The Virginia Cider Association

It is the mission of the Virginia Cider Association to provide connections, information, and market exposure to strengthen members’ businesses and support the Virginia Cider industry.

Activities are focused on educating the public about the qualities of craft cider, promoting the industry in Virginia and fostering cooperation within the industry for the mutual benefit of all producers.

The Association acts on behalf of its members in monitoring and influencing any changes to both state and federal statutory law that impact the cider industry. Furthermore, it coordinates educational and promotional programs with other regional entities that share similar goals, and organization, support and execution of Virginia Cider Week is a primary method for fostering these goals.

Virginia Cider

Cider was a colonial beverage with tradition that continues today, with Virginia as currently the sixth-largest apple producing state by acreage in the United States.

The state’s cider industry has experienced significant growth in recent years, with at least ten cideries started since 2006, several wineries producing cider, and multiple prospective cideries currently being planned.

Cideries in Virginia are versatile, from rural to urban locations, and the product is stored and sold in bottles, cans, and kegs. Virginia apples are grown in our mountainous regions of Virginia, in the Blue Ridge and the Shenandoah Valley. There are more than 30 apple varieties grown in Virginia, which include cidermaking apples, dessert apples, and both classic English bittersweet and bitter sharp apples.

Agritourism is a growing component of Virginia’s tourism industry and agriculture is the state’s largest industry, with an economic impact of $52 billion annually.

A few facts about Virginia Hard Cider

Cider is fermented like wine, rather than being brewed with heat like beer. One of the biggest differences between hard cider and wine – or apples and grapes – is that apples must be ground before pressing. The entire apple is ground to a pulp called pomace, and the juice is then fermented.
There are over 30 different apple varieties grown specifically for cider production throughout Virginia.
Hard cider can be crafted using many different apple types and typically involves the blending of multiple varieties. Some of the traditional apples for cider production are not ideal for eating including Sharps (grown for high acid), Sweets (grown for high sugars), Bittersharps (grown for high tannins and acid), and Bittersweets (high tannins and sugars). More widely cultivated culinary apples such as the Albemarle Pippin, Granny Smith, and Gala also find their way into many Virginia cider styles.
Hard cider has historically been produced in many different ways. Virginia producers span the spectrum, from artisan styles steeped in old world traditions often presented in bottles to a more modern take presented in cans and kegs. Hard cider can be completely dry or sweet, or everywhere in between. A variety of taste profiles and production techniques ensure that anyone can find a Virginia hard cider style suitable to their preferences.
Based on current law, Virginia hard apple cider can be up to 10% alcohol by volume, without chaptalization (adding sugar to the juice). Any fermented apple juice above 10% alcohol must be labeled ‘apple wine.’ A cider can not have more than 7% alcohol when chaptalized.

Cider 101

What is Cider?

Cider is fermented apple juice just as wine is fermented grape juice. The best cider, just like the best wine, is carefully crafted from fruit chosen for cider making. That brown stuff you buy in the grocery store juice section is just that, apple juice.

Cider history in the United States

In colonial America, fermented cider was the drink of choice. John Adams attributed his health and long life to a tankard of cider before breakfast. Thomas Jefferson’s champagne-like cider, made with Hewe’s Crabapples, was his “table drink.” Throughout the 19th century, growing apples and crafting cider from cider apples was an integral part of every community. Many factors contributed to the decline of cider in the US–the Industrial Revolution caused a decline in farms; immigration patterns changed and more beer drinkers arrived in the US, then Prohibition dealt the last blow and most cider orchards declined or were destroyed. Many Virginia cidermakers aim to revive the cider tradition by growing or encouraging others to grow cider apples and by crafting fine cider.

Apple Wine

Apple wine is not the same as cider. Apple wine is apple juice with sugar added so that the final alcohol content falls into the “wine” category of ABC regulations. Adding sugar to unfermented juice to raise the alcohol level is called chaptalization, and often results in harsh flavors.

How to Drink Cider

Sophisticated chefs from New York to Mississippi know that cider is a food-friendly beverage that dances well with many flavors, and is often a better partner than wine. Dry, tannic cider acts like a red wine, pairing well with many meat dishes. Crisp, acidic cider contrasts perfectly with rich buttery dishes. Off-dry cider loves spice and smoke, excelling with grilled vegetables and sweet fish. Sweet cider does the tango with spicy Thai or vinegary BBQ. And dessert ciders compliment fruit desserts of any kind.

