Cider Chat

Tasty Southern Ciders at James Creek

A cider dinner recording from CiderCon2019 in Chicago with Ann Marie and David Thornton of James Creek Cider House in Cameron, North Carolina.

The main featured chat begins at 17 minutes into this chat.

Before this main feature hear an email from a Russian cidermaker, helping us learn a bit more about the cider culture in this region of the world. Maxim contacted me when he became a patron of Cider Chat via the Cider Chat Patreon page.

The Journey to James Creek Cider House

Ann Marie and David Thornton moved to North Carolina in 2002.

What got the Thorntons into cider? Ann Marie says, "It was the apples. And reading about Lee Calhoun" Then it turned out the Lee lived about 30 minutes from the Thorntons!

They began planting apples trees in 2009, putting in 60 classic southern apple varieties.

At CiderCon2019 David was elected onto the board for the United States Association of Cider Makers (USACM), now known as the American Cider Association.

Anne Marie & David Thornton

The Thorntons have an experimental orchard is based at their home site, and as of this recording they were in the midst of building a Tasting Room at an off site orchard in the area – which is now completed!

In the meanwhile, if you are in or headed to North Carolina go to this link to find out where you purchase some James Creek Ciders.

Two Cider labels at James Creek

• James Creek Heritage Ciders, bottled in 750ML glass presentations!
• Stargazer series
  • Provides a compliment of modern style ciders. Read: fruit ciders and not just any fruit ciders but peaches and berries from their farm! We sipped on the Prowling Peach, a barrel aged cider with peach juice. I was over the moon for this cider. Plus, peach is not an easy fruit to work with!

All of James Creek Ciders were super tasty and you definitely can tell made with a ton of affection for the process. All the apples come from within an area of 100-150 miles and are North Carolina grown.

Newly elected Board members at CiderCon2019. (ltor) Michelle McGrath, ACA, Eleanor Leger - Eden Cider, Ben Calvi - Vt Cider Co, David Thornton-James Creek Cider House Contact for James Creek Cider House

• Website: http://www.jamescreekciderhouse.com
• eMail: [email protected]
• Address: 172 US-1 Highway Cameron, NC 28326
• Telephone: (910) 245-9901
• FaceBook page: https://www.facebook.com/jamescreekciderhouse/

Mentions in this Cider Chat

• Totally Cider Tours
• Andrew Lea's cider making book

178: WWII and Cider | Paying Tribute on Tour

Midweek on the Totally Cider Tour to Normandy our first stop of the day was to tour the Brittany American Cemetery also referred to as the Saint James Cemetery.

It is located approximately an hour from Mont-Saint-Michel, 3.5 hours from Paris. It lies not in Brittany, but just north of the region in Normandy.

Photo: Sergeant C. Orton of The Highland Light Infantry of Canada drinking cider, France, 20 June 1944.

The cemetery is managed by:

• American Battle Monuments Commission - honors the services of overseas U.S. Armed Forces by maintaining and promoting America's overseas commemorative cemeteries and memorials.
• This commission was created in 1923 to commemorate US war dead.

The Cemetery overview

• 4,408 gravesite at this cemetery
• all men are bored at this cemetery
• only family members were buried together
• only cemetery constructed in a predetermined shape taken from the shoulder patch.

The tour at this cemetery was conducted by the superintendent of the cemetery Dave Bedford who said "Cemeteries are more than grass, hedges and tress. They are about guys buried here."

The majority of people who visit the cemetery are French.

The cemetery land is owned by France, who has granted the US use of the land.

On the front of each headstone the following is listed for each solider.

• Name
• Rank
• Unit
• State where the solider entered military
• On the back of the headstone is the solider's serial number

Also discussed in this chat

• Segregation of both Jewish and African American soldiers

Mentions in this Chat

• Totally Cider Tour | Normandy September 22nd - 28th, 2019
• We like Cider video on YouTube
• Episode 98: Jérôme Dupont

177: Giard | 13 Generations of Cider, FR Domaine du Manoir de Montreuil with Patrice Giard

In this episode: Patrice Giard recorded during the Totally Cider Tour to Normandy France in September 2018.

