Thank you for your interest in the Northwest Cider Cup organized by Northwest Cider Association, Portland, OR.

Entry Registration is Open

To add your entries into the system, please proceed through the registration process or log in if you already have an account.

Rules

How to Enter NW Cider Cup

Review the NW Cider Cup 2024 CATEGORIES ACCEPTED and NW Cider Cup 2024 COMPETITION GUIDE

Register as an Entrant

• Click Register > Entrant at the top of this page.
• Please use your company email when registering. After the competition, you’ll log back in with this email and password to view your cider evaluation score and comments.
• After you register as an entrant, you can add your cider entries, pay for your entries, print bottle labels, and print shipping labels.
• If you are a NWCA member, make sure to add in the discount code prior to paying.

Ship or deliver your cider

• See the Info page for shipping & delivery dates and locations.

Return to this site after the Competition

• After June 21, return to this site and log in to view judges comments and scores.

Rules and Provisions

Download and review the 2024 NW Cider Cup Categories Accepted, prior to submitting your entries. Competition organizers may reclassify ciders into the correct category if they notice a cider is entered in the wrong category, but it is not their responsibility to do so. If your cider is entered in the incorrect category and judged there, it will likely not do well!

1. The shipper must pay all customs, duty, and shipping fees.
2. All entries become the property of the Northwest Cider Association.
3. Any portion of the entries remaining after the competition may be used in any way as seen fit by the Northwest Cider Association.
4. Entry fees will not be reimbursed if cider shipment does not arrive or arrives broken.
5. Fee is $75 per entry for NWCA members or $105 per entry for non-membners. If you are a current NWCA member and did not receive a discount code, please email Laura at nwcidercup@nwcider.com.
6. You must pay the entry fee for your entry to be confirmed.
7. Special rules for new cideries: If you started producing cider after April 1, 2023 and are a NWCA member, you may qualify as a "New Cidery." New cideries may apply for two free entries by emailing nwcidercup@nwcider.com. All new cideries compete for the Best New Cidery of the Year Award, which comes with a $500 cash prize.

Entry Eligibility

1. All entries must be currently available for sale or destined for sale in the near future.
2. All ciders must be made with 90% or more by volume apple juice not from concentrate. Perries must be made with 90% or more by volume pear juice not from concentrate. Concentrate may be used for backsweetening.
3. Entrants must be a licensed cidery producing cider in the territory of the Northwest Cider Association which is currently Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho, and British Columbia.
4. All entries must be made by cideries licensed within the territory of the Northwest Cider Association (British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, & Washington.) Ciders made in the territory but not sold by a cidery licensed in the territory may not be entered. Cideries licensed in other states/provinces making cider via a contract with a producer in the region may not enter their ciders.
5. Collaborations between a cidery licensed within the territory of the NWCA and another entity may be entered by the cidery located in the territory.

Rules for use of competition awards and feedback in marketing:

1. Ciders that win a medal or award may reference that award via on-package marketing materials only with the prior written approval from NWCA.
2. Vintage/dated ciders that win a medal or award may only reference that award for ciders of the same vintage/production date.
3. Use of any award in a misleading way may result in that award being rescinded and the offending producer being barred from future competitions.
4. Producers are responsible for ensuring that distributors, retailers and restaurants use awards in advertising and marketing in accordance with competition rules. Failure to maintain proper control of the use of these awards may also result in the award being rescinded and in ineligibility to compete in future competitions.
5. Feedback is supplied to aid producers in understanding how ciders were perceived by judges and what the relative strengths and weaknesses were perceived to be. Individual judges’ comments are not to be quoted for marketing purposes.

Entry Acceptance Rules

Number of Bottles Required Per Entry: 6

Each entry will consist of:

• THREE capped or corked bottles if 750 ml or larger
• FOUR capped or corked bottles/cans if 500 ml, 22 oz, 16 oz, or other size larger than 12 oz
• SIX cans/bottles if 12 oz or less

You MUST pay your entry fee for your entries to be confirmed.

Please fill out the entry forms completely.

Judges will receive most of the information you put on your entry forms so only include the required and specified optional info, nothing more and nothing less.

Please make sure to enter your ciders in the correct categories. If you have questions about categories or anything else, please email nwcidercup@nwcider.com.

Competition Officials

You can send an email to any of the following individuals via Contact.

• Emily Becker — Competition Co-Director
• Jana Daisy-Ensign — Competition Co-Director
• Laura Kennedy — Northwest Cider Cup Coordinator

Sponsors

Northwest Cider Association is proud to have the following sponsors for the Northwest Cider Cup.

Northwest Naturals

USA

Since 1980, Northwest Naturals has specialized in transforming fruit into nutritious, natural juice concentrates, fruit essences, WONF juice blends, and turnkey liquid fruit solutions.

Wyeast Laboratories

USA & International

Wyeast Laboratories pioneered the way with Premium Liquid Yeast and fermentation products over 35 years ago in this flourishing region, with quality, integrity, and customer relationships as our core values. The NWCC is a prime representation of what the Pacific Northwest has to offer and we are proud to support and work alongside cidermakers who are some of the finest in their craft.

Columbia Distributing

USA

Beverage distributing in Washington & Oregon. Columbia Distributing is now one of the country’s largest malt beverage distributors. Size is not our only distinction, however. Columbia Distributing boasts an extensive selection of beverages, including craft beer, wine and spirits.

Enartis

USA & International

We provide wineries worldwide with innovation and expertise, through enological products and technical support to improve both winery efficiencies and wine quality.

FruitSmart

USA

Nestled in the heart of the lush Yakima Valley, Washington, FruitSmart has long been a premium source of high-quality fruit and vegetable-based juices and ingredients. FruitSmart is much more than an ingredient supplier or product-list provider. We’re a one-stop-shop, solution-driven partner that’s focused on turning your ideas into reality.