The admins of The Cider Exchange group on Facebook (Ryan Gravell, Erica Jeter, Matt Windle) wanted to take advantage of Women's History Month in March and highlight members of the group who are in the Cider Industry. Collectively, we came up with a standard set of questions to ask our honored guests. We hope you enjoy our feature and get to know more about the Women in Cider who are being highlighted
Erica Jeter
Happy Camper, Cidermaker and purveyor of goods
The Cider Exchange, Administrator
Q: Tell us about yourself and your role in ciderEJ: I'm from Richmond, Virginia and I'm a home cider maker, cider nerd, and one of The Cider Exchange (TCE) Facebook group administrators. I fell in love with cider about a decade ago, but things reached a fevered pitch after my husband gave me a copy of Jeff Smith's (Bushwhacker Cider, Portland) Craft Cider: How to Turn Apples Into Alcohol book, I then took an Introduction to Cider Making class at Blue Bee Cider, and my father in law loaned me his old wooden basket cider press - all in quick succession. I went absolutely bonkers for cider making, and it seems I'm only growing more bonkers by the season. I pore over cider-related print material constantly, searching out other cider makers' wisdom and approaches as I strive to make better cider. Participating in cider-making seminars with Penn State Extension, volunteering at CiderCon, and listening to Ria Windcaller's Cider Chat podcast have been so beneficial. I'm always on the hunt for great Virginia cider apples, and I have cultivated a really nice light-pruning-in-exchange-for-apples arrangement with the owner of a long-neglected apple orchard. I helped out Liza and Eric Cioffi when they first opened Courthouse Creek Cider in Maidens, Virginia, and I loved working the tasting room and sharing cider with folks. I also gained a real appreciation for the non-stop, hard-working reality of the cider-making business, and I raise my glass to the professional cider makers out there. I really love the seasonal rhythm of apple growing and cider making, and I hope I never stop.
Q: What do you enjoy most about cider and/or the cider industry?
EJ: Cider is magical, I am convinced. I've found that cider has a distinctly jolly vibe - do you find that as well? The more I immerse myself in cider making, cider exploration, getting to know cider people, doing cider research (so many amazing books!), and cider drinking, the deeper I fall in love. Sharing great cider with people is probably what I enjoy most. And I love talking about making cider with other cider makers.
Q: Do you have a favorite moment in your cider adventures?
EJ: A beloved New Mexico archaeology mentor of mine, Pablo Williams, used to say, "You can't really understand an archaeological site until you've napped on it." And then he would stretch out in the shade of a pinon pine tree for a lunchtime snooze in the field, his backpack as his pillow. I tried it, and Pablo was right. Last summer my best friend and I had the opportunity to set up camp in a couple of cider apple orchards and farms as we traveled and cider-tasted our way across Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York. Among the beautiful apple trees loaded with fruit, we drank the cider that came from the orchard, cooked every meal with cider, listened to favorite old albums, and one night danced as the moon rose and the fireflies came out. We afternoon-napped, read books in the shade, practiced Qi Gong, went for a freezing cold swim and had cheese and cider happy hours every day in our orchard camps. I feel that I reached a new understanding and appreciation for the ciders from that land, and now I enjoy them even more. Perhaps you never really understand a cider until you've napped and danced in the orchard it came from? Full terroir immersion.
Q: What was the first cider that really knocked your socks off?
EJ: Easy. It was a lovely cider from Albemarle Ciderworks, who were pouring tastings at the Richmond Folk Festival's Virginia Heritage Exhibition area. I had not been aware of dry cider, and the first sip felt like a revelation! Light and crisp like champagne, with delicate fruity notes. Like sunshine. I held my hand over my heart and my eyes got so wide. That cider knocked my socks off, and Albemarle Ciderworks remains among my favorite ciders (and cider people).
Q: What is your current favorite apple for cider making and why do you love it?
EJ: One apple that captured my cider making heart during the 2019 season was the famous Mid-Atlantic Harrison apple. I'm not the only one who feels this way. I had never been able to find Harrisons before, and when my son and I spent a lucky day picking and hauling about 11 bushels of apples at Diane and Chuck Flynt's Foggy Ridge Cider orchard, the majority of them were Harrisons. The trees and the orchard floor were loaded with the small golden apples, and most of them were perfectly sound. Their rich, warm aroma filled the car and was intoxicating, all the way from Dugspur to Richmond. When I ground and pressed our apple haul, the Harrison juice was thick, dark and rich, and very sweet. As I've monitored my first Harrison cider's transformation through this fall and winter, I've been so pleased to taste that the richness and aromatic complexity have remained through fermentation. I bottled some of the Harrison cider still, and am currently bottle conditioning a portion of it. I have one more carboy full that I plan to follow the traditional method with for a beautiful sparkling Harrison cider. So good. Cheers to the Queen of Virginia Apples and Cider: Diane Flynt!
Q: What do you do when you’re not making great ciders?
EJ: I'm a public servant with the Environmental Division of the Virginia Department of Transportation, where I work hard and enjoy my work. Great people there. I love to burn up my vacation leave traveling, camping, attending live music shows and festivals, and enjoying cider events and tastings. In addition to cider, I also make whiskey barrel-aged hickory syrup and I grow shiitake, oyster and wood ear mushrooms on logs. Richmond is a fantastic place to live and my family loves to enjoy all of the natural and cultural goodness that our City has to offer.
Q: When you’re not drinking your ciders, whose are you drinking?
EJ: Oh man, there's too many ciders to possibly shout them out, but I am partial to Virginia ciders. But I'll tell you whose ciders I've been really grooving on lately: Hawk Knob Cidery and Meadery near Lewisburg, West Virginia. I've been visiting my husband's family in Greenbrier County, WV near Lewisburg for nearly 30 years and have fallen in love with the area. I could not wait to try Hawk Knob when they opened as West Virginia's first cidery, and they never disappoint. Everybody talks about how cider once disappeared and has recently reemerged in the United States. Hawk Knob is here to tell you that cider making always persisted and still continues throughout Appalachia and West Virginia - and it is really, really good. I especially love Hawk Knob's wild-fermented ciders and this unique one called "Ambrosia" that you have to taste to believe.
Q: Anything else you'd like to add?
EJ: Yes! I first ran across The Cider Exchange (TCE) group on Facebook a few years ago and participated in one of TCE founder Ryan Gravell's fantastic secret cider exchanges - I had never done anything like that before. I was blown away! How can this be?! A community of cider lovers who meet as strangers, but are generous and friendly and trusting enough to trade ciders all over the country? It's true. Suddenly I had access to the ciders I was reading about and was tasting ciders that I had never heard of from places I had never visited. Eventually, Ryan reached out and asked if I would like to help administer TCE - it must have been my sheer enthusiasm because I know very little about how social media works. I said yes, please! I still know very little about how social media works, but getting to know Ryan and Matt Windle and the TCE members has been one of the most joyful parts of my cider journey. I just love TCE so much and am very grateful to Ryan for creating it!
