We were extremely pleased with support and excitement for this first-year cider competition but even more impressive was the great diversity of craft ciders the judges evaluated and their very high quality.

A cidery from Washington state was the big winner at the first-ever Dan Berger’s International Cider Competition, held in May in Santa Rosa California. Staged in conjunction with Dan Berger’s International Wine Competition, the cider competition drew more than 200 entrants from more than 60 cideries from around the globe.

“We were extremely pleased with support and excitement for this first-year cider competition,” noted Dan Berger, the competition’s organizer. “But even more impressive was the great diversity of craft ciders the judges evaluated and their very high quality.”

Washington States Alpenfire Cidery Takes Top Award of Competition

The “Sweepstakes Award” for Best Overall Cider of the Competition was awarded to the Alpenfire Glow Rose´ Cider. Located in Washington State, the Alpenfire cidery produces this spectacular cider from the Hidden Rose apple, a unique variety that possesses red flesh and produces a richly pink colored cider.

Among the standout cideries at the competition were Uncle John’s Cider Mill in Michigan, which was awarded three gold medals, more than any other cidery. Additionally, Vermont’s Eden Specialty Ciders was awarded two Chairman’s Awards (unanimous gold medal votes).

“No one was surprised when it was revealed that both Uncle John’s Cider Mill and Eden Specialty Ciders accumulated multiple top awards,” said Tom Wark, one of the coordinators of the competition and publisher of The Cider Journal. “Both these cideries are trailblazers and leaders in the U.S. craft cider world and have been inspirations for newer cideries across the country for their beautifully rendered ciders.”

The Best of Class Awards at Dan Berger’s International Cider Competition included:

CHAIRMAN’S AWARD/BEST TRADITIONAL DRY CIDER:

Eve’s Cidery Albee Hill Still & Dry (New York)

BEST TRADITIONAL SWEET CIDER:

Sea Cider Bittersweet (British Columbia)

BEST COMMON DRY CIDER:

Uncle John’s Cider Mill Original Cider (Michigan)

CHAIRMANS AWARD/BEST COMMON SWEET CIDER:

Cider Boys First Press (Wisconsin)

CHAIRMAN’S AWARD/BEST FRUIT CIDER:

Foxcraft Hard Cider Cranberry (California)

CHAIRMAN’S AWARD/BEST HERBED/HOPPED/SPICED CIDER:

Reverend Nat’s Revival Hard Cider (Oregon)

SWEEPSTAKES AWARD/CHAIRMAN’S AWARD/BEST SINGLE VARIETY CIDER:

Alpenfire Glow Rose´ Cider (Washington State)

BEST PERRY:

Flatbed Cider Company Pear Cider (Washington State)

CHAIRMAN’S AWARD/BEST OTHER CIDER:

Common Cider Company Blackberry Sangria (California)

CHAIRMAN’S AWARD/BEST WOOD AGED CIDER:

Eden Specialty Cider 2007 Falstaff (Vermont)

CHAIRMAN’S AWARD/BEST DESSERT/ICE CIDER:

Eden Specialty Cider Honeycrisp

Of the 215 Ciders entered into the competition, 17 received Gold Medals, 50 received Silver Medals and 59 received Bronze Medals. Ten ciders received the Chairman’s Award for receiving unanimous gold medal scores by all judges.

The judges at the competition included cider authors Ben Watson and Darlene Hayes; K&L Wine Merchant Cider Buyer Jim Boyce, Cider Journal Publisher Tom Wark, Tilted Shed Ciderworks owner Ellen Cavalli and Certified Cicerone Mike Reis.

The cider competition is part of Dan Berger’s International Wine Competition. Dan Berger is the dean of American wine competitions having organized competitive evaluations of wine (and now cider) for more than 35 years.

A complete list of awards is available at http://www.dbiwc.com

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