The Northwest Cider Association proudly announced the 2021 winners of their annual Portland International Cider Cup (PICC) competition last night at a sold-out awards party at Swift Cider in NE Portland. NWCA unveiled 45 medal winning ciders across an array of categories, ranging from Modern Dry to Traditional Perries.
“We’re judging one of the most prestigious apple growing regions, and a place that puts a high value on craft culture. These awards are big,” said Emily Ritchie, Executive Director of Northwest Cider Association. NWCA is a non-profit supporting cidermakers in four Northwest states and British Columbia – an area recognized as one of the most innovative cider regions in the nation.
The Northwest is home to 150 orchard-based, small, independent, and mid-sized makers, and the 8th annual Portland International Cider Cup is the region’s premier judged competition. “Makers rely on this event for critical peer review, not to mention bar, restaurant and retail buyers who use these results for curating their cider selections.”
The Big Winners Are…
Best In Show – “Bittersweet Cider” from Sea Cider Farm and Cidery (Victoria, BC): They’ve taken home this award for the second time (first in 2018) for this cider
Runner Up – “11th Anniversary Heirloom Cider” from 2 Towns Cider (OR)
Small Cidery of the Year – Puget Sound Cider (WA)
Medium Cidery of the Year – Bauman’s Cider Co (OR)
Large Cidery of the Year – 2 Towns Ciderhouse (OR)
Some Noteworthy Medal Winners…
New Cideries
Gold: Peak Light Cider (OR) for “Orchard Reserve Quince”
Silver: Yonder Cider (WA) for “Yonder Bar Anniversary Blend”
Established Cideries
Gold: Finnriver Farm & Cidery (WA) for “Traditional Perry”
Silver: Seattle Cider (WA) for both “City Fruit” and “Pumpkin Spice” ciders
Gold: Fraser Valley Cider Company (British Columbia) for “Scrumpy”
Silver: Western Cider (MT) for “Farmhouse”
For a full listing of winners visit nwcider.com/news
Ciders are judged by trained industry experts looking for both flaws and determined style qualities. The competition is strict and not all categories take medals if the quality is not there.
“After a hiatus last year, it felt like the right call to bring back this critical competition,” Ritchie stated. “Partnering with Swift Cider to hold the awards in their industrial cider space gave us an opportunity to safely gather people in a celebratory place. It was a fantastic night that shows the resiliency of this community and this growing category!”
With the pandemic in full swing over the last year and a half, cideries faced serious production and sales challenges, the NWCA dug deep to find innovative opportunities to support the Association’s nearly 100 cidery members in their three pronged mission – maintaining sales, increasing cider quality and fostering community. The main campaign has become the nation’s premier cider subscription, the NW Cider Club. The quarterly subscription features curated boxes of themed cider experiences delivered to the door. The coming Spring box will be themed “Best Of” and will feature winning ciders from the 2021 PICC awards.
Terry Bunch
