UK cider guru Bill Bradshaw to visit Australia

7 Jun 2016

Global cider expert and co-collaborator in The Cider Hunters, a new video based project examining cider cultures around the world, will visit Australia as guest judge at this year’s Australian Cider Awards.

UK-based Bill Bradshaw – judge, speaker, photographer and writer on all things cider – is looking forward to immersing himself in Australia’s booming cider culture when the awards are judged in Melbourne later this year.

Bill has written several books on cider including the highly respected and multi award winning World’s Best Cider: Taste, Tradition and Terroir, from Somerset to Seattle, co-authored with British writer Pete Brown.

Cider Australia president Sam Reid said, “Bill Bradshaw’s passion for cider is unrivalled and Australian producers can’t wait to show off the exceptional quality and diversity of our local ciders, and see what Bill is able to capture and share with cider devotees across the world”.

“The awards continues to build on its status as the leading cider show in Australia with more than 200 entries expected this year”, said Mr Reid.

“We released detailed cider style guidelines last year to assist the judges in their assessment of ciders and also serve as an educational tool for producers, marketers and especially dedicated cider drinkers.

Bill is coming at a very important time for Cider Australia as the organisation moves its focus to developing the category of Craft Cider in the coming year.

“There are lots of opinions of what determines ‘craft cider’ around the globe and Bill is across all of these many definitions. While he is here he will be presenting to producers, drinkers and customers his perspective on what make a craft cider which will no doubt be a lively debate!”

“Our focus moving forward is on engaging with retailers and consumers to build knowledge about different cider styles and ensure we’re all speaking the same language when describing ciders”, noted Mr Reid.

The awards will be officially opened for entries in early June and winners will be announced at a gala presentation dinner on the evening of Friday 7 October.

For more details contact Cider Australia executive officer Jane Anderson on 0434 559 759 or visit www.cideraustralia.org.au. For information about Bill Bradshaw visit billbradshaw.co.uk/cider or The Cider Hunters website www.ciderhunters.com