The United States Association of Cider Makers (USACM) introduces Sicera – The Cider Certification Program. This first ever cider accreditation program is designed for distributors, servers and others who are interested in becoming trained experts on all things cider.
“The art and science of cider-making has all the nuance and complexity of winemaking and brewing great beer, but until now, there has been no way to formally acknowledge that expertise,” said David Cordtz, a member of the USACM Board of Directors and co-founder and cider master of Sonoma Cider. “By standardizing the curriculum and providing a framework for evaluating cider expertise we now have an apples-to-apples way to compare and evaluate someone’s depth of knowledge in our field. This program will at long last recognize the considerable expertise and intellectual rigor required to make quality cider.”
Similar to beer’s Cicerone and wine’s Court of Master Sommeliers programs, The Sicera program will be broken up into levels. The first, Level One, will be held Saturday, February 6th, 2016 in Portland Oregon, the day after the annual CiderCON gathering. This level will explore the history of cider, cider making, cider styles, pairings and how to serve cider. Attendees will also tour a local cidery. Other levels will look at sensory evaluation, keeping and serving cider, orchard basics, federal definitions of cider and more.
Space is limited; Registration will open in September.
The USACM is an organization of cider and perry producers that collects and shares information about cider production, regulations and cider apple growing in the United States. Their annual meeting and conference features cider makers from around the world who gather to network and share the latest trends in cider sales and development.