• Patrice is a 13th generation cidermaker at this family farm.
• Patrice, his wife and his daughter are running the farm. His daughter's focus is on milk production with Patrice focusing on the cider production.
• The trees in the orchard that we were walking in were planted in 1996.

Variety of Apples tasted during this recording

• Domaine du Calvados also known as De Clou
• Bisque
• Frequin Rouge

Orchard at Domaine du Manoir de Montreuil

• 30 hectares of orchards
• Standard size trees
• The orchard management is to prunes the apples trees every three years.
• The orchards itself has 50 different varieties
• As required by the appellation of Pays d'Auge Patrice needs to have a map of the apple varieties in the orchard
• Patrice does not use any pesticides on his orchards.

Orchard management tip:

When Patrice notices insects on the trees, he lets the cows in the orchard to graze and they will scratch their bodies on the trees and in turn knock off the insects.

While standing in the oak barrel room I asked 'What is the minimum time that the barrels stay empty" The reply is that "There is no reason to keep the barrels empty" :)

Contact for Domaine du Manoir de Montreuil

• Address:D101 -D85A, 14340 MONTREUIL-EN-AUGE

• Telephone: 06 88 50 95 27

Mentions in this Chat

• Totally Cider Tour | Normandy, France - September 22nd-28th, 219

Please Help Support Cider Chat Please donate today. Help keep the chat thriving!

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176: We Like Cider

In this episode we begin with:

News out and about in Ciderville

- Thank you Nathan for becoming a patron of Cider Chat. Nathan is part of Harcourt Apples based in Australia approximately 11/2 hours outside of Melbourne.

Audio Snap Shots from the Totally Cider Tour Monterey Bay | California, that took place April 12th and 13th.

We begin with John Martinelli of S. Martinelli Co.

Totally Cider Tour group portrait outside S. Martinelli's Co.

John Martinelli's inside the Watsonville plant

Then :

• Robby Honda of Tanuki Cider
• Nicole Todd of Santa Cruz Cider Co
• Jake Mann of Five Mile Orchard
• Eric Rider and Katie Rider of Rider Ranch Cider
• Pete Serventi of Serventi Cider
• Laura Everett of Soquel Cider

Extended versions of a few of these audio snap shots will be posted on the Cider Chat Patreon page. Become a patron and help keep ciderGoingUP and get these exclusive audios conversations from the Totally Cider Tour to Monterey Bay, California.

Cider Flight w: Tanuki & Santa Cruz Cider Co.

Jake Mann of Five Mile Orchard

Eric and Katie Rider of Rider Ranch Cider

]

Serventi Cider Tour and Tasting

Laura Everett - Soquel Cider

Debuting "We Like Cider" a new cider anthem to sing a long with on this episode. We Like Cider Lyrics:

There is a reason why we do it like this

There is a reason why we do it like this

There is a reason why we drink it like this

There is a reason why we drink it like this

We like Cider

We like Pommes

We like Orchards

And having fun

We like walking in the orchard

Dancing through the streets

Smelling all the blossoms

Kicking up our feet

Next Totally Cider Tour: Normandy France September 22-28, 2019

Part 2 of a two part series with a Question and Answer (Q & A) on Beginner Cider Making

with 5 panelists in the cider industry

• Marcus Robert - Tieton Cider Works, Washington
• Tim Godfrey - Golden State Cider, California
• Eleanor Leger - Eden Specialty Cider, Vermont
• Brent Myles - Slye Clyde Cider, Virginai
• Ben Calvi - Vermont Cider Co, Vermont

Listen to Part 1 of this Q & A recorded at CiderCon2019 in episode 174

(ltor), Marcus Robert, Tim Godfrey, Eleanor Leger, Brent Myles, Ben Calvi.

