Northwest Cider Association Awarded Two New Grants

MOUNT VERNON, WASHINGTON (October 8, 2024)—Northwest Cider Association (NWCA) is excited and honored to receive two new Speciality Crop Grants that begin this month. These two-year grants were awarded through Oregon and Washington Departments of Agriculture, to support increased demand for Pacific Northwest regional cider. Both projects are informed by NWCA’s consumer market research and include a focus on getting more cider placed via culinary routes. An overview of each is below. 

• The 2024 ODA grant objective is to enhance the competitiveness of the Oregon cider industry by expanding the existing 2025 and 2026 NW Cider Symposiums and panels to include Oregon-specific content and support for travel for Oregon attendees. Additionally we’ll include culinary content at the conference and create and disseminate content on Oregon-specific research, regulatory compliance, tourism, and collective marketing and sales.
• The 2024 WSDA grant objectives are to increase culinary professionals’ and consumers’ awareness of, preferences for, and purchase of Washington craft cider and cider made with Washington apples.The main goal is to organize two impactful events that target upscale on-premise culinary professionals. The first will be for trade only, where attendees will get the tools and knowledge they need to pair and market cider with food to their customers. Secondly, we’ll organize a cider festival, working with Culinary Breeding Network (famed for making waves for the cult bitter vegetable, radicchio) to target noteworthy chefs and influential consumers (Dec 2025). We will build on the trade education event, getting chefs to pair cider with cult underdog veggies such as radicchio, encouraging them to place cider on their menus too.
• But first, we will highlight cider at this year’s Sagra del Radicchio.
  

  Discover why “Bitter is Better” at the Sagra del Radicchio in Portland on December 8. New this year, Northwest Cider Association is bringing cidermakers from Washington to this popular culinary and cultural exploration.The Sagra is not just about celebrating Italian chicories; it’s a journey into the world of underdog crops. Farmers, chefs, and cidermakers will share dishes, drinks, and stories at over 40 tables.