now has a heirloom cider section at selected stores--including the one closest to me. Of course I am happy for yours truly, but I am even happier about the statement it makes for heirloom cider makers. Cheers! Pictured: @redbyrdcider--Workman Dry, 0% residual sugar, blend of heirloom, bittersweet, bittersharp, sharp and wild apples. 8.2% ABV; @kiteandstringcider --Geneva Russet, off-dry, hand disgorged, Geneva and Golden Russet, Margil, Major, Somerset Redstreak, Chisel Jersey; @evescidery --Autumn's Gold, traditional method, Yarlington Mill, Northern Spy, Ellis Bitter, KB, mixed dessert apples, 8% ABV; @blackdiamondcider--First Fling, medium dry, a "cidre nouveau" made with early ripening Ellis Bitter, Somerset and Herefordshire Redstreak, St. Edmund's Pippin, Chestnut Crab, William's Pride, and Sansa, 7.2% ABV; @stemciders --L'Acier, young, clean and dry. 6.4% ABV. . . . #heritageciders #nycider #flxcider #redbyrdcider #kiteandstringcider #evescidery #blackdiamondcider #stemcider #nhliquorandwineoutlet #ciderculture #cidernation #cideriscider #cideriswine
Kristen Jordan – Sea Cider House – @seaciderhouse
Kristen is a sixth-generation farmer and no stranger to apples, but it wasn’t until 2002 that she worked the family orchard over to cider apples with a dream to make organic, orchard-based cider. Since 2007, Sea Cider has fermented organic cider apples, grown into an agricultural tourism hot spot, and promoted local agriculture in British Columbia.
Website: seacider.ca
Cider society – @cider_society
Cider Society keeps it simple – their mission is “bringing society together one cider at a time.” Though they’re based in New York State, you’ll find cider from all over the world being poured by Cider Society, and their concise reviews give the facts you want and no fluff.
Hard Cider Reviews – @hardciderreviews
Matthew and Elisabeth offer more than reviews of cider. Matthew is certified in cider and perry production by the Cider Institute of North America (CINA) and a Certified Cider Professional, and Elisabeth is learning more about cider every day. They explore cider, cider events, and cider education, even diving into nuances such as glassware to elevate cider.
Website: hardciderreviews.com
Cider influencers in the UK and Europe
Gabe Cook – The Ciderologist – @ciderologist
Gabe possesses an immeasurable amount of passion for cider, the industry, the people who make, it, the places it’s made, and the people who enjoy it. In his book, Ciderology, he details his adventures in cider, from apprenticing at Ross-On-Wye cider to traveling the world, seeking out cider and those who are immersed in it. Plus, he has an excellent moustache.
Website: theciderologist.com
Susanna Forbes – Little Pomona/DrinkBritain/The Cider Insider – @littlepomona @drinkbritain
Susanna is a singlehandedly changing the global cider game. As the co-founder of Little Pomona Orchard & Cidery, a regular writer for Imbibe magazine, author of The Cider Insider, and head of DrinkBritain.com, you’d have to live under a rock to miss her contributions to cider as a producer, educator, and influencer.
Website: littlepomona.com
Bill Bradshaw - @billbradshaw
Bill Bradshaw is a cider enthusiast and evangelist who writes and contributes photography to various magazines and co-authored some of the most interesting and comprehensive books on the cider in the last 20 years. Bill fell in love after visiting Somerset orchards and has taken a cidery mission to "educate, document, and connect" on his trips around the world.
(the title image of a certain Ciderologist is Bill Bradshaw marvelous work!)
website: billbradshawphotography.co.uk
James Finch – The Cider Critic – @thecidercritic
James is a cider and perry enthusiast with a goal of discovering as much real cider as possible – be it from large producers or a farm stand. He shares reviews, recommendations, and stories from his own cider travels and experiences. He’s also a regular writer for they @craftynectar blog, elevating it to one of the top cider blogs in the world.
Website: thecidercritic.com
Tom Oliver – Oliver’s Cider and Perry – @olivers_cider
Tom is a cider and perry maker in Herefordshire who needs no introduction. Rather than focusing on making the same cider repeatedly, his ciders are fermented naturally with minimal intervention (aside from blending), embracing the difference each harvest brings. He readily collaborates with others in Europe and the US, uniting cidermakers worldwide.
