Finger Lakes Craft Cider Week features Groundswell participants

Groundswell graduates, instructors and Mentor Farmers feature heavily in the emerging craft cider industry in our region. Banding together as the Finger Lakes Cider Alliance, these orchardists are the impetus behind Finger Lakes Craft Cider Week, which will run from October 3rd through October 12th. The event bringing together the widest variety of local ciders from the Finger Lakes. We will be more than doubling the number of available ciders this year.Participating Groundswell grads, instructors and Mentors include Red Byrd Cidery (Burdett), Eve’s Cidery (Van Etten), Black Diamond Farm (Trumansburg) and Good Life Farm (Interlaken.)

Anchored by the Ithaca Apple Harvest Festival (October 3-5), Craft Cider Week offers a variety of events such as tastings, cider dinners with local chefs, a local orchard tour, and a cider-flavored square dance. Visitors and locals alike will the opportunity to try local cider by the glass or presented in cider flights, pairings with hand-selected entrées, and cider cocktails at a number of local venues throughout Ithaca and the Finger Lakes region.  There is no other event in the area showcasing the diversity of craft cider.

This week of activities is patterned after the wildly popular New York City Cider Week, presenting its annual celebration later in October. Colonial America’s favorite beverage is making a comeback and the Finger Lakes region is leading the way with world-class cider made from locally grown apples.  Besides trying and enjoying local hard cider, folks can also discover the culinary delights of cider pairings, traditional and modern mixes, and the people behind the region’s beautiful orchards.

This year, organizers have substantially increased the number of participating cideries and locations.  Try more varieties of local hard cider in more locations throughout Ithaca and the surrounding areas!

Other participating cideries include:

• Bellwether Hard Cider (Trumansburg)
• Black Bird Cider Works (Barker)
• Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards (Hector)
• South Hill Cider (Ithaca)
• Beak & Skiff (LaFayette)
• Three Brothers (Geneva)
• Harvest Moon Cidery (Cazenovia)
• Steampunk (Medina)

For more information check out the website: www.ciderweekflx.com