An Ideal and Challenging Bev Industry Position Just Opened Up

A chance to help mold the perception of a key part of the alc. bev industry

I keep an eye on what specific positions are opening up in the alcohol beverage world. I want to see which type of positions (sales, marketing, production, etc) tend to be opening more frequently as it’s an indicator of the health and the direction winemaking, brewing, and distilling are taking. Now and then a really interesting and exciting position opens up. That has happened.

First, some background.

A few years ago I found myself entranced by cider, particularly as craft cider began to explode here in the United States. I dove into learning everything I could about the beverage, its history, and the industry. One thing that became clear was that despite its renaissance in the early 2010s, very little was being written about ciders and even less was being written about specific ciders.

This was problematic in my view because there were a number of new cideries emerging in places like Virginia, New York, Oregon, Washington, Michigan, and elsewhere that were producing fascinating ciders, many dry and produced with heirloom apples to very high standards.

This explosion of craft ciders tended to be sold locally, had very little presence among national distributors’ portfolios, and was championed by a very small set of in-the-know aficionados. Yet, very little was being written about these products.

That’s when I decided to launch The Cider Journal. The idea was to take a very serious look at the cider industry as well as review ciders, both domestic and imported. Over the course of three years or so, I reviewed upwards of 500 different ciders from around the world. It was a fascinating journey, particularly as I got to know cidermakers from across the country. And it was very satisfying to watch the cider industry grow during that time.

Eventually, I stopped publishing The Cider Journal to concentrate additional time with my Wark Communications PR and Media Relations clients as well as to focus on this newsletter and heading up the National Association of Wine Retailers….all things I continue to do today.

But I never lost my interest in the cider Industry and continue to follow it.

One of the most important developments in cider was the rise of the American Cider Association and the success of its annual CiderCon event. Today the American Cider Association is the premier trade association representing American cideries and it does a fantastic job promoting and helping what is an industry with a product line-up as diverse if not more diverse than either beer or wine.

Well, guess what position has opened up?

It turns out that the ACA’s longtime CEO, Michelle McGrath, is stepping down after more than eight years leading the Association. And the ACA is looking for a new CEO.