Albemarle CiderWorks

Cidery in North Garden, Virginia, United States 🇺🇸
Associated Venue: Albemarle Ciderworks

Established in 2009

Contact
2545 Rural Ridge Ln, North Garden, VA, 22959, United States
Description
Vintage Virginia Apples was founded in 2000 by the Shelton family. In our orchard, we grow a variety of tree fruits that are becoming increasingly rare. Many of these are older varieties that have fallen into obscurity or just do not fit the needs of today’s commercial marketing and distribution systems. Cast aside in the search for perfectly saleable, shippable and storable fruit are hundreds of heirloom and local varieties, a vibrant universe of texture, flavor and scent.

Our most ambitious project is Albemarle CiderWorks, which we opened in July 2009. The first year, we fermented and bottled three distinctive ciders which were very well received: Jupiter's Legacy and Ragged Mountain comprised our blended offerings, and Royal Pippin became our first single varietal. Since then, we have introduce other single varietals and blends including our first "Special Reserve," Virginia Hewe's Crab, a small batch that quickly sold out. We plan to continue finding inspiration from the 2500 varieties of apples found in the United States.

We currently offer tastings of our distinctive ciders at our Tasting Room in North Garden, VA. Plan to visit us! We look forward to welcoming you to Rural Ridge Orchard for a tasting, a workshop or one of our events. Click here for directions to our location.

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7.4/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
750 mL bottle from Wine Warehouse shared at the Baltimore Late Late Summer Gathering, 9/14/13. Pours a slightly hazy yellow color with a thin fizzy head that quickly fades. Aroma of sweet apples, pears. The taste is sweet apples, earth, mild musty notes.
Tried from Bottle on 14 Sep 2013 at 13:08

7/10 Appearance 4 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 6 Overall 7
Bottle courtesy of Drake, thank you, Exceedingly pale yellow color, almost clear, with light carbonation. Aroma of dusty and slightly peppery dried apple skins. Taste is sweetish apple flesh, light cereal. Not bad.
Tried from Bottle on 14 Sep 2013 at 13:08

6.4/10 Appearance 4 Aroma 6 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7.5
Rubber and apple nose. Crystal clear yellow.. Dry and lightly tart apple. Just a slight hint of barnyard. Apple core finish. Tartness builds from start to finish. Dry but flavorful, somewhat one dimensional, but flavorful. Well executed.
Tried on 15 Aug 2012 at 18:05

5.4/10 Appearance 2 Aroma 8 Flavor 6 Texture 2 Overall 5.5
Musty, slightly funky overripe apple aroma. Crystal clear pale yellow, no visible carbonation.Stingingly sour and considerably dry apple flavor. Fizzy. Not for me.
Tried on 10 Aug 2012 at 14:32

7.8/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 9 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 7
Bottle. Clear yellow golden color. Aroma of dusty apple flesh. Taste is lemons, bitter apple skins, dry finish. Nice.
Tried from Bottle on 27 May 2012 at 13:36

3.9/10 Appearance 4 Aroma 5 Flavor 4 Texture 2 Overall 3.5
Phenolic aroma of apple and rubber with unripe strawberriy accents. Clear yellow, fair amount of carbonation. Dry and fizzy, apple flavor. Unremarkable and overly carbonated.
Tried on 29 Jul 2011 at 19:39

3.9/10 Appearance 2 Aroma 4 Flavor 4 Texture 4 Overall 4.5
Dry apple aroma, funky, a bit too much on the rubber side for me. Crystal clear, very pale yellow, some carbonation. Very dry, with the same rubbery quality, lightly tart, not quite medicinal, but very phenolic. The story on the label is fascinating, but this cider is too dry for my tastes. I’m guessing this is an acquired taste that I haven’t yet acquired. This cider cider is helping me get it.
Tried on 21 Jul 2011 at 20:55

8.5/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 10 Flavor 9 Texture 6 Overall 8
750 ml bottle courtesy of Linda (thanks!), shared with Shukhrat from Uzbekistan. Crystal clear gold, hi carbonation. Aroma has intense fruit, plus apple skins and lemon peel. Taste has a barely sweet start, then turns slightly tart, then finishes very dry. Very nice fruit flavor, and very refreshing. Probably the best American cider I have had - reminds me of my time exploring Normandy and Brittany.
Tried from Bottle on 29 Dec 2010 at 19:25

7.2/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 8 Texture 6 Overall 7
Capped 750 mL bottle from Wine Warehouse in Charlottesville, VA. Pours a crystal clear vibrant light golden color. Thin white head that quickly fades. Aroma of earthy and tart apples. The taste is tart apples, earthy notes and then an even more tart finish. Medium bodied. Very tart overall, but still a good cider.
Tried from Bottle on 06 Jul 2010 at 10:37

7/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7
Bottle on 11/22/2009 courtesy of izzy. Very clear slightly golden white body with a Medium foamy white head. Slightly sweet apple aroma. Slightly sweet apple flavor, with some light carbonic notes. Medium light body with moderately high carbonation.
Tried from Bottle on 02 Jan 2010 at 16:48