California Cider Competition & MASICC Announce Winners for 2016 Competitions
The public is invited to taste the hard cider winners and pairings at the Mendocino County Fair &  Apple Show, September 17 and 18 Boonville, CA (September 9, 2016) The 3rd annual California Cider Competition, the state’s only cider contest, announced the winners of its 2016 challenge.
The competition award results are:

BEST OF SHOW

  • 1876 Heirloom made by Gowan’s Heirloom Cider, Philo, CA

RESERVE (Second Best in Show)

  • Gravenstein Heirloom made by Gowan’s Heirloom Cider, Philo, CA

GOLD MEDALS

  • 1876 Heirloom made by Gowan’s Heirloom Cider, Philo, CA
  • Gravenstein Heirloom made by Gowan’s Heirloom Cider, Philo, CA
  • Macintosh Heirloom made by Gowan’s Heirloom Cider, Philo, CA
  • Sierra Beauty Heirloom made by Gowan’s Heirloom Cider, Philo, CA
  • Orchard Blend #1 Cider made by Far West Cider Company, Richmond, CA, MASICC
  • Revival Hard Apple made by Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider, Portland, OR, MASICC

SILVER MEDALS

  • Farmhouse Dry Cider made by Lassen Traditional Cider, Chico, CA
  • Goldrush Cider made by Hidden Star Orchards, Clements, CA
  • Mockingbird Cider made by Brandon Swift, Sebastopol, CA, MASICC
  • No. 8 Heirloom Cider made by Gowan’s Heirloom Cider, Philo, CA
  • Pink Cascade Cider made by Far West Cider Company, Richmond, CA• San Joaquin Sparkler made by Far West Cider Company, Richmond, CA
  • Swanton – Senior Project #1 Cider made by Amanda Lathrop, San Luis Obispo, CA (Cal Poly’s Swanton Ranch)
  • Tony’s 2015 Blend Cider made by Anthony Boyd, Sebastopol, CA
  • Deliverance Ginger Tonic made by Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider, Portland, OR, MASICC
  •  Sacrilege Sour cherry made by Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider, Portland, OR, MASICC

BRONZE MEDALS

  • Lot 14 Blueberry Cider made by Santa Cruz Cider Company, Santa Cruz, CA
  • Hayshed Hard Cider made by Andrew Wells, Fort Bragg, CA, MASICC
  • Tony’s 2015 Blend made by Anthony Boyd, Sebastopol, CA, MASICC
  • Typical David Cider made by David Rider, Watsonville, CA, MASICC

For a full list of winners from 2016 and last year (2015), please visit
CiderCompetitionCentral.com .

The California Cider Competition featured eleven award categories or styles of cider (also called classes) and included Culinary Cider, Varietal Cider, Wine-style Cider, Wild-Yeast/Farmhouse Cider, Fruit Cider, Hopped/Herbal Cider, English Cider, Culinary Cider, Heritage Cider, Fruit Cider and Spiced Cider.
At the California Cider Competition, ciders are grouped during the day of tasting by style, and blind tasted one at a time, not by flights. Ciders are scored one at a time against a 21-point scale by 5 judges. Best of Show is determined by a side-by-side comparison of Gold Medal winners, identified only by style of cider.

Judges for the cider competitions were Tom Allman, John Cesano, Darlene Haye, Herlinda Heras, Gayle Keck, Bob Peak, Rob Ramshur, David Schwoegler, Deborah Parker Wong and Denni Yardroff. To qualify for their role, judges must have completed one or more professional cider organoleptic trainings.
Open to the public, A Grand Tasting of Award Winning Ciders will be held on Saturday, September 17th , 1pm to 5pm and Sunday, September 18th , noon to 4pm at the Mendocino County Fair & Apple Show at the Mendocino County Fairgrounds, 14400 CA-128, Boonville, CA 95415. For more information and tickets, visit Mendocino County Fair.

About the California Cider Competition

The California Cider Competition is the annual hard cider event that features ciders made from California-grown apples. The contest was created to help consumers find ciders they love, get to  know the California cidermakers who craft them and inspire innovation among cider producers. The California Cider Competition, the state’s only cider competition, is hosted by California’s Apple Show at the Mendocino County Fair.
Now in its 92nd year, Apple Jack is the mascot of this popular destination event, paying homage to the beverage produced from apples, popular in the American colonial period. Note to Editors: In advance of the public tasting, media and trade are invited to a private tasting of award-winning ciders from the California Cider Competition on September 16, 1pm to 4pm, one day before the public tastings at the Mendocino County Fair & Apple Show, Boonville, CA. Cidermakers will be on hand to talk about the 2016 harvest, apple terroir, cider crafting and production, and more. Be among
the first to sample ciders made from apples grown in California, throughout the United States and internationally.

Update.

Due to some errors in the original press release some ciders were incorrectly labelled or missed. This has now been corrected.

Don’t forget to get your Real Cider Reviews merch