My favorite aspect of Albermarle Cider Works is the annual Apple festival in early November each year. We love to go grab some heirloom apples and enjoy the local crafts and music. Usually, the festival coincides with a UVA home game, which makes for a great fall day for the family.
We came to the CiderWorks for the Apple Festival that was going on and had a very nice time. Lots of vendors and live music to keep us entertained.We did a tasting (charge was $5 for 5 different ciders) and then got a tour and education on how Cider is made. This is far more of an Artisanal Cider than what most people are used to. The Cider is dryer and tarter than what you get in the traditional beer bottle. Think of a fine white wine but made with Apples.
A wonderful experience tasting great cider excellent Ciders worth the trip you will not be disappointed
A 20 minute drive from Charlottesville will get you down to this wonderful farm. It is an apple orchard (Virginia Vintage Apples) and the Albemarle Ciderworks also makes great ciders. Take an afternoon and enjoy the scenic drive and the delicious ciders.
We were nicely surprised when we tasted the different options CiderWorks had for us. We really liked that it was not like Woodchuck or Crispen. We enjoy visiting wineries, but we will now be adding Cider places in the near future.The staff was very friendly and helpful! The detials were amazing.
Located only a few miles south of Charlottesville on Rt 29, they have a well appointed tasting room for their hard cider and have samples of each of their apples. We were there for the fresh cider and walked off with 2.5 gallons of the nectar of the Gods. We also purchased apples where their "Pippin" variety was our favorite. Although I'm hatted out, they had attractive ball caps, books and other stuff for sale. It's a fun run and not at all out of the way if your living or visiting Charlottesville
since i do not like beer, now i can have cider!! and albermarle cider works is absolutely wonderful! the best tasting cider ever! nice tasting experience (didn't know there were so many different apples and ways to make), very friendly folks, really nice tasting room. and we just had to buy our tasting glasses! now i feel like thomas jefferson :o) we will definitely return!
As you wander about 10 minutes south of Charlottesville on Rt. 29 you will come to Albemarle CiderWorks. A family-run apple orchard and cidery. The orchard has vintage varieties of apples that will please any palate. Inside the tasting room you will be served by one of several knowledgeable and friendly cider experts. Anne, Thomas, Jen, et al., do a great job of taking the time to explain to you some of the intricacies of tasting cider (hint: it's different than wine or beer tasting). My favorite is the Jupiter's Legacy by you will find one you like and keep returning. Perhaps you'll be fortunate enough to meet Chuck, one of the brothers and the head cider maker. He'll make you feel right at home...because it is his.
Location is good, and the facility was very nice. The tasting room is large and comfortable, and they had a little bit of food for sale. The guy who did our tasting was very nice, as was the fellow who managed the place. I'm just not a big apple wine guy. It was okay, and I would go back and visit with friends to enjoy the tasting room. By the way, they do have really cool tasting glasses....which are only $2 after you pay for the tasting.
A huge group showed up right as we got there for our tasting, so I think the atmosphere was a little more boisterous than normal. There wasn't anything special about this cidery, but they did have a few things other than cider for sale. I purchased the tasting + glass and couldn't have been happier with the glass - it has a nice design and unique cider-sipping shape. I found out the cider I like is the juice-tasting version, but this was an interesting experience that I'm glad I had.