Apples to Apples with Diane Flynt

Join us in conversation with cider maker, historian, and author DIANE FLYNT (Wild, Tamed, Lost, Revived: The Surprising Story of Apples in the South) as she discusses the shift in Southern farming that led to the disappearance of hundreds of uniquely Southern apples and the documentation of today’s revival of Southern varieties in preservation orchards, modern cideries, and multi-generation orchards. Diane’s own trajectory as an apple farmer includes her journey as a pioneering farmer in the southern Appalachians who planted cider apples never grown in the region and founded the first modern cidery in the South.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

DIANE FLYNT founder of Foggy Ridge Cider and author of Wild, Tamed, Lost, Revived: The Surprising Story of Apples in the South, grows cider apples in the southern Appalachians and writes about fruit, farming, and the South. Her book examines the region through the lens of apples and shares surprising stories of a fruit that was central to southerners for more than two hundred years.

A Georgia native, Diane worked for over twenty years in corporate America before seeing the light and returning to her farming roots. In 1997 she founded Foggy Ridge Cider, the first 20th century cidery in the South. She was a four-time James Beard Award nominee for Outstanding Beverage Professional, including Finalist in 2017 and 2018. In 2019 Diane sold her last cider vintage called Foggy Ridge Final Call. She now sells apples to cidermakers throughout the South

Diane is active in national and state apple and cider initiatives and has played a leading role in promoting Virginia wine. She speaks on cider, farming and food culture. LEARN MORE