Entries are now open to the 2021 Australia’s Best Cider Selection of the Year Awards.

Cider Australia established this competition to reward venues and retailers that have great cider selections. Entries are invited in three categories:

• Australia’s Best Cider Selection – Pub/Restaurant
• Australia’s Best Cider Selection – Liquor Retailer
• Australia’s Best Cidery/Cellar Door

Full competition details including the judging criteria, Terms & Conditions and entry form link can be found here.

Entries will be open until 29 October with the winners announced in mid-November. Winners receive a trophy, marketing collateral and social media opportunities.

Who is eligible to enter?
Any licensed venue or liquor retailer is eligible to enter. By liquor retailer, we mean an individual bricks and mortar liquor store (not a chain of stores) or an online retailer.

What information is needed to enter?
Entrants need to list the ciders available at the venue/store and provide supporting information to show how the judging criteria are met. This could be a copy of the menu or drinks list, images of the venue, shelf displays or other descriptive information. Answers can be typed directly into the entry form and any documents, images and video uploaded.

The video is intended to give the judges a feel for the customer experience and provide an alternative means to explain the cider offering. To be fair to all entrants, video should be taken on a mobile device – professional videos will not be accepted. The maximum length of video is 45 seconds for a Pub/Restaurant, 30 seconds for a Liquor Retailer and 2 minutes for a Cidery/Cellar Door.

What are the judging criteria?
Judges will assess cider selections against the following four judging criteria:

• quality
  • ciders of known provenance (i.e. Australian ‘craft’ cider made from Australian grown apples, or French cider made from French apples)
  • ciders that represent a particular cider style well
• breadth of styles
  • balance of cider styles, apple varieties and regions (if suitable, for example, a venue specialising in regional produce would be expected to feature local ciders)
• suitability
  • to the type of venue and cuisine
• education
  • identifying provenance and/or style
  • providing product information, tasting notes and food matching suggestions
  • promotional activities

Questions?
If you have any questions please get in touch at awards@cideraustralia.org.au.

Cider Australia is launching the Best Cider Selection of the Year Awards to identify and acknowledge venues that offer customers an excellent selection of ciders.

The Best Cider Selection Awards will accept nominations from licensed establishments and liquor retailers across Australia in three categories – Pub/Restaurant, Liquor Retailer and Cidery/Cellar Door.

President of Cider Australia, Warwick Billings, said the new competition is an important progression for the cider industry as cider palates evolve and consumers seek out new tasting and food matching experiences.

“Our aim is to reward the venue owners, managers and sommeliers that go the extra mile to present their customers with interesting, unique and delicious cider choices”, said Warwick.

“The Awards will help people find venues that serve great cider, whether they are looking to have an after-work drink, casual weekend lunch or a high-end restaurant meal.

Entries will be assessed on the quality, diversity and suitability of the ciders on offer, as well as efforts to educate and assist customers to select products.

Category winners will receive a trophy, marketing collateral and social media opportunities.

Entries open next week and close on 29 October.

 

COMPETITION DETAILS ARE ON THE CIDER AUSTRALIA WEBSITE.

Best Cider Selection of the Year Awards – Key dates

Entries Open	Early October 2021
Entries Close	29 October 2021
Winners Announced	Mid November 2021

cideraustralia.org.au/

– Ends –

 

MEDIA ENQUIRIES

For more details please contact Cider Australia executive officer Jane Anderson on
0434 559 759 or office@cideraustralia.org.au or visit www.cideraustralia.org.au.

About Cider Australia 

Cider Australia is an independent, not-for-profit organisation funded by cider businesses and sponsors, established in 2012. It aims to build a sustainable cider category by undertaking activities that improve the quality of ciders produced and marketed in Australia. The organisation represents the interests of the cider industry to policy makers, calling for regulations and policies that support a diverse and evolving cider industry, and runs the national cider conference AusCider and the Australian Cider Awards.

The Best Cider Selection of the Year Awards expand Cider Australia’s existing efforts to benchmark and promote the cider industry and from 2022 will be incorporated into the annual Australian Cider Awards program. The Australian Cider Awards were postponed in 2020 and remain on hold in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.