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.
Eleanor Leger
Founder and Co-Owner of Eden Specialty Ciders
Q: Tell us about yourself and your role in cider
EL: I originally fell in love with cider as a teenager studying in Northwest France. Then I fell in love with heirloom and cider variety apples growing at Scott Farm, Vermont and Cummins Nursery, NY. Finally, in 2007 my husband Albert and I started planting trees and making ice cider in the basement of our farmhouse in Northern Vermont. One thing has led to another. I have been dedicated full time since then to making and promoting unique ciders made from extraordinary apple varieties, everything from champagne method brut cider and pet nats to delicious ice ciders. I am a board member and Secretary of the American Cider Association, a founder of the Vermont Cider Makers Association, and was an original member of the Vermont Working Lands Enterprise Board. I also write a blog on what it's like to be in the underdog economy at Cidernomics.com.
Q: What do you enjoy most about cider and/or the cider industry?
EL: I love growing amazing apple varieties, and learning about how they taste when turned into cider. I love drinking great ciders - either ours or those made by our many wonderful colleagues. I love that people in cider are down to earth, care about the land and the environment, nerd out about apples and cider making, and love to party.
Q: Do you have a favorite moment in your cider adventures?
EL: Garret Huber and Mary Morton have been responsible for cider making at Eden since 2017. My favorite moments are when I get to taste something new they have chosen to make with a particular apple variety or technique, and that feeling of "WOW" when it's totally delicious.
Q: What was the first cider that really knocked your socks off?
EL: Farnum Hill Extra Dry Still, and then Eve's Autumn's Gold. Amazing fruit showcased by amazing makers.
Q: What is your current favorite apple for cidermaking and why do you love it?
EL: That is so hard to choose! In a single variety cider? Northern Spy for a cider that has a little residual sweetness. Kingston Black or Foxwhelp for a cider that is dry and bottle conditioned. In a blend? Esopus Spitzenberg for acid, Egremont Russet for sweetness.
Q: What do you do when you’re not making great ciders?
EL: Well I don't get to do the cider making any more, I spend 24/7 building the team and the business. When not doing that? Cooking recipes that go really well with cider. Mustard-braised guinea hen anyone??
Q: When you’re not drinking your ciders, whose are you drinking?
EL: South Hill, AO/Walden, Dragons' Head, Pere Jules, Pilton's, Tom Oliver's Perry
Q: Anything else you'd like to add?
EL: Cider is nothing without apples. And the best apples are not grocery varieties, but varieties that people have found and propagated because of their combination of acidity, sugar, tannin, and aromatics. They are grown on small, often diversified farms, holistically, with care for the environment and the people who look after them. And great ciders are made with these apples, by cider makers who respect the fruit, who care about fruit character, who shun added sugars, acetification, lactobacillus, and who aren't scared to age a cider to let its best fruit character shine through. There. That's my manifesto.
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