American_Cider

Thank I am glad to hear.

Cider in the United States is happening now, because of a couple of things,.

A. other markets for apples have shrunk, no one buys apple sauce or pie mix like they did 50 years ago, and Chinese apples have under cut commodity bulk apples for most generic apple products.

b. There has been alot of changes in regulations on both a state and federal level that have lowered the barrier of entry for producers.

c. there are new consumers looking for exciting new things that speak them through a narrative.

d. there are farmers and orchardist around the country that see cider as the best option for a creating a value added product from orchard fruit.

Growing conditions have nothing to do about, Apple can grow in Florida, Northern Maine, Outside of San Diego, Montana and Kansas.

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I can't speak to Australia but in the UK and Ireland in terms of cider apples in the 19th century. They selected for apples that could grow well in their climate and could be grown with little expense to produce a product. In the united states, since the early 1800's the market has always been on growing apples for the fresh market. Fresh market or processed eating apples, ( dried and canned) are the rule for most apples in the country and everything was moving in that direction. It made no sense for orchardist to make cider until recently because other markets promised higher returns. Now cider is a viable product with returns that can insure a future for the farm

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--dan

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In terms of nostalgia, cider has leaned on folksy images as a way to connect to people. This has benefited cidermakers in the short term but in the long terms is a bad direction

https://www.maluszine.com/essays/whose-heritage#/

This is a great article by Olivia Maki owner of Redfield Cider in Oakland. It digs into the alienation of potential consumers. I think that we need to find better narratives than those that rely upon the glory of the good old days to help connect people to cider -

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--dan

I think the biggest misconception about cider is that it is a singular beverage, and not an entire category. What we're trying to do is lay the foundational context for understanding why cider from X differs from cider from Y. American cider, the drink, not the book, began with the arrival of Europeans in the 17th century. Agricultural practices vary throughout the country based on things like geography and class, and those things, along with climate, culture, and people, all influence the process from orchard to bottle. -Craig

Prolific! There is a long history of making cider in the mountains of southern states like Virginia and NC. Apples thrive at high elevations there, where the climate can be more akin to the Hudson Valley than the warmer South. Orchards like Foggy Ridge (VA), Big Horse Creek Farm (NC), and James Creek (NC) are all testaments to fruit growing in the South. Albemarle Ciderworks and Blue Bee in VA, James Creek Cider and Botanist and Barrel in NC, as well as Ironbound Cider in Jersey, ANXO in DC and Ploughman Cider in PA all celebrate regional resources to make compelling cider. Some of this cidermaking is built on the legacy of Hewe's crab, one of the best U.S. apples for cidermaking, while other efforts stand on access to leftover fruit from thriving processing industries in the mid 20th century. -Craig

There are three main growing areas in North Carolina and Virginia.

west of Charlottesville in Ablemarle and Nelson County on the east side of the Blue Ridge mountains.

West of the mountains you have Winchester county home of Lairds where they grow a of apples

In NC you have big growing areas around Hendersonville south of Asheville and along the eastern slope edge of the blue ridge mountains.

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There are lots of great Cider,

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In Va - Blue bee, Court House Creek and Winchester cider,

NC James Creek, Botanist and Barrel

There are lots of amazing unique varieties that trace their origin back to

a. large plantations on the tidewater

b. indigenous people who were displaced

c. rural communities in isolated mountains

,- dan