Cider association works to connect public with cideries and farms
Between one third and one half of the cideries in the region grow their own fruit. Northwest Cider Association received grant from the Washington State Department of Agriculture.
Efforts are underway to expand the market for Washington’s growing cider community.
The Northwest Cider Association received a $249,500 Specialty Crop Block Grant from the Washington State Department of Agriculture to address the market development and access issues.
The project will help the 80 Washington cideries and the 240 specialty crop producers that grow the apples, grapes, berries, stone fruit, hops and herbs used to make cider.
The award to the Northwest Cider Association is one of the 19 projects, comprising $4.2 million, The Washington State Department of Agriculture in 2025 granted through the Specialty Crop Block Grant. Those projects will enhance food safety, increase quality of produce and expand markets, according to information from the Washington State Department of Agriculture.
The cider industry is similar to Washington’s wine and beer industry in that there are a lot of small cideries. It doesn’t make sense for the small cideries to share margins with a distributor, said Emily Ritchie, executive director of the Northwest Cider Association.
She said the effort will strengthen the public’s connection to farms. Ritchie noted that between a third and a half of the cideries grow their own fruit.
“It’s so much fun to walk on the farm to see where apples are,” Ritchie said.
The public will learn to identify the apples that are used in their favorite cider. “We want that drink literacy to keep increasing,” Ritchie said.
The Northwest Cider Association has a map on its website at www.nwcider.com that shows the location of cideries located in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and British Columbia.
“You have to do a lot of marketing to get eyeballs onto the website,” Ritchie said.
The cider association will improve its online map and seek partnerships with tourism organizations, chambers of commerce and other destination management organizations. There will be efforts to have a presence at festivals and events.
The Northwest Cider Association formed 15 years ago. The association was formed to help build a market and encourage the production of high-quality cider, Ritchie said.
At the time, there were 10 cideries in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia. Currently around 200 cideries are in operation producing an estimated 9 million gallons of cider. Washington’s 80 cideries produce between three million to four million gallons of cider, Ritchie said.
“Cider is consumed here way more than anywhere,” Ritchie said. Cider in Washington and Oregon have around 8 percent of the beer market, while everywhere else, it’s around 1 percent.