Topics covered in Part 2:

• Plastic vs Stainless for fermenting or storing cider
• Can you make money being a commercial maker?
• What is the best cider style to offer - 3 to 4 core ciders or 8?
• Where to locate a cidery
• Take out a loan or go full into cidermaking?
  • - use Kickstarter
• What is the most crucial piece of lab equipment to have starting out.
  • Hydrometer and Thermometer
  • Sending samples to a lab
  • PH meter
  • Titration kit
• Filtration
• Fermentation temperatures

Find the full show notes for Episode 175 at CiderChat.com

Direct Link at: https://ciderchat.com/podcast/175-beginner-cider-making-pt-2/ Listen to wherever you get your podcasts and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss what's coming next in Ciderville.

Prefer to watch? Find Cider Chat on YouTube for more cider stories, orchard adventures, and global cider culture.

💛 If you love what you're hearing, please consider supporting Cider Chat. Your support helps keep the podcast on the air and makes it possible to share more conversations like this one.

A Question and Answer (Q & A) on Beginner Cider Making

with 5 panelists in the cider industry

• Marcus Robert - Tieton Cider Works, Washington
• Tim Godfrey - Golden State Cider, California
• Eleanor Leger - Eden Specialty Cider, Vermont
• Brent Myles - Slye Clyde Cider, New York
• Ben Calvi - Vermont Cider Co, Vermont

(ltor), Marcus Robert, Trey Godfrey, Eleanor Leger, Brent Myles, Ben Calvi.[/caption]

Pre-recorded at CiderCon2019 in Chicago

This is Part 1 or a 2 Part series on Beginner Cider Making questions answered by cider industry pros.

Q & A topics:

• What is cider?

"Fermented fruit juice of apples" says Eleanor Leger

• Wish I knew then what I know now...
  • Marketing

"You are going to learn to make cider, but to be able to sell it…" Marcus Robert

• Breweries getting into cider
• Managing residual sugar in the bottle for packaging.
  • - a huge range of answers on this topic
• Can you use sulfites?
• The challenge for small cidermakers
• The down fall of Potassium Sorbate in the natural market
• Contract Fermenting to test product
• Ice Cider - "if I use a freezer am I cheating?"
  • Stabilizing an ice cider
  • Yeast strain for ice ciders
• Cryo concentration
  • Is using a freezer considered cheating
    • In the US you can not label it as Ice Cider - it can be called "Iced Cider".

Find the full show notes for Episode 174 at CiderChat.com

Direct Link at: https://ciderchat.com/podcast/174-beginner-cider-making-part-one/ Listen to wherever you get your podcasts and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss what's coming next in Ciderville.

Prefer to watch? Find Cider Chat on YouTube for more cider stories, orchard adventures, and global cider culture.

💛 If you love what you're hearing, please consider supporting Cider Chat. Your support helps keep the podcast on the air and makes it possible to share more conversations like this one.

173: Aomori to Nagano | inCiderJapan

Lee Reeve is the Publisher and Editor of the quarterly magazine inCiderJapan, the country's first and only bilingual magazine dedicated to all things cider. Lee and I recorded a chat while attending CiderCon2019 in Chicago.

Lee Reeve w:Tekikaka Cidre

He came ready to pour a selection of Japanese ciders from makers in two primary regions in the country or what are caller Prefectures - Aomori and Nagano.

We discuss:

• Lee's goals for inCiderJapan
  • Develop the Japanese Market
  • Connect with the Japanese makers
  • Communicate to the outside world what is happening in Japan
• How to recover the loss of revenue in apple production
• Getting people to come back to the rural apple growing regions of Aomori and Nagano
• The growing Japanese cider market
• Japan's Bullet Trains and how it gets from one region to another
• No public drinking laws in Japan - you can walk about with open containers.
  • The drinking age in Japan is 20 years old
• The aging maker community in Japan
• Encouraging makers to offer smaller bottles for consumers - moving from a 750ml bottle to a 375 format
  • Average price for a 750 ml of cider $20. Offering a smaller bottle size entices consumers to reach for a bottle on the shelf due to the price point and the cider or cider brand, being for now an unknown product
• And taste a cider from Tekikaka

What is new for Lee beside all of the above?

