- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Albemarle CiderWorks
Categories: Food Beer, Wine & Spirits Arts & Entertainment Wineries Food Wineries Beer, Wine & Spirits, Wineries [Edit]
2550 Rural Ridge LnNorth Garden, VA 22959
(434) 297-2326
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
Megan M. said: "DelFosse is one of my top favorite Virginia wineries. It's owned by a couple from France and the wines are very high quality. You can do a regular tasting or a reserve, which includes extra bottles of wine. By the time you get there,…" read more »
7 reviews for Albemarle CiderWorks
7 reviews in English
-
Review from Neal E.
10/26/2009 5 photos
Albemarle CiderWorks is a fairly new family run business that has come on the scene in the last year. They are located in a gorgeous area along the eastern side of the Appalachians - with the leaves turning - makes for a perfect visit to a Cidery!
Now I am going to lead off with the following statement - if you read this review and think you want to visit - Beware - most of you are used to commercially produced ciders that are very sweet. The ciders produced at Albemarle CiderWorks are nothing like commercial ciders. They are not sweet. Their ciders are crisp, tart, and light. If you cannot appreciate this kind of cider - you should probably go elsewhere. However, if you can appreciate other kinds of cider, and appreciate, bright, crisp, tart flavors - then by all means - visit and enjoy!
Check out the history of cider on their web site - fascinating reading!
Albemarle CiderWorks currently has three ciders available for tasting and purchase: Jupiter's Legacy, Royal Pippin, and Ragged Mountain.
Their web site describes each cider thusly:
Jupiter's Legacy: (price: $18 per bottle) is a fruity blend of classic American cider apples -- Harrison, Yates, Hyslop and Virginia Crab -- augmented with several dessert varieties. This dry cider is fresh, clean, bright and lively on the tongue. It pairs elegantly with traditional American cuisine -- pork and roast poultry -- as well as cheeses, pates and sausages.
Royal Pippin (Price: $16 per bottle) is a fruity cider crafted entirely from Albemarle Pippins. It is a dry cider that has a champagne-like quality. It is an excellent accompaniment to many foods, and is a delightfully refreshing beverage on its own.
Ragged Mountain (Price: $14 per bottle) is a cider blend of classic apple varieties -- Albemarle Pippin, Winesap, Black Twig, Grimes Golden and Stayman -- historically grown on and around the Ragged Mountains. This is a semi-dry cider crafted to please a wide range of palates. It is good with spicy foods and pairs well with sharp cheeses and fruits.
The back of each bottle contains a label with interesting tidbits of information about the cider - it's history and such.
I enjoyed all three ciders - and ended up buying a case to take home (12 bottles in a case - so 4 bottles of each cider). If you purchase a case, you get 10% off the cost of the cider.
They have a small tasting area where you can sit and enjoy a glass of cider or two after your tasting. They also sell Albemarle CiderWorks polo shirts. In the barn next door, you can sample a wide variety of Apples and they are available to purchase.
i will have to visit this place every year!Listed in: Ridge & Valley Province
-
Review from Jemima B.
New York, NY
11/27/2011
I felt educated after sampling 5 different ciders for $5. Each of the cider had a unique taste--my favorite was the Royal Pippin which is made from the Pippin apples that is grown locally in the Arbermarle Region. The Pippin apple was Queen Victoria's favorite apple during the colonial era.
Outside the bar area there were a few tables where if you ordered an entire cider bottle you can watch the sun setting over the hills of apple orchards.
Different variety of apples are for sale and you can sample a portion of the apples, as well. There's a varietal called Pink Lady that immediately caught my imagination because it tasted like sweet rose water.
What a perfectly lovely way to spend the afternoon. -
Review from Rob H.
Frederick, MD
5/3/2011
Albemarle CiderWorks is one of a growing number of small producers who are contributing to the revival of a tasty American tradition of drinking fermented apple cider. The current tasting at their North Garden cidery includes a sample of their four artisanal hard ciders, two blends and two single source, each varying in sweetness and dryness. All are created from the 80 or so heirloom apples that are grown in their orchard, including several varietals that date back well over 200 years.
Amongst the most unique of these is a dry, blended cider called Jupiter's Legacy, which combines several varieties of Virginia heirloom apples (Harrison, Yates, Hyslop and Virginia Crab) with juice derived from British cider apples. The result is a complex, earthy flavor that makes this champagne-like cider ideal for pairing with a gourmet meal.
The Pippin and Winesap are more traditional single-variety ciders named for the apple from which they are sourced. Dryer and less sweet than most commercially produced ciders (which often include added sugar), these two small batch ciders have a fruity brightness and tart flavor that is both delightful and refreshing.
While all of the Albemarle Ciders are top shelf, my personal favorite was the Ragged Mountain, a semi-dry blend that includes Winesap, Pippin, Black Twig, Grimes Golden, and Stayman. Perfect for standalone sipping or coupled with your favorite cheese or spicy chips.
The cidery offers tastings at $4 per person. Unfortunately, this fee is not waived with a per person purchase, which is one of my only minor complaints. The other is that they only discount purchases of 12 or more bottles, which is a big commitment at $16 per bottle. Hopefully they'll consider a half case discount sometime in the near future.
NOTE: Fresh, non-fermented cider is available for purchase and to serve to any children or non-alcohol drinkers in your entourage. Cheese and meat plates are also available for purchase.
The Albemarle hard ciders are bottled and capped in 22oz champagne bombers, making them ideal for short term cellaring ... assuming you can resist them for that long. Overall, this cidery is a great addition to the growing number of small batch beverage producers in the Virginia Piedmont region and well worth a visit when you are in the Charlottesville area. -
Review from D P.
North Garden, VA
11/2/2011
Vintage apples and cider, what more do you need?
-
Review from Eileen O.
Alexandria, VA
3/24/2010
I can only give four stars because they only had one cider for us to try!
This is the first year that Albemarle Ciderworks has been open, and they made three types of cider - two of which were sold out. For their second year, they have doubled production and are adding a fourth cider.
I am a huge cider fan - and no one believes me when I say not all cider is sweet. At Albemarle, I only tasted Ragged Mountain, the sweetest of their offerings - and it was almost completely dry.
Something else to note - everything made here is made by hand processing.
New options should be available in May - I will definitely be back! -
Review from Reggie G.
Washington, DC
1/18/2010
This place is pretty cool. They are situated on a giant farm with a beautiful apple orchard. They are pretty new - this season was their first bottling of 3 types of hard cider, 2 of which are sold out. Apparently, John Adams drank a liter of Albemarle Cider every morning for breakfast and lived til he was 90.
They only had one cider left so they waived the $2 tasting fee. The cider was pretty good and the staff was really nice. It was also nice to switch it up from wine and it's right of the 29 so it's pretty convenient. I think I'll go back in March when they have the next bottling! -
Review from Lizzy c.
San Diego, CA
5/2/2010
this place is a refreshing little change from all the wineries in VA. if you like cider i would definitely check this place out! the tasting room is beautiful and the cider is fantastic (also they have this great ham and cheese plate. we ordered this and a few glasses of cider, and sat outside on their beautiful patio and admired the blue ridge. heaven!)
also the owners are quite nice and a pleasure to chat with. i definitely recommend this place!
