The Northwest Cider Association’s executive director, Emily Ritchie, is in town from Portland, fresh on the heels of the 2025 Cider Cup Awards! We sat down with her to learn about why Washington leads the nation in both apple and cider production, then dig into the juicy details on what makes a cider competitor-level. Plus Meg’s dreaming of a Jurassic Park for apples, Mark's shipping off to Big Apple country, and we get apple-cheeked on this year's Cider Cup winners—one of which is a perry! 🍎🍐

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Mentioned in this episode:

Empyrical Cider

Press Then Press Cider Shop

Schilling Cider

Kingston

Greenwood Cider

Bauman’s Cider Company

Little Beast

Radiator Whiskey

Schooner Street

Gol Mok

Cockrell Cider Farm

Community Grocery

Field Bar

Mezzanotte

Musang

South Lake Union Market

Nata Seattle

The Masonry

00:00 Intro

03:29 NW Cider Award Winners

08:26 PNW is a Cider Mecca

23:10 This Week’s Restaurant News

32:43 Trends in Cider

36:45 Emily’s Cider Origin Story

40:35 Thanks, I Ate It