Where To Try Hard Cider in Virginia

While Virginia’s craft beer, wine, and spirits scenes have been booming for years, the Commonwealth also produces some delicious hard cider. With orchards covering thousands of acres from the Shenandoah Valley to the rural plains of Central Virginia, cideries in the Commonwealth have been able to use locally-grown fruit to create world-class hard ciders.

Visit one of these cider tasting rooms spread across the state to sample fresh-pressed products ranging from sweet, fruity blends to dry, tart ciders that will make you an official Virginia cider lover! 
 

JUMP TO: Shenandoah Valley & Virginia Mountains | Central & Coastal Virginia 
 

NORTHERN VIRGINIA

Wild Hare Cider House—Multiple locations

Wild Hare Cider House is a boutique micro-cidery with locations in Berryville, Fredericksburg, Leesburg, and Warrenton. Using local fruit from their orchards in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley and modern fermentation techniques, the cidery produces classic ciders as well as drinks that reflect seasonal flavors. In the summer, you might get to try peach and watermelon ciders, while in the fall, you can get ciders made with spices and pumpkin. 

Winchester Ciderworks—Winchester

The Shenandoah Valley is known for its fertile soil, producing excellent crops of apples that go into some equally high-quality ciders. You can try some of these at Winchester Ciderworks, where the cidermaster makes English-style ciders—a dryer, less sweet cider style using apples from a local orchard. Try their signature ciders like Malice, a crisp, off-dry beverage with light acidity, or Pious Pear, made with a blend of apples and pears with fruity aromas. 

Lost Boy Cider—Alexandria

Lost Boy Cider utilizes natural ingredients and fresh Virginia apples in their ciders, as well as a fermentation process that gets rid of nearly all residual sugar. In addition to the cidery’s mainstay dry cider Comeback Kid, be sure to try their blended ciders, made with ingredients like blackberries, hops, raspberries, cranberries, and spices, and their heritage ciders, aged in tequila, gin, and Kentucky bourbon barrels. 

Cobbler Mountain Cellars—Delaplane 

Opened on Big Cobbler Mountain, Cobbler Mountain Cellars pairs delicious ciders with stunning panoramic views. Creating interesting flavors like the Smackin’ Orange, Ginger Peach, Maple Stout, and Wild Blackberry Hop (all made with fresh fruit!), the cidery is pet-friendly, allowing you to bring your four-legged friend along on a fall adventure in Virginia. 

Mt. Defiance Cidery & Distillery—Middleburg

Mt. Defiance Cidery is a small batch, artisanal cidery crafting batches of hard cider using old-fashioned methods and only local apples. The resulting cider is unpasteurized, unsweetened, and refreshingly dry, and comes in a variety of flavors. The classic farmhouse cider is a staple at Mt. Defiance, but make sure to sample the seasonal flavors, like blueberry,  ginger, and Summer Shandy, a balanced blend of lemonade and cider. 

Henway Hard Cider - Bluemont

Henway Hard Cider Company offers a refreshing take on Virginia cider. Nestled in the scenic foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Henway serves up a variety of crisp, flavorful ciders crafted from locally grown apples. Sip on their signature blends while enjoying the farm's relaxed, rustic charm, complete with views of the orchard and surrounding countryside.

Corcoran Vineyards & Cider—Waterford

Corcoran Vineyards & Cider chooses their apples for their tannins, sugar, and acid, combining the best of each apple varietal to create sophisticated yet approachable ciders. Their pet-friendly tasting room serves their latest crisp, refreshing offerings like their Hop’n’Pop, an off-dry cider aged with locally-grown hops, or the Sinful Hard Cider, made with cinnamon and all-spice. 

SHENANDOAH VALLEY & VIRGINIA MOUNTAINS

Stable Craft Brewing—Waynesboro

Also a working farm and a brewery, Stable Craft Brewing offers ciders through their Hermitage Hill Cider project. Head to the brewery/cidery tasting room to sample the newest offerings and plan on making a day of it; you can wander the property and visit with the horses, enjoy games of volleyball, beer pong, and cornhole with friends, enjoy a meal in the Party Igloos after dark for an awe-inspiring view of the starry night skies, and then stay in one of their on-site suites.  

Big Fish Cider Co.—Monterey

Making interesting new ciders from locally-harvested apples and traditional techniques, Big Fish Cider Co. is a micro-cidery in Highland County near the West Virginia/Virginia border. Their ciders range from off-dry to semi-sweet blends, with seasonal offerings rounding out the menu of their year-round blends. 

Old Hill Cidery—Timberville

Located at Showalter’s Orchard, Old Hill Cidery sources the fruit for their ciders from their own apple orchards, with the entire process from tree to bottle happening on-site. Their impressive lineup of ciders include dry ciders similar to wines, fruit-forward cider blends, and sweet ciders, providing options for every type of cider lover. The cidery offers scenic views of the surrounding Shenandoah Valley (especially in the fall) and is pet-friendly, welcoming well-behaved leashed pets.

