San Francisco, CA- San Francisco’s 4th annual Cider Summit made a return to the Civil War Parade Ground in the city’s Presidio neighborhood and I could not have been more excited!
I attended the very first summit a few years ago and am so happy to see this event continue to grow. An estimated 2,500 people went to sample 180 offerings of some the finest and most diverse ciders from around the world! Other popular cider summits are held in Chicago, Portland and Seattle.
If you purchase the $50 VIP Pass, you get in an hour early while the crowd is smaller and get 10 tasting tickets instead of the usual 8. The average pour goes into these great little glasses you get to keep.
What I tried…
- Common Cider (Auburn, CA) – Pineapple Guava
- Humboldt Cider Co. (Eureka, CA) – Cherry (sweet, but tasty)
- Indigeny (Sonora, CA) – Apricot. One of my personal favorite cider producers. If you get a chance, visit the gorgeous 160-acre orchard reserve in Sonora and stock up!
- Mission Trail (Bradley, CA) – Ron Tropico Fruit Cider
- Tilted Shed (Windsor, CA) – This one had a great challenge where you could line up and get a tasting through a barrel, catching the cider with your tasting glass! Watch the video here.
- Wine Cellers Ltd. (France & Spain) – Le Brun Organic Cidre from France
- Wildcraft Cider Works (Eugene, OR) – Wild Mirabelle Plum (fantastic finish and color)
- William Tell (Lodi, CA) – This company offers a wine/cider mix! I tried the Blueberry Zinfandel and it was terrific!
- Wildcide (San Jose, CA) – Wildcide Hard Cider
I chose these ciders at random with the goal of getting a good pour and sampling those from both the domestic and international market. Visitors can also read up on the companies, ciders they have to offer and take notes on what they liked/didn’t like in a convenient newsletter.
New this year:
- A Cider Cocktail Lounge sponsored by J. Seeds Apple Whiskey (Personally, I didn’t try the cocktail ciders seeing that I’m still a cheap date when it comes to adult beverages and would probably have to be “carted” out if I did both the cider tastings their cocktail counterparts!)
Other offerings: You can’t go imbibing tons of cider without some sustenance to keep you going!
- Cypress Grove Cheese table — Need I say more?! My favorite among the four samples was the Humboldt Fog cheese.
- Whole Foods Market (they were the main presenter/host of the event) and Slow Hand BBQ had food trucks ready to soak up all that delicious cider.
- KRAVE jerky table
I didn’t check out the Cider Summit Event Store this time around. I would have wanted to buy everything on hand! But you should check it out. The store offers extra tasting tickets ($2 each), bottles to buy and take home, cider merch and books!
Another great cider event in San Francisco. I hope you’ll check it out next year! In the meantime, here are some parting pics to enjoy! Cheers!
Leila Harmon 