Many cidermakers and apple growers provided either material or moral support during the course of this project. Special thanks go to Judith and Terry Maloney of West County Winery in Colrain, Massachusetts, and Stephen Wood and Louisa Spencer of Farnum Hill Ciders in Lebanon, New Hampshire, for being so generous over the years with both their time and their excellent ciders. Also to Rich Stadnik, my friend, grafting partner, and sounding board at Pup’s Cider, Greenfield, New Hampshire.
I am deeply indebted to two gentlemen in particular for sharing with me their years of wisdom and experience. Dr. Andrew Lea of Oxfordshire, England, is a food scientist who formerly worked at the Long Ashton Research Station in Bristol. On matters biological, chemical, and historical, his advice and insights have proved invaluable to myself and many other cidermakers, both amateur and professional. Likewise, my friend Tom Burford, a seventh-generation Virginia orchardist, has been my trusted guide to the history and practice of fruit growing.
In the years since this book first appeared, I have been grateful for the friendship and continuing support of Mike Beck, cidermaker and distiller at Uncle John’s Cider Mill in St. Johns, Michigan, and the Shelton family of Vintage Virginia Apples and Albemarle CiderWorks in North Garden, Virginia.
Additional thanks go to Ouida Young, Trish Wesley-Umbrell, Hannah Proctor, Roger Swain, Brenda Bailey Collins, Nicole Leibon, Michael Phillips, David Buchanan, Eduardo Vasquez Coto, and Jason Martel; Homer Dunn, Alyson’s Orchard, Walpole, New Hampshire; Diane Flynt, Foggy Ridge Cider, Dugspur, Virginia; John Bunker, Fedco Trees, Waterville, Maine; Dick Dunn and the many generous and knowledgeable contributors to The Cider Digest e-group, especially Gary Awdey, Terry Bradshaw, John Howard, Claude Jolicoeur, and Bill Rhyne; Charles McGonegal, AEppelTreow Winery, Burlington, Wisconsin; Dan Young and Nikki Rothwell, Tandem Cider, Suttons Bay, Michigan; John Brett, Tideview Cider, Halifax, Nova Scotia; Grant Howes and Jenifer Dean, County Cider, Picton, Ontario; Christie Higginbottom, Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, Massachusetts; James Asbel, Ciders of Spain, Newport, Rhode Island; Christian Drouin, Domaine Coeur de Lion, Choudray Rabut, Normandy, and all my fellow volunteer organizers at CiderDays in Franklin County, Massachusetts. To the extent that this book succeeds, it truly stands on the shoulders of these and many other experts and enthusiasts.