He is in partnership with Jeremy Stunt of Authentic Cider and they are looking to bring cider to Japan from Tom Oliver, Pilton, Little Pomona, Hallets, and more…Stay Tuned!

Contact info for Lee Reeve

• Go to inCiderJapan
• Here you can find out the latest news on cider in Japan
• Sign up for the quarterly paper inCiderJapan
• Buy a t-shirt and showcase your international know how - the t-shirts rock!!!

Upcoming Cider Events in Japan

• May 25th - The Nagano Cider Collection with a surprise super secret cider maker from Australia
• July 21st - The Tokyo Cider Collection

Mentions in this Chat

• April 3rd Ethic Cider Event in Petaluma California
• May 5th-6th - Big Apple Blossom Festival - UK
• Totally Cider Tours rolling out in 2019:
  • Monterey Bay, California April 12th & 13th, 2019
  • Normandy, France September 22nd - 28th, 2019, Early Bird end March 31, 2019
  • New England Cider Tour - October 31, 2019 - stay tuned for tour info in May

• 172: Tour and Tasting with Eric Bordelet
  • 20+ minute Bonus audio clip with Eric Bordelet on cider making from press to bottle. Become a Patron today via Cider Chat's Patreon page
• 168: Barrel Aging Cider Inspiration | Ryan Monkman
  • 40+ minute Q&A with Ryan Bonus audio clip - this is a Patron only listen. Become a Patron today via Cider Chat's Patreon page

172: Cider Tasting with Eric Bordelet

Audio snapshots of a tasting and tour w/Eric Bordelet and the tour group visiting Normandy France in September 2018. The first Totally Cider Tour to roll out took a group of super awesome people to makers both on the Route du Cidre in Pays d'Auge and to the south region of Normandy called Domfrontais.

This chat features an afternoon visit to Eric's cidery.

Group photo on the roof of the Castle at Eric Bordelet's Domaine

We begin with:

• A meet and greet. Eric asked to hear each person on the tour's job or what they do at home. Very kind and personable.
• We walked over to the Castle that Eric is having rebuilt - it burned down many years ago and is an huge rebuilding of epic proportions.
• We spoke a bit about terroir and Eric encouraged us look to the trees that are already growing in our area. Listen to Jérôme Dupont's chat as he like Eric also encourages makers to look to their local varieties too - words well spoken.
• We move onto the cidery - not inside the cidery.
  • He strategically does not bring large groups in - one because he doesn't like to reveal all his trade secrets - and too to keep the area clean. However, he was quite transparent in discussing the first stages of working with the juice and filtration. I cut this audio section out and will be posting it to the Cider Chat Patreon page.

Become a patron of Cider Chat and get this clip and other bonus audio and more, by supporting Cider Chat today

• We finish this chat in the Tasting Room
  • We go through a number of cidres and poirés - Plus a new product called Cormé (Sorbus Domesticus).

1 of only 1000 bottles made in 2017

Want to visit Eric and other fantastic makers in Normandy?

We are going on this trip again and will have a visit to Eric's domaine and later that same day a cider dinner with Eric too. Cider Tour dates: September 22-28, 2019

Go to http://ciderchat.com/totallycidernormandy/

Mentions in this Chat

• Cider Competition - BigE - entry deadline May 5th
• August 30th - September 1st, 2019 3 day cider fest with camping in the orchard https://rosscider.com/ciderfest/
• 171: Americans in Paris | Cider Tourist Speak
• 012: Randall Grahm | Bonny Doon Vineyard, CA
• April 12th and 13th - Monterey Bay Cider Tour

Please Help Support Cider Chat Please donate today. Help keep the chat thriving!

Find this episode and all episodes at the page for Cider Chat's podcasts.

