Cider Week Virginia – November 11-20, 2016
Cider Week Virginia 2016 will showcase locally fermented ciders from across the Commonwealth. From Nov. 11-20, a bevy of tastings, workshops and other events invites cider lovers to experience this historic craft firsthand while fostering economic growth and tourism. This year marks the third annual Virginia Cider Week. In 2012, Gov. McDonnell made a Virginia Cider Week Proclamation making Virginia the first state to have an officially proclaimed “Cider Week.”
Cider Styles:
The beauty of consuming farm beverages rather than factory beverages means you can experience 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 and clean to funky. For cider drinkers used to six-pack factory cider, dry cider will be a revelation. High tannin apples provide the structure and mouth feel 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 cider makers craft a range of balanced dry cider that will delight your palate. The best way to find out the cider style you most enjoy is to experiment—enjoy Virginia cider, pair it with different foods and share the wide range of cider styles available in the Commonwealth with all your friends.
Cider Apples:
One can make cider from any apple, but just any apple won’t make good cider. Think of a three-legged stool—tannin, acid and sugar (preferably from fruit and not from a bag) balanced in an aromatic beverage full of complex flavors…that’s what we mean by well-crafted cider.
There are four groups of 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
Cideries:
Albemarle Cider Works
Blue Bee Cider
Blue Toad
Buskey Cider
Bold Rock Cider
Caboose Brewing Co.
Castle Hill Cider
Foggy Ridge Cider
Old Hill Cider
Potters Craft Cider
Winchester Cider
Cobbler Mountain Cellar & Cider
Corcoran Vineyard & Cider
Wild Hare Cider
Winery at Kindred Pointe
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.
For more information: http://ciderweekva.com/
