Hudson Valley Cider Symposium 2023

The Hudson Valley Cider Symposium will feature tastings from over a dozen cider makers, talks, walks, workshops and lectures on October 29.

Join over a dozen of the Hudson Valley’s premier cider makers for tastings and more at the third annual Hudson Valley Cider Symposium at Rose Hill Farm in Red Hook, overlooking the Catskill Mountains, on Sunday, October 29, 2023 from 11AM-4PM.

There will be a series of lectures, talks and workshops by Hudson Valley-based cider, orchard and apple luminaries. The main tasting opens at 12PM, but an 11AM Farm Walk with Kevin Clark of Rose Hill and cooking as well as a cooking and cocktail demo with Wander, Eat & Tell at 12:30PM are being offered as add-on tickets. In addition, River Valley Guild, the Hudson Valley’s interdisciplinary creative collective, featuring artists and entrepreneurs across all fields and mediums, will be curating a selection of artisanal makers who will have locally-made products for sale at the symposium. Guests will received a branded sampling glass. Designated Driver tickets are also available. Please drink responsibly.

This is an outdoor event so please dress warmly and with appropriate footwear for uneven orchards.

Participating cideries include Rose Hill Farm, Hudson Valley Farmhouse, Metal House, Orchard Hill, Abandoned, Left Bank, Wayside, Westwind, Seminary Hill, Heartsby True, Greenpoint, Treasury Cider, Apple Persons, Gnarly Pippins, Heatherhill Cider, Branchwater Distillery, Brooklyn Cider House, Occam, and Original Sin.

TICKET TIERS AND PRICING:

Main Tasting Event: $40

Farm Tour + Main Tasting Event: $45

Cooking/Cocktail Demo + Main Tasting Event: $50

Farm Tour, Cooking/Cocktail Demo + Main Tasting Event: $52.50

Designated Driver: $10 (gets you access to all add-ons)

SCHEDULE BELOW:

11AM: Orchard walk with Kevin Clark, orchardist of Rose Hill Farm (add-on ticket)

Walk with Kevin through the improvements to the farm, the new top grafting and plantings as he works to build Rose Hill into a premier cider growing farm. Explore and taste some of the remarkable apples.

12PM: Tasting Tent opens (included in main event ticket price)

12:30PM: Wander, Eat & Tell’s Cooking and Cocktail Demo (add-on ticket)

Annette Tomei and Lisa Belczyk of Wander, Eat & Tell Experiences will share their expertise on developing creative programming for guests in your tasting rooms and hospitality spaces. Experience live cooking, beverage mixing, and sampling of delicious apple-based delights, while Annette and Lisa share an example of a bespoke program designed to share the culture, history, beauty, and lore of our beloved apple-growing region.

1:30PM: Mistakes Were Made Discussion (included in main event ticket price)

Growing Fruit and making cider is no easy prospect, and comes with a lot of trial and error. Kimberly Kae of Metal House will lead a discussion with Fabio Chizzola of Westwind Orchard and Nika Carlson of Greenpoint Cidery about how to improve and learn from their mistakes.

2:30PM: Distilling Fruit and Apple Discussion (included in main event ticket price)

Kevin Pike of Branchwater Farms will lead a discussion and tasting about Apple Brandy and fruit distillate. Not all spirits are created equal and he will talk through his process and what it takes to encapsulate fruit into spirits.

3:30PM: New Orcharding for Neglected Orchards (included in main event ticket price)

Matt Kaminsky of Gnarly Pippin will talk about apples trees that are remarkably persistent and have survived both care and neglect in our landscape for hundreds of years. Kaminsky will talk about rebuilding orchards, managing fertility and understory growth.

Rose Hill Farm is located at 19 Rose Hill Farm, Red Hook, NY.

The Hudson Valley Cider Symposium is being produced and presented by Daniel Pucci, nationally-recognized as a leading cider expert and author of American Cider, Rose Hill Farm, Edible Hudson Valley and River Valley Guild.