Apple Varieties in Virginia

Table Apples

Many of the modern cideries found in Virginia will use table apples, often including Fuji, Gala, Pink Lady, Gold Rush, Red Delicious, and Golden Delicious.

Traditional Cider Apples

Many of the traditional cider apples are not good eating apples—some are too sweet and lack the welcome bite of acidity; some taste sour from high acidity; others are tannic with bitter mouth-puckering flavors. Why are these apples so good for cider? Once sugar is fermented away into alcohol, the cidermaker needs tannin for structure and mouth feel, and acid to offset retained sugar to create a crisp, palate-pleasing drink. Like much in life, it’s all about balance.

There are four groups of traditional cider apples:

Sweets: grown for high sugars
Sharps: grown for high acids
Bittersweets: grown for high tannins plus high sugars
Bittersharps: grown for high tannins plus high sugars

The best cider apples, like Harrison, which is grown by many Virginia cidermakers, or Hewe’s Crabapples, once grown by Thomas Jefferson, offer more than one in the Magic Three (sugar, tannin and acid), plus offer complex, nuanced flavors that carry through to the glass.

In addition to classic dessert apples, many delicious heirloom apples and modern apples contribute to good quality cider. Cox’s Orange Pippin is a spicy dessert and cooking apple that contributes ginger notes to cider. Ashmead’s Kernel, a tart apple “not for sissies,” often wins taste tests and is a welcome acid-bomb for cidermakers.

Jefferson’s cider apple orchard boasted over 18 apples, all chosen for their cidermaking qualities. Hewe’s Crabapple was one of his favorites, and Virginia cidermakers have planted more of this variety than any other state. Newtown Pippin, a NY cider apple, was widely grow in Virginia and is valued today for its soft tannins and delicate flavor. A modern apple, Gold Rush, is a valuable apple for blending. Like wine, cider is an expression of place. Fruit grown at 3000 feet elevation in the Blue Ridge Mountains doesn’t taste the same as apples grown in Nelson County. Each fruit takes character from the local soil and climate, and expresses that desirable quality of terroir. Through cultivation decisions, fermentation approaches, and blending techniques, Virginia cidermakers create a wide range of cider styles and bring a variety of apples from the orchard to the glass.

Cider Styles

The beauty of consuming a variety of different Virginia ciders is that you can experience vastly different flavors. Just as wine and beer offer a near infinite range of styles, cider styles run the gamut from dry to sweet, still to sparkling, simple to complex, clean to funky. Many ciders are bubbly, either through bottle or tank fermentation, or by adding carbonation as part of cidermaking. Though bottle-fermented cider may have lots of tiny bubbles like French champagne, most cider has a frizzante level of carbonation (for the chemistry geeks out there–less than 4 grams per liter dissolved CO2).

High tannin apples provide structure and mouthfeel for dry cider, which can have as many complex flavors as dry wines. Expect some astringency and deep rich flavors such as leather, oak, and mushrooms. Virginia cidermakers craft a range of balanced ciders that will delight your palate.

Fruity, craft ciders can be dry, off dry, or sweet—look for delicate apple flavors and ginger, pear, and tropical fruit notes.

Like Riesling wine, off dry cider pairs well with many foods, especially Asian and spicy dishes. How sweet cider a tastes is a function of acid and tannin levels as well as residual or added sweetness. The best off dry cider is also tart, with the fruit balanced by acidity.

Dessert cider is common in France, primarily as pommeau, a mixture of unfermented apple juice and apple brandy (one common is Calvados, which is the name of the brandy made from the region’s famous apples). Apple port is a blend of fermented cider and apple brandy and is an ideal accompaniment to light fruit desserts.

Virginia cider also offers various alcohol levels. Alcohol is the byproduct of yeast consuming sugar in fermentation so, without added sugar, the eventual alcohol level of a fermented beverage is based on the initial sugar level of the apple. Apples ripened in the Shenandoah Valley will have different sugar levels than those grown in the Blue Ridge Mountains. High sugar Dolgo Crabs create a higher alcohol cider than Newtown Pippins.

Experiment and Enjoy

The best way to find out the cider style you most enjoy is to experiment—enjoy Virginia cider, pair with different foods, and try out the wide range of cider styles available in the Commonwealth on all your friends.