It is with deep sorrow that we learned of the passing of Susanna Forbes after a lengthy illness. She co-founded Little Pomona Cidery & Orchard, with her husband James and they dedicated themselves to spreading the gospel about artisan gastronomic ciders and to prove the point, making the most delicious and varied examples from English heritage apples.
Susanna joined the drinks arena in the nineties, initially working with Oddbins, then as assistant editor of Wine International. She also assisted in the early stages of compiling the sixth edition of the World Atlas of Wine. She joined the magazine Imbibe and a few years later launched her own website Drink Britain. David Canadas remembers her very fondly from Oddbins days for her energy and infectious enthusiasm, qualities that we were to encounter over and again in our meetings at Little Pomona wherein she helped to inspire us with a desire to sell craft cider.
In all, she spent around 23 years writing for the drinks sector and was also instrumental in the organisation of countless events both for Imbibe as well as the International Cool Climate Wine Symposium and the Sommelier Wine Awards.
In 2015, as mentioned, Susanna co-founded Little Pomona with her husband James, making small batches of handcrafted still and sparkling ciders from the four varieties of cider apples in their own orchard, and soon sourcing rare and wonderful heritage varieties from Herefordshire and adjoining apple producing counties.
In 2018, she published her seminal book on craft cider titled The Cider Insider and in 2019 went on to co-found and edit the magazine Full Juice which focused on the very best ciders in the sector.
When we started working with Little Pomona in earnest, we recognised that the products were delicious but were uncertain how they fitted into wine lists and even how to describe them. Susanna’s passion for them was compelling. She was particularly adept at vividly describing the flavours of each cider and matching them to various types of food. We soon learned that ciders were incredibly gastronomic and versatile.
We send our deep condolences to James. We will miss her sheer likeability, warm smile and cheerful, can-do attitude and refreshing positivity. Those who knew her best also have only lovely things to say. So, I leave with words from drinks writer Chris Losh quoted in The Drinks Business 17/09/2024:
“Genuinely, I don’t think a person exists who could have anything bad – or even vaguely non-positive to say about Susanna, which in a world of egos, opinions and supercharged achievement is a truly astonishing achievement. So long Susanna. Taken from us too soon, you’ll be much missed. By everyone.”