Core information
The Central Coast Cider Festival will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 23, at the Sunken Gardens, located at 6505 El Camino Real in Atascadero. For tickets, go to centralcoastciderfestival.com. Follow the festival on Instagram @ccciderfestival and on Facebook @centralcoastciderfestival.
Apples are the holy grail for pommeliers.
Derived from pomme, the French word for apple, the term gained traction in 2019 when the Portland, Oregon-based American Cider Association launched its certified pommelier program.
One of the first graduates of the rigorous exam was the Central Coast’s Rob Durham, one of only 10 certified pommeliers—think sommelier but for cider—from California and 157 worldwide.
Shortly after achieving the designation, Durham launched San Luis Obispo-based Durham Cider + Wine Co., which will be one of nearly 30 cideries participating in the seventh annual Central Coast Cider Festival in Atascadero on Aug. 23.
Sponsored by the Central Coast Cider Association, helmed by SLO Cider Co. head cider maker and co-founder Jeremy Fleming, the festival features “a fantastic mix of returning favorites and first-time participants, representing a wide range of styles, offering traditional dry ciders to bold, fruit-forward blends,” Fleming said. “It’s an impressive snapshot of California cider right now.”
As a self-described Durham groupie, Fleming is particularly excited to taste and talk shop with “one of the Central Coast’s best cider makers,” Fleming said.
“I often say that I want to be like Rob Durham when I grow up,” he half-joked, adding that he plans to follow in his footsteps by taking the next certified pommelier exam at CiderCon in Rhode Island in February.
Part of Durham’s allure—in addition to creating tasty, low-intervention beverages—are his passionate and often poetic reflections on his craft.
“The beauty of natural fermentation is the diversity of microorganisms that are welcome at the party,” Durham ruminated. “We utilize the generosities of the trees, bushes, and vines through the magical meanderings of natural fermentation to create honest and genuine beverages. The goal [is to] reveal the soul—a bit of ours, some of the farmers, too; parts of the tree and vine; aspects of the land as well; and, of course, all that’s within the fruit—flesh and skin, seeds and stems, the unadulterated juice.
“Bottled alive and still quite raw, that juice will need time to find itself, to perform a bit of mixing and mastering to polish rough edges. Once this evolution is deemed ready for release, we can only trust that your glass will illuminate with liquid soul.”
Durham’s upcoming cider and wine releases include sparkling falanghina, rosé of syrah, sauvignon blanc, sparkling apple/grape, apple aperitif, sparkling apple/quince, sparkling rhum, barrel cider, sparkling Gravenstein cider, and sparkling melon/mum flower cider.
While his diverse portfolio reflects artistic experimentation, he never strays from sustainable practices.
He sources fruit from small farmers up and down the West Coast, with a particular penchant for “the ranches and orchards of yesteryear,” he said, adding that “older fruit—especially dry-farmed—has more character.”
It is also “paramount to our decision-making what is being sprayed on the trees and/or put into the soil,” he continued, while noting that organic certification does not always guarantee exceptional quality.
“Some growers we work with are not certified, yet go far beyond organic measures, and the taste tells,” he said.
Durham looks forward to continuing the conversation—and presenting his prized pours—at the cider festival, followed by the more intimate setting of his new tasting room, slated to open later this summer in Baywood Park-Los Osos.
Other San Luis Obispo County cideries joining Durham at the festival include Black Hand Cellars, Tin City Cider Co., The Poisoned Apple, Shindig Cider, Two Broads Ciderworks, Kelsey See Canyon Vineyards, Gopher Glen Cider Co., Bristols Cider, and Fleming’s SLO Cider, which will be opening a second location in downtown SLO in the fall.
“One of my main goals as president of the Central Coast Cider Association is to firmly establish this region as a nationally recognized cider destination,” Fleming said. “We have the orchards, the makers, and the creativity. It’s just a matter of amplifying the Central Coast cider story. The festival plays a big role in that by showcasing the depth and diversity of our cider culture to both consumers and industry peers.”
In addition to Saturday’s main event at Atascadero’s Sunken Gardens, the festival is also offering limited tickets to Connoisseur Night on the evening prior.
Friday’s function, hosted at Bristols Cider/Lone Madrone Winery in Templeton, will provide a deep dive into apple growing and cider making, with insights from expert apple grower Jake Mann of Five Mile Orchard, located near Santa Cruz in Corralitos, and Certified Pommelier Brandon Buza, of San Francisco.
Following an instructional cider tasting led by Buza, who doubles as the festival’s photographer, “settle in for a mouthwatering whole pig roast feast, then mingle with the best in the business during our Meet the Makers Bottle Share, where over 20 cider makers will be in attendance, pouring some of their rare and specialty bottles,” according to the festival website.
Beyond the festival, Fleming aims to boost year-round visibility for local producers through educational programming, collaborative marketing, and tourism partnerships, including his recently created Central Coast Cider Trail Map.
“Cider is one of the most diverse and exciting craft beverages on the market right now,” he enthused. “Traditional cider apples like Arkansas black and Dabinett can produce unique, complex flavors with incredible depth, while common dessert apples such as golden delicious, gala, and Granny Smith offer a clean, approachable base that’s perfect for fruit infusions and creative twists.
“That versatility is what makes cider so dynamic. It can be as rustic and traditional as a centuries-old orchard or as innovative and playful as the modern craft movement itself.” Δ
Flavor Writer Cherish Whyte’s current crush is Pretty Pippin. Reach her on the cider trail at cwhyte@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Aug 21-31, 2025.