• Listen also at iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher (for Android), iHeartRadio , Spotify and wherever you love to listen to podcasts.
• Follow on Cider Chat's blog, social media and podcast
• Twitter @ciderchat
• Instagram: @ciderchatciderville
• Cider Chat FaceBook Page
• Cider Chat YouTube

171: Americans in Paris | Cider Tourists Speak

In late September 2018, a group of cider travelers met with the producers of Pays d'Auge and Domfrontais, two regions of cider and perry making in Normandy, France. They were out to taste Normandy and see the landmark sights of this western region of France that abuts the English Channel. They were on the inaugural Totally Cider Tour to France with me, Ria, their host and curator of this epic journey.

1 of our cider fueled lunches - and this was the main course after a hefty app of Quiche and salad.- Normandy 2018

We spent a cider fueled week having what can only be called a gastronomic journey into the heart of Normandy. On the way back to Paris on the final leg of our journey I recorded each traveler's highlights for this episode 171.

Listen to Greg, Marcus, Akina, David, Storie, Matt, Al S., Al St., Bobby, Taryn, Eryn and Michael.

] Akina our mother in waiting enjoying Perry juice.

Totally Cider Tours rolling out in 2019:

• Monterey Bay, California April 12th & 13th, 2019
• Normandy, France September 22nd - 28th, 2019, Early Bird end March 31, 2019
• New England Cider Tour - October 31, 2019 - stay tuned for tour info in May

Mentions in this Chat

• @southciders - bracket challenge
• 168: Barrel Aging Cider Inspiration | Ryan Monkman
  • 40+ minute Q&A with Ryan Bonus audio clip - this is a Patron only listen. Become a Patron today via Cider Chat's Patreon page

Please Help Support Cider Chat Please donate today. Help keep the chat thriving!

Find this episode and all episodes at the page for Cider Chat's podcasts.

• Listen also at iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher (for Android), iHeartRadio , Spotify and wherever you love to listen to podcasts.
• Follow on Cider Chat's blog, social media and podcast
• Twitter @ciderchat
• Instagram: @ciderchatciderville
• Cider Chat FaceBook Page
• Cider Chat YouTube

[app_audio src="http://ciderchat.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/171-Amerians-in-Paris-Cider-Tourist-Speak.mp3"]

A "Dryness scale" as presented by the New York Cider Association

The session was pre-recorded at CiderCon2019

Goals of this session:

Slide 1

A Sensory Workshop on Perceptions of Dryness/Sweetness in Ciders

This session was a structured sensory analysis of ten commercial New York apple ciders. Participants tasted anonymous ciders of predetermined sugar/acid/tannin contents.

They were assigned to rate each on a 0-to-4 graphic scale from Dry to Sweet, based on its perceived dryness/sweetness.

The workshop data will be discussed, compiled and analyzed to test the usefulness of quantitative systems like the one proposed by the New York Cider Association, intending to inform retail cider consumers about their likely perceptions and preferences in choosing ciders.

Participation was limited to 75 people.

The presentation/tasting was led by Jen Smith the Executive Director of the New York Cider Association

Here are the slides presented during this seminar providing an overview of this session's track.

] Slide 2] Slide 3 Slide 4 Slide 5 Slide 6 Slide 7 Slide 8 Slide 9

Contact for New York Cider Association

• Executive Director: Jennifer Smith
• Website: https://www.newyorkciderassociation.com/
• Contact form: https://www.newyorkciderassociation.com/contact

Mentions in this Chat

• CraftCon - April 5, 2019 at Pereshore College, UK
  • http://www.thethreecountiesciderandperryassociation.co.uk/craftcon-2019-to-shine-spotlight-on-craft-cidermaking/
• Ross Cider Festival 2019 - August 30-September 1, 2019.

Please Help Support Cider Chat Please donate today. Help keep the chat thriving!

Find this episode and all episodes at the page for Cider Chat's podcasts.

• Listen also at iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher (for Android), iHeartRadio , Spotify and wherever you love to listen to podcasts.
• Follow on Cider Chat's blog, social media and podcast
• Twitter @ciderchat
• Instagram: @ciderchatciderville
• Cider Chat FaceBook Page
• Cider Chat YouTube