Latest reviews from North Garden
| 78 /100 2550 RURAL RIDGE LANE “Nice, huge open area, on a rolling hillside. Orchard all around. Place seems new (or is kept up really well). Outside patio seating, inside as well. Tastings, flights and glasses of cider available for sale on the premises. Bottle sales of those ciders plus a few others as well. Staff (or owner?) was really nice.“ |
| 82 /100 2550 RURAL RIDGE LANE “A nice drive south of Charlottesville brings you to this pleasant cidery complete with tasting room. The staff are extremely knowledgeable, not only about the apple varieties, but also the history of the region and its links to the apple orchards. The ciders are very good - dry, tart and crisp with distinctive notes depending on the variety/blend of apples used. A tasting of 8 different ciders was available on the day of our visit. This is a loving setting and I’d definitely recommend to cider enthusiasts.“ |
| 80 /100 2550 RURAL RIDGE LANE “Located just off the highway in a beautiful part of the countryside just south of Charlottesville and maybe a 20 minute drive from Monticello. Large parking lot would probably accommodate busses. Tasting room is also large with a standing bar at one end and a sun porch on the other. There’s also a patio outside, and you can peek into the cider works and even sample (or buy) some apples. Staff is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and give a nice spiel on the history of each apple variety and the connections to local history. Each cider is tastier than the last, and you can taste a one to two ounce pour of eight for eight bucks. Bottles are available as well of course. Definitely a worthwhile stop.“ |
| 56 /100 2550 RURAL RIDGE LANE “A nice looking place that sits on a beautiful piece of property. They offer a large flight of ciders, with generous pours. There is some food for purchase, mostly the snacking type, and all (or mostly) local stuff. They also offer bottles for sale. All of the staff that I have met are quite knowledgeable about the product as well as cider in general.“ |
| 68 /100 2550 RURAL RIDGE LANE “Stopped in on little day trip yesterday. Nice tasting room very much set up like a winery. Great and knowledgeable service- very attentive despite being busy. They were out of two of the ciders they usually sampled, so we only got three- but all were enjoyable. I actually got more out of trying these side-by-side than doing beer or wine tastings. Pricing pretty low for a tasting @ $3. Glad we dropped in.“ |
| 76 /100 2550 RURAL RIDGE LANE “I didn’t even know this place existed, I’m sad to say. Ran across it while trying to set up a day trip to visit some of the area wineries. Nice "winery" style tasting room. No charge now for any of the samples, which were mostly dry ciders, one featuring quite a bit of the same character you find in some of the French farmhouse ciders. None were remotely like the flavorless, alco-pop style ciders that dominate the shelves - the ciders were all complex and enjoyable - very well made. They also gave out samples of heirloom apples, which you could also buy, which were all excellent. Great conversation with someone who I assumed was the owner, based on the enthusiasm and knowledge he displayed. These folks are really into their apples, and it shows in their product. Pricey, but worth it for such a well done artisan product. Very much well worth a visit.“ |
| 66 /100 2550 RURAL RIDGE LANE “Got here one day after they opened to the public. This place is run by the same people as Vintage Virginia Apples, which is a very cool orchard operation that focuses on heirloom apple varieties. They’ve been around a long time so it’s cool to see them creating some hard cider. Apparently they’ve been making the stuff privately for 3-4 years now, and it shows. Located right off of 29 (the entrance sneaks up on you) about 10-15 minutes south of Charlottesville. Really convenient to get to. Parking seems ample