Portland International Cider Cup 2022 Winners Announced

2022 Portland International Cider Cup Winners Announced

Northwest cideries make this the largest competition year ever!

PORTLAND, Ore. (May 27, 2022) – The Northwest Cider Association (NWCA) proudly announced the 2022 winners of their annual Portland International Cider Cup (PICC) competition last night at a sold-out awards party, hosted at Swift Cider in NE Portland. 

NWCA unveiled 57 Gold, Silver and Bronze medal winning ciders from Pacific Northwest cidermakers across 20 distinct categories and seven subcategories – ranging from Modern Dry to Traditional Perries. The newest category additions being the adoption of a dedicated category for Red Fleshed Ciders and expansion of Fruit Cider subcategories. 

The Northwest is home to 150 orchard-based, small, independent, and mid-sized makers, and Portland International Cider Cup is the region’s premier judged competition. This year, PICC received more cider entries than ever before, up nearly 100 entries from 2021. In the 2022 competition, nearly 50 cideries from OR, WA, MT, ID and British Columbia entered 241 unique offerings, judged by just under 50 professional cider judges who traveled from around the region to Portland, Oregon for the all-day judging event in early May.

“Cider was the only craft beverage that grew  in the Northwest last year, so this year’s competition was very exciting,” says Northwest Cider Association’s Executive Director, Emily Ritchie. “We had nearly 60% more entries than last year, and also created some interesting new categories like Red-Fleshed ciders. NWCA, who runs the competition, is a non-profit supporting cidermakers in four Northwest states and British Columbia – an area recognized as one of the most innovative cider regions in the nation.

Started nearly a decade ago, by a handful of local makers, Portland International Cider Cup is still a bit of an industry insider secret. Born from the founders’ desire to solicit valuable, blind product feedback from judges, the cup has been an engine, driving quality and fostering healthy competition and community. PICC has gradually grown in size and visibility as the cider category becomes more known and more cideries open their doors. In 2021, 45 medals were awarded. In 2022, the number rose to 57 medals, in concert with a sizable increase in competitive entries. “After a hiatus in 2020, it feels like we are coming back with renewed energy” states Ritchie in reference to the uptick in entries.

The PICC 2022 Runner Up and Winner of Best of Show

Northwest Cider Association has been running the competition since 2016. Training judges is something the Association takes seriously. Ciders are judged by trained industry experts looking for excellence, flaws and determined style qualities. The competition is strict and not all categories take medals if the quality is not there. 

As the competition continues to grow, medaling at PICC remains a challenge and is a respected accolade. Less than a quarter of ciders entered this year won a medal, so these wins really count, they carry weight both in the backyard and afar. “Cidermaking is a celebrated and respected craft here in the Northwest and our ciders are earning recognition at home and internationally,” Ritchie says.

2022 By the Numbers:

• 57 Total Medals were awarded (17 Bronze, 21 Silver and 19 Gold). 
• Best in Show went to Seattle Cider (WA) Honeycrisp, which won gold in both Modern Sweet and Single Varietal Cider – dessert/culinary category. 
• Best in Show Runner Up went to Peak Light Cider (OR) for their Orchard Reserve Quince Cider, which took Gold for the second year running in the Specialty category. 
• Best New Cidery went to RAW Cider Company (OR). RAW earned Gold for their Semi Dry in the French Cider category.

Gold medal winners from PICC 2022