An interview with Ron Sansone of Spoke+Spy!
Photo by Cider Culture
With everything going on in the world currently, we really want to focus on a small fraction of the great small cideries across the country. Now more than ever they need our support. Next up is Erica’s interview Ron Sansone, owner of Spoke+Spy!
Erica Jeter: Hi Ron, please tell us a bit about yourself, cider & non-cider related!
Ron Sansone: B.C. (before cider) I was a graphic designer-art director and a dj (vinyl only!), music and art are a big part of my life still and have helped make spoke+spy what it is today. Back in the day I traveled around the world DJ'ing, worked for some big beverage brands, and drank cider everywhere possible along the way. My experience drinking cider all over the place led me to writing about cider for a blog and later for publications like Cider Culture, InCider Japan, Ale Street News and more. The next obvious stop on the cider journey was opening our own little cidery here in Middletown, CT.
EJ: Tell us about Spoke + Spy Ciderworks, your approach to cider, and your team.
RS: We are physically a very small cidery, only 900 square feet that is split between our tasting room and production - so really, we have 400 square feet to make cider (my basement was bigger!). The team is small, I do most of the cidermaking with a few friends helping, Kim (my wife) helps running the tasting room and we have an amazing group of friends and family that help out there. Our cider all starts with juice from nearby orchards, most of it i drive to pickup. Our batches are small, most are just 80 gallons! We like to focus on dry ciders that highlight apple varietal — some consumers like that but most seem to gravitate toward the sweeter side with added fruits, but we are working to get the sweet cider drinkers interested in the dry still ciders! it is a long, slow educational process that i enjoy being a part of.
EJ: We are living in unprecedented times with COVID-19. What new business practices has Spoke + Spy Ciderworks adopted in response to social distancing?
RS: Our cidery anniversary was on March 14th, ahead of any government orders our anniversary celebration saw changes in effect, we removed chairs from the tasting room, we asked our pop up food vendor to offer only take out, and we switched to one time use plastic cups and filled only new growlers, all steps to minimize chance or virus transmission. When our governor issued the orders for beverage manufacturers to change to a to-go only operation we decided to take a step back for personal health reasons and have pivoted to a focus on distributing kegs to the breweries that are offering take out growlers of our cider. With no tasting room outlet for sales our numbers have dropped drastically but we are doing all we can to keep it going, and are excited for the post-virus days and reconnecting with our loyal cider fans. These are hard times but we will get through it.
EJ: What do you enjoy most about cider and the cider industry?
RS: In my travels I have met so many friendly cider people and drank amazing ciders with them, cider brings together friends even if its the first time they are meeting. The industry is full of original, genuine characters - everyone has their own view on cider and how this all should be working and what cider is, but we all get along and appreciate each others personality and are willing to try each others ciders. Even now, we are all isolated in our own parts of the world but every day I hear from cider friends around the world, sometimes we end up chatting and drinking ciders on Zoom, it feels different but it is reassuring to know that we are all connected thanks to the cider world.
EJ: Do you have a favorite experience in your cider adventures?
RS: Summer of 2017, we started planning a little trip and one thing led to another. We made our way to Madrid and spent a few days walking around to cider bars enjoying the tapas, sidra and the city (and the churros..). From there we headed to Asturias for over a week of nonstop sidra adventures with Bego and a small group of cider folks - we visited orchards, cideries, cider bars, and so many things between it all. Our trip home stopped in the UK with time at the Welsh Perry & Cider Festival, a few nights in Bristol (loved this city and its cider consumption! The Stable!), a few days around the British countryside with a visit to Tom, and some time with Gabe and then the Royal Bath & West and a few ciders with Gareth… If you are looking for cider trips - Asturias is really an inspirational voyage that all cider makers should make, such a beautiful region with great beaches, green hills, food culture and amazing unique ciders. The Welsh countryside and urban Bristol were another totally different experience that made it all an amazing, cider filled few weeks. If you are planning a trip out that way and need some help, let me know!
EJ: What was the first cider that really knocked your socks off?
RS: I feel like I could list dozens of ciders that changed my point of view on cider along the way, and maybe people would be able to find them and see if they share the experience but everyone has a different cider path, so go out and drink ciders, drink all the ciders! You will find the ones that strike a chord with you, that change your view on cider and maybe put you on a path to open a cidery in your hometown! If i had to say one thing knocked my socks off it wouldn’t be a cider, it would be the sense of community and cider camaraderie that I experienced the first year I went to Franklin County CiderDays, and all the years after that when we volunteered and became a part of that community. Definitely if you have not been to this celebration it should be on your list of things to do this year!
EJ: What is your current favorite apple or favorite apple & adjunct combo for cidermaking, and why do you love it?
RS: Our cidery is Spoke+Spy .. we are located in an 1896 motorcycle factory (hence the spoke!) and draw inspiration from an apple with origins here in Connecticut, the Northern Spy! it’s an apple that i appreciate immensely and whenever I can get apples or juice I go out of my way to bring them in. I feel like it is always delicious and ferments well and produces a great cider.
EJ: When you’re not drinking Spoke + Spy Ciderworks ciders, whose (or what) are you drinking?
RS: I drink whatever I can get! I appreciate easy to find larger brands like Original Sin and even Woodchuck makes some cool ciders that people often overlook that are easy to find in stores. If I can find a single varietal or anything orchard based that would probably be my first pick. When it’s not cider, it’s usually sours .. we are lucky to have a few nearby breweries making amazing sours - OEC is not far and a we are a short drive from Hermit Thrush (love their Brattlebeer, an apple sour worth seeking out!)
EJ: Anything else you'd like to add?
RS: Hopefully it’s clear, I am crazy about cider and the cider world. I have met the greatest people around the world, and I am excited to meet more - from the person trying dry cider to the first time to the established ‘rock star’ cider folks, they are all important to me. If our paths cross and you are as equally as crazy, please stop and share a cider or some cider stories .. we are all part of this big, magical, growing thing! Cider On!!
Spoke + Spy Ciderworks
180 Johnson Street
Middletown, CT 06457