Baltic Cider featured in a new Cider Chat episode
A new episode of Cider Chat, one of the leading international podcasts dedicated to cider, has been released featuring Baltic Cider and Latvia’s emerging cider culture.
Episode 515, “World of Cider: The Baltic Region,” was recorded during CiderCon 2026 in Providence, Rhode Island, USA, where Baltic Cider presented the region to an international audience of cider makers and industry professionals.
The discussion brings together Asnate Ziemele from Baltic Cider and three Latvian cider makers - Jānis Matvejs from Abuls Cidery, Mārtiņš Knipšis from Pienjāņi Cidery and Māris Plūme from Mr. Plūme Cidery.
The episode explores what makes cider from Latvia and the Baltic region distinctive. While the Baltics have a long tradition of apple growing, the modern craft cider movement is relatively young. This gives cider makers considerable freedom to develop their own styles and experiment with local and heritage apple varieties, wild seedlings and European cider varieties, as well as different production methods.
The conversation covers the influence of the northern climate and local growing conditions, orchards and apple varieties, pét-nat and still ciders, wild fermentation and organic orchard management. The cider makers also share the stories behind their cideries and their individual approaches to cider making.
The discussion goes beyond production to address some of the wider challenges facing the developing Baltic cider sector — from building consumer understanding of quality craft cider and working with restaurants to regulations, taxation, food pairing and finding the right market niches.
A central theme of the conversation is the development of a distinct Baltic cider identity. Without centuries-old rules defining what cider from the region should be, today’s cider makers have an opportunity to build that identity around local apples, northern growing conditions, craftsmanship and their own approaches to cider making.
The full Cider Chat Episode 515: “World of Cider: The Baltic Region” is available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjhxpdUZ_-o