Top Seven Virginia Ciders - 2024

Just in case you didn't see my various socials last week, my first book is being published on October 21st and is now available for pre-order on Amazon, and Barnes & Noble for those who don't care to give more money to Amazon. 

The book is called "Virginia Cider: A Scrumptious History" and looks at the development of cider in Virginia from the earliest days of European colonisation to the present, with a particular focus on the people making cider in Virginia today, as well as a glimpse of where they feel the industry is headed in the immediate future. Researching the book meant several weekends driving the highways and byways of Virginia, from the Blue Ridge mountains in the far Southwest to the Atlantic coast in the east, taking in the Allegheny Highlands, Shenandoah Valley, and the Piedmont along the way, as well as cities like Richmond, Alexandria, and of course Charlottesville. Virginia has a long, and hopefully continuing history of being a cider making region, and it was a pleasure to get out and meet the folks making it around the state.

Having travelled many, many miles, and drunk many, many ciders, I decided that in addition to my annual Top Ten Virginia Beers post, I would start a Top Seven Virginia Ciders equivalent. As with the beer post though, this is again thoroughly subjective and really about the ciders I enjoyed the most, emphasis being "I", so lets go on shall we...

1. Troddenvale: 2021 Special Edition No. 12

Having spent time speaking with Will and Cordelia at Troddenvale, having a tour of their orchard that contains several apple varieties from Spain and France as well as classic American cider apples, it was time to indulge in a little sampling of the wares, including this 100% Dolgo crabapple cider. My first thought as I looked at the deeply rosé copper liquid in the glass, which you can just about make out in the picture above, was that this was possibly the darkest cider I had seen before, or at least the darkest without the addition of others fruits or flavorings. Sticking my nose in the glass I was overwhelmed by masses of strawberry and cranberry aromas, vaguely hinting at the acid attack that was to come. Those strawberry and cranberry notes were definitely there in the drinking, but this time they were smacking a huge acid punch, as if the fruit had been layered in sherbet and lemon juice. I think I may have taken a step back in amazement at the complexity and structure of this simply stunning expression of a single apple variety. Such was the impact of this cider that I now have a Dolgo tree in my own little backyard orchard. Yes, this is a cider that is as bone dry as you can imagine, and yes it has a puckering tannic kick to it, but that fruit flavour comes with a hint of sweetness that fends it off from being like drinking straight malic acid. Being such a flavor bomb, it simply demands to be paired with foods that can more than stand up to it, the farmhouse cheddar in the picture for example - Black Cow Cheddar from Dorset in England - or the sweet fattiness of duck breast prosciutto.

2.  Albemarle CiderWorks: Wickson Crab

The Wickson crab apple has a delightfully spicy acidity that to my mind makes it a dream of a cider apple. On the nose there is a subtle lemon note, with the spiciness adding depth reminiscent of lemongrass. The tropical theme continues in the flavour department too as notes of melons, pineapple, and kiwi swirl around, the finish is dry and zingy, brining everything into a laser sharp focus that is deeply refreshing. I will be honest and admit to having caned an entire bottle in a nonic pint glass other the course of about...oh, half an hour or so, yeah I'm a fan.

3. Big Fish Cider: Highland Scrumpy

The first time I went to Big Fish Cider, over the mountains and and far away in Highland County, was for Mrs V's annual trip to her fiddle teacher's traditional music camp, aka "fiddle camp". At the time, Mrs V was pregnant with the twins, and my best mate Dave was along for the ride as well as his wife any took lessons from the same teacher back then, and their son was all of 6 weeks old at this point. While the lady folks were playing fiddle, Dave and I took the opportunity to wander over to Big Fish and sample the wares, it was love a first sip and to this day whenever I get to Monterey I get a couple of bottles of Highland Scrumpy, a blend of locally grown mountain apples, many with no known name. Pouring a clear golden colour, the aroma is that of summer apple meadows with a hint of pear blossom. Tastewise, you know there are plenty of crab apples in the blend as that acidic bite chomps its way through the gentle sweetness to leave you craving more.

4. Buskey Cider: Virginia Hewes Crab

Virginia Hewes Crab is basically the state apple of Virginia, though the state doesn't actually have an official "state apple". Grown since at least the 1760s and a popular cider apple ever since, Virginia Hewes Crab is a wonderful combination of acid, tannin, and sugar, that makes a superb cider, that in the hands of Buskey Cider produces a rich yellow cider, that to my brain smells distinctly floral with a tropical fruit - think pineapple - edge. I find Buskey's version of a Virginia Hewes Crab cider also has notes of lime peel, strawberries, and a hint of Sekel pear in the background, finishing with that classic dry zing of crab apple ciders. It is no wonder it won a gold medal at the 2023 Governor's Cup.

5. Blue Bee Cider: Dabinett

The first time I visited Blue Bee Cider in Richmond was with Mark, and they were in the process of moving to a new venue, with all the decorating and building work yet to be done. Last weekend though, I was in Richmond to drop off my entries for the Dominion Cup homebrew competition and we discovered that Blue Bee was just round the corner from where we were having lunch, so Mrs V and I took the decision to pop round. Well, popping round turned into trying every single cider they had available, a couple of them several times, and even doing a little mixing and matching of ciders with pommeau - it was one of the most agreeable afternoons ever. The star though for me was their single varietal Dabinett cider, made from the eponymous bittersweet apple from the West Country in England. Pouring a golden colour, the nose was spicy with hints of vanillin, weird reference here perhaps but my kids are big fans of vanilla and cinnamon yoghurt, and that was what popped into my mind straight off the bat. That sweet spiciness carries on it the taste realm as well, but joined by some heavily hitting apple flavours - think apple pie made with wildflower honey. Being a bittersweet, the tannins add a lovely structure and depth to the cider that stop it from being overly zingy in the finish. There is not a lot of this cider left, so if you are in the area, pop by and buy some before it is all gone.

6. Ciders from Mars: Shady Lady

Made 100% from that workhorse of the American cider world, Harrison, Shady Lady from Staunton's Ciders from Mars pours a rich, honeyed gold and looks just gorgeous in the glass. The nose is lots of stone fruits, such as peaches and nectarines, all with the floral quality in the background that kind of reminded me of my own orchard in spring. The stone fruit is the star in the tasting as well, this time with some berry notes that immediately put me in mind of lingonberries, all leading to a sharpy, citrus zing in the finish. 

7. Sage Bird Ciderworks: Stocking Stuffer

Being honest, flavoured alcoholic drinks, whether cider, beer, or mead, are something I tend to shy away from, but the idea of a winter seasonal cider infused with juniper and tangerine just appealed to me - and to be frank everything Mark and I drank at our evening session in Harrisonburg was superb too. Why then did this one stand out? It rounded off my Yuletide drinking, after our traditional feast of hot smoked salmon, gratin potatoes, and various other rich goodies perfectly - especially as we didn't crack open the traditional plum pudding. The spice in Stocking Stuffer more than made up for that oversight, with hints of clove, allspice, and cinnamon to the fore and the subtle sweetness of tangerine peel lurking in the background. It had me thinking of the once grand tradition of studding oranges with cloves and hanging them around the house for Yule. Not overly sweet, but a sipper by the fire for sure.

It's really hard to highlight just seven from the many superb ciders I have had in the last 12 months, and the likes of Winchester CiderWorks Malice, Lost Boy Cider's Cellar Series - Small Apples, Sly Clyde Ciderworks' Subversive, Daring Cider Company's Crab Apple Cider, Patois Cider and several more would all have graced this list.