Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau (TTB) should immediately reverse a proposed rule mandating use of the terms ‘sparkling’ or ‘carbonated’ for all of New York’s hard ciders products, U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer said.
In a letter to TTB Administrator John Manfreda, Schumer said requiring cideries to label their cider as “carbonated” is confusing for consumers. More importantly, it runs counter to New York Cider’s desire to compete with beer, rather than champagnes and sparkling wines.
This puts the burgeoning industry and new cideries at a significant disadvantage as they seek to broaden their appeal to consumers, he said.
TTB Responds
“We’re in rulemaking. We asked for comment. We got comment,” a TTB spokesman told us. “We’re going to take the comments and find the best way forward. We go through the public comment process not just because we have to, but because we honestly want to have to public input.”
In his letter to TTB, which is part of the public comment file, Schumer explained:
“Cideries and craft breweries throughout Albany and the Capital Region pour local products and jobs into our economy, which is why we must make sure their exciting growth is not choked off by bureaucratic nonsense that makes no sense and hurts New York’s hard cider industry.
“In order for these local cideries to expand and create more good-paying local jobs, we need TTB to back off their requirement to force cideries to use the terms ‘sparkling’ or ‘carbonated’ for all New York’s hard ciders products.
“This does nothing but misidentify local cider products and makes it harder for smaller companies to compete with commercial brands,” Schumer said. That is why I am calling TTB to immediately reverse course; they should understand that I am watching this issue very closely to make sure Rogers Cideryard and other cideries throughout Upstate New York can grow and operate without nonsensical mandate,” Schumer said.
90 Cideries in New York State
According to the New York Cider Association, New York State has 90 cideries, the most of any state, and a 300% increase over the last 5 years. In 2017, hard cider contributed more than $100M to the state including output and labor.
Schumer has long fought for New York’s cider industry. Schumer was responsible for the passage of the CIDER Act, bipartisan legislation he first introduced in 2013.
Schumer’s bill, the CIDER Act, updated the definition for hard apple and pear cider in the Internal Revenue Code IRC by increasing their allowed alcohol by volume from 7% to 8.5% and increasing their allowed carbonation levels, encompassing significantly more hard cider products and allowing them to be labeled and taxed like hard cider, rather than wine or champagne.
In 2013, Schumer first argued this would allow the over 650 apple growers and 20 existing hard apple cider producers at the time to expand their business.
New York is the second largest apple producer nationwide, harvesting a total of 29.5 million bushels annually from over 650 farms and 41,000 acres across the state. In recent years, thanks to the growing popularity of hard cider, many apple producers have turned to producing this craft beverage as a method to keep apple orchards profitable, generate new economic development opportunities, and attract new visitors to their farms.