Top Accolades for Ithaca Cider

New York and specifically Ithaca-area cideries continue to prove their legitimacy as a world-class cider region. From cider competitions to national press, visit and taste what all the buzz is about.

Great American Cider Competition

2020 Medals:
Nearly sweeping the top 3 categories, Ithaca's cideries were awarded 10 out of the top 14 medals available in 2020. 
Grand Award/Best in Show - Black Diamond Cider
Platinum - South Hill Cider (2), Black Diamond Cider (1), and Kite & String Cider/Finger Lakes Cider House (1)
Gold - Black Diamond Cider (2), Kite & String Cider/Finger Lakes Cider House (2), and South Hill Cider (1)

2021 Medals:
Grand Award/Best in Show - Kite & String Cider/Finger Lakes Cider House
Platinum - Black Diamond (2), New York Cider Company (1), Redbyrd Orchard Cider (1), Eve's Cidery (1), and Kite & String Cider/Finger Lakes Cider House (1)
Gold - Eve's Cidery (3), Black Diamond Cider (2), New York Cider Company (2), Redbyrd Orchard Cider (2), and South Hill Cider (1)

 

Ithaca Area Cider in the Media:

Why the Finger Lakes Is Becoming the Capital of Cider - Travel + Leisure

13 Cideries Perfect for the Booze Traveler - Travel Channel

  • Featured Cideries: Redbyrd Orchard Cider and South Hill Cider

10 Ciders to Turn Wine Snobs Into Cider Snobs - Bon Appetit

  • Featured Cider: Packbasket by South Hill Cider

Why Hard Cider is Making a Come Back - Vogue Magazine

  • Featured Cideries: Eve's Cidery and South Hill Cider

Americans Have Been Doing Cider Wrong Forever, and It's Time to Change - Bon Appetit

  • Featured Cideries: Blackduck Cidery and Redbyrd Orchard Cider

These Apple Ciders Are Wild—Literally - Wall Street Journal

  • Featured Cider: Packbasket by South Hill Cider

The Women Leading American Cider Forward - Wine Enthusiast

  • Featured Cider Makers: Melissa Madden of Kite & String/ FLX Cider House and Autumn Stoscheck of Eve's Cidery

6 Heritage Cider Brands Worth Tasting - Washington Post

  • Featured Cideries: Eve's Cidery, South Hill Cider, Kite & String Cider 

Cornell Research Boosts New York’s Surging Hard Cider Industry - EZRA

  • Featured Cidery & Cider Makers: Cornell Orchards and the Hard Cider Program Work Team

 

"The thin isthmus between deep blue Cayuga and Seneca lakes may have the finest concentration of artisan cideries in the nation. What’s emerging is a legitimate cider trail stretching from Ithaca in the south, through the village of Trumansburg, all the way north to Geneva."
- The Finger Lakes Is to Cider What Napa Is to Wine

 

2018 NY Wine Classic

Kite & String's "Pioneer Pippin" was awarded Best Heritage Cider on the way to ultimately winning the 2018 Governor's Cider Cup!