Cider Australia is the peak body for the cider and perry industries in Australia.

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.