Website: oliversciderandperry.co.uk
We are Hawkes – @wearehawkes
We are Hawkes are a London-based Cidery and taproom. They are pushing ahead with real cider, to the point that they’re pressing and fermenting apples right in urban London. They even have a collab cider with Tom Oliver, bringing bold and tannic west cider apples and sharp, aromatic culinary apples, and the people that ferment them, together.
Website: wearehawkes.com
Crafty Nectar – @craftynectar
Crafty Nectar is the UK’s no.1 destination for cider. Their subscription and gift cider boxes bring real, orchard-based cider from small independent producers with limited distribution within the reach of anyone in the UK. They also one of the leading voices in the cider industry, supporting producers on campaigns such as #ReThinkCider and curating some of the best cider content online to one of the worlds largest cider communities.
Ross on Wye Cider & Perry – @rosscider
Ross on Wye produces natural cider and perry from proper fruit and nothing else. While bottles of their single varietals and blends are sought after worldwide, the full line of bottled and draught cider and perry can be found and enjoyed at their own pub, the Yew Tree Inn. Tours and tastings are offered at the farm, where an annual cider festival is also held.
Website: rosscider.com
Natalia – Cider Explorer – @ciderexplorer
Natalia is a PharmD and cider enthusiast living in Germany whose goal is to explore cider from all over Europe (and other areas when possible). This search brings cider reviews, stories of travel to cider bars, shops and events, and a platform to cultivate an appreciation for and share the culture that surrounds real cider.
Website: ciderexplorer.wordpress.com
Cider influencers in Asia
Lee Reeve - inCiderJapan – @inciderjapan
Lee is the mastermind behind inCiderJapan: a media company, importer/retailer of cider-related goods, and publisher of inCiderJapan, Japan’s first and only bilingual cider magazine. Their mission is to educate those in Japan about cider and its availability, report on apples and cider in Japan, and to support the growth of cider and the cider industry in Japan.
Website: inciderjapan.com
Authentic Cider – @authenticcider
Authentic Cider are curating fine cider and perry from the UK and importing it to Hong Kong, giving much of Asia access to cider they wouldn’t otherwise have, such as Dunkertons, Little Pomona, Oliver’s, Once Upon A Tree, Perry’s and Ross Cider & Perry.
Website: shop.authenticcider.com
Cider influencers in Australia
Hugh Mckellar – Real Cider Reviews – @realciderreviews
Hugh writes real reviews of real cider, usually from Australia, New Zealand, and Europe, though guest appearances from other regions are welcomed. He also shares cider news and happening in Australia. His website has an interactive cider map that pinpoints the locations of cideries, cider bars other places to find cider in Australia and New Zealand.
Website: realciderreviews.com
Cider-Focused Organizations
USACM – United State Association of Cider Makers - @pickcider
The USACM is an organization focused on promoting, growing, advocating for, and supporting the cider industry in the US. It is the result of the collective efforts of all of its members and its board of amazing individuals all contribute to the cider industry in inimitable ways. CiderCon, the annual convention and meeting for cider industry professionals, continues to grow thanks to the efforts of Executive Director Michelle McGrath and Administrator Ellen Husch, along with the USACM board members.
Website: ciderassociation.org
GLINTCAP – Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition - @glintcap
GLINTCAP is the world's largest judged cider competition and is entering its 14th year. Commercial cider producers and individuals all around the world are encouraged to enter. 2018 was a record-breaking year with 1,334 total entries. The 14th Annual #GLINTCAP will be held May 15-18, 2019 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. GLINTCAP is directed by Eric West a.k.a. @ciderguide who also hosts a website with numerous resources for cider and perry enthusiasts.
GLINTCAP Website: glintcap.org
Cider Guide Website: ciderguide.com
MASSIVE THANKS to Kyle (aka the @TheCiderSeeker) for helping us curate this list and write this wonderful article. Please give him a follow and some cidery love below:
View this post on InstagramMoving on to full glasses: @bottlehousebrew Chorus heirloom cider, 2017 harvest on the left and Aria, a 90% Goldrush, 10% heirloom sharp blend. Both are fantastic. Chorus has just enough tannic astringency to make it super balanced, Aria is sharper, with more malic acidity and keeps the mouth watering until the next sip.
Eric west @ciderguide
While not on Instagram, (besides newyorkwinejapan), New York Wine Traders on Facebook has many FLX Cider reviews in the “Notes” / blog section.
Thanks!
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