489: Natural Cider Production Seminar | CiderCon 2025

Natural cider is often misunderstood as funky, volatile, or flawed.
Recorded live at CiderCon 2025, this seminar reframes natural cider as a philosophy of low intervention, balance, and intentional care, not a free pass for faults.

Moderator Haritz is joined by Richard of Brooklyn Cider House and Jasper Smith of Son of Man (Oregon) to explore how Basque cider traditions influence modern natural cider production in the U.S. The panel dives into fermentation choices, malolactic fermentation, volatile acidity, sensory evaluation, and why great natural cider is defined by quality, not dogma.

This conversation also examines how natural cider is judged in Spain, what tasting panels consider true faults, and why these ciders are designed first and foremost to be enjoyed with food.

Ciders featured:
Zapiain (Basque Country), Son of Man (Oregon), and Solstice (Brooklyn Cider House)

Episode 489 Timestamps

00:00 Introduction to Basque Cider

00:25 Meet the Host: Ria Windcaller

00:42 The Magic of Sidra Natural

01:41 Exploring Natural Cider Production

02:32 Cider FOMO and CiderCon

03:34 Cider Chat Milestones and YouTube Channel

05:21 Thanking the Cider Chat Patrons

08:44 Featured Presentation: Natural Cider Panel

09:23 Defining Natural Cider

11:32 Production Techniques and Philosophies

27:05 Harvest Strategies and Apple Varieties

36:21 Exploring the Price Range of Ciders

37:01 The Science Behind Well-Integrated Volatile Acidity

38:31 The Role of Malolactic Fermentation in Cider

39:55 Tasting Panels and Quality Control in Basque Cider

42:44 Cider Pairing with Food: A Gastronomic Experience

44:31 The Cultural Significance of Cider in Spain

51:31 The Importance of Apple Varieties in Cider Making

55:43 Challenges and Rewards of Natural Cider Production

01:01:48 Final Thoughts and Future of Cider

01:06:55 Conclusion and Farewell

Find the full show notes for this episode at CiderChat.com
Episode 489: https://ciderchat.com/podcast/489-natural-cider-production/

Listen to Episode 489 of Cider Chat® 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.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(519)

516: Tasting Time | Totally Cider Tour '26 - France

What does time taste like? Join Cider Chat MC Ria on the 2026 Totally Cider Tour through Normandy, Domfrontais and Brittany, where cider, poiré, Pommeau and Calvados become a way of experiencing place...

7 Okt 56min

515: World of Cider: The Baltic Region

What happens when a cider region has the apples, but not centuries of rules telling cidermakers what cider is supposed to be? Recorded at CiderCon 2026 in Providence, Rhode Island, this World of Cider...

23 Sep 51min

514: Doing More With Lees | Ryan Monkman

Lees are more than sediment at the bottom of a tank. Recorded at CiderCon 2026 in Providence, Rhode Island, cidermaker and fermentation consultant Ryan Monkman explores how cidermakers can put lees to...

9 Sep 53min

513: Still Cider, Single Apples and Time | Sowams, Rhode Island

What happens when a cidermaker decides to do less and give cider more time? Spencer Morris of Sowams Cider Works in Warren, Rhode Island, makes cider with more than 70 apple varieties, old mechanical ...

26 Aug 1h 6min

512: Plant the Damn Apple Tree | Special Edition

Cider Chat MC Ria Windcaller reads her August eCiderNews editorial, Plant the Damn Apple Tree, reflecting on entrepreneurship, uncertainty, abundance, and what an apple tree might teach us about the t...

24 Aug 10min

511: Hungarian Cider Comes of Age | Bright Cider

Hungary may not have a centuries-old cider tradition like England or France, but that is exactly what makes its modern cider movement so exciting. In this episode, Cider MC Ria Windcaller travels to B...

12 Aug 54min

510: From Barrels to the Pub | The People's Cider Co., Michigan

Most cider makers dream of expanding their barrel program. Jason Lummen did the opposite. In Episode 510, Ria Windcaller visits The People's Cider Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where Jason explai...

29 Jul 59min

509: Mr. Plūme | In the Heart of Latvia's Fine Cider

Episode 509 takes us to the heart of Latvia to meet Dace and Māris Plūme, the husband-and-wife team behind Mr. Plūme, an award-winning orchard cidery known for both still and naturally sparkling cider...

15 Jul 1h 3min