Sage Bird Ciderworks—Harrisonburg

Sage Bird Ciderworks in downtown Harrisonburg uses locally sourced fruit to craft their ciders, which tend to be drier and include both a standard line of ciders available year-round and specialty seasonal blends. The tasting room is pet-friendly and welcomes leashed, well-behaved dogs.

Troddenvale Cider—Warm Springs

Just minutes down the road from the Historic Omni Homestead Resort, Troddenvale is part of Oakley Farm, a third-generation farm in Virginia's beautiful mountains. The cidery focuses on stripping away the commercial methods typically used in producing cidery, instead choosing limited intervention and allowing the fruit to shine and showcase the richness of the region. Not only is the cider delicious, but the landscapes surrounding the tasting room make this mountain cider a must for visitors traveling through the area! 

CENTRAL & COASTAL VIRGINIA

Blue Toad Hard Cider—Roseland

Blue Toad Hard Cider began in upstate New York, but after gaining popularity in the New England market, they decided to expand into Virginia. The cidery is located near Wintergreen Resort on a 28-acre farm, with a charming cider barn for tastings. Flagship favorites like the Blue Ridge Blonde (a crisp and fruity cider made with a blend of local Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, and Granny Smith apples) are served alongside seasonal specialities and blends of their flagship drinks. 

Bryant’s Cider Barn & Tasting Meadow—Roseland

A small batch cidery in Roseland, Bryant’s Cider uses apples harvested from their own orchard, Edgewood Farm, as well as other nearby farms in Nelson County, in their craft ciders. Their pet-friendly tasting room is open on weekends.

Buskey Cider—Richmond 

Buskey Cider is located in Richmond’s Scott’s Addition, opening in an old train car loading building that provided a unique atmosphere for their cider tasting room. Visit this Richmond cidery to learn all about Virginia ciders, sample their small release batches, and lounge with friends in the large warehouse space behind the tasting room, where you can play an assortment of board games. 

Albemarle CiderWorks—North Garden

Producing ciders in traditional Colonial fashion, Albemarle CiderWorks pays tribute to Thomas Jefferson, who experimented with nearly 20 different varieties of apples at Monticello, only a few miles from their Rural Ridge orchard. The Albemarle County cidery grows over a dozen of the same apple varieties as Jefferson, blending the resulting juices to create full-bodied ciders that stand the test of time. 

Courthouse Creek Cider—Maidens

Courthouse Creek Cider grow their fruit in a 4.5-acre orchard, press it in their production facility, and bottle it to be served in the tasting room all on the same land in Goochland County. They produce natural ciders that have not been filtered or had any chemicals added; instead, they ferment and age in barrels to get the most rustic and true flavors in their ciders. The tasting room is open on weekends, and while visiting, you can relax on a beautiful rural farm and pair your ciders with small plate food items prepared at the cidery. 

Bold Rock Hard Cider—Multiple locations

Part of the Nelson 151 Craft Beverage Trail, Bold Rock Hard Cider sits in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains and is open for tours and tastings daily. Try their two flagship ciders, Virginia Apple and Virginia Draft, in a complimentary tasting, or sample their rotating lineup of seasonal ciders for a small fee. Afterwards, get a glass of your favorite Bold Rock Cider and head outside to take in the gorgeous scenery from the patio or outdoor fire pit during brisk fall days. The cidery has expanded in recent years, with additional tasting rooms, including one at Carter Mountain Orchard in Charlottesville.

Coyote Hole Ciderworks—Mineral

Coyote Hole Ciderworks is a pet-friendly cidery that produces naturally gluten-free hard ciders using apples and other fruit that is all grown at nearby orchards or on-site. Their flagship apple cider is served alongside an array of limited edition seasonal ciders, such as their Sixteen-Thirty Pear Cider and Coyo-Tea Cider, infused with chai. The cidery hosts several weekly events, including trivia on Thurday nights and live music on Saturday nights from May-October. 

Potter’s Craft Cider—Charlottesville

Potter's Craft Cider is made using nothing but the highest quality, traditional cider apples grown nearby in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, including Virginia Winesap and Albemarle Pippin apples in their authentic American Farmhouse ciders. The Charlottesville cidery tasting room is pet-friendly and open Friday-Sunday, with an outdoor seating area open when the weather permits.

Sly Clyde Ciderworks—Hampton

Virginia’s first coastal cidery, Sly Clyde Ciderworks, produces innovative ciders just blocks from the Chesapeake Bay, combining Virginia apples with flavors like Blackberry and Mint or Rosemary and Habanero. Their ciders are unpretentious and approachable, and they offer tours of the Cider House to give a behind-the-scenes peek at how their ciders are made. On weekends with fair weather, sip your ciders in the back courtyard while dining on tasty fare from local food trucks. Sly Clyde Ciderworks is both family-and-pet-friendly, welcoming the entire family to come spend an afternoon at this easy-going coastal cidery.