Cider Summit Seattle Adapts to Virtual Edition with at-Home Tasting Kits
The annual event had to hit pause on its live festival due to the pandemic, so it’s sending the cider home.
Courtesy of Cider Summit
Cider Summit Seattle is back—in a way. This summer, Washingtonian cider lovers rejoiced as the annual Cider Summit announced its return after a pandemic-related pause in activity. But that particular good news was short-lived. As COVID-19 cases rise throughout the state and the Delta variant leaves unanswered questions for large event organizers, Cider Summit Seattle is going virtual this year (but with a fun twist).
Cider Summit Seattle, the region’s largest cider tasting festival of its kind, canceled the in-person event that was meant for the weekend of Sept. 10. And in its place, the summit is sending tasting kits home—complete with a guided virtual tasting.
“It would have been amazing to welcome the harvest season with an in-person celebration, but the Delta variant said not so fast!” said Cider Summit co-founder Alan Shapiro in a statement. “We are now begrudging experts in the to-go tasting kits model. We are forever [in] gratitude [to] the Seattle community of cider lovers who continue to support the festival and cideries from Washington state and beyond.”
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The three curated tasting kits range from $29-$60 and include local ciders in Washington, from around the Pacific Northwest, and a global option with ciders from France, Germany, Spain, and beyond.
The kits also come with tasting notes and a guided tasting. Many of the cidermakers involved with the festival are also producing videos to go along with the tasting on their YouTube channels or on Cidercraft YouTube.
Orders must be placed by Sept. 1 for Seattle-area pickup or delivery within Washington. Cider fans around the country can place orders by Aug. 29.
Cider Summit also produces cider tasting festivals in Portland, San Francisco, and Chicago, which should (hopefully) return in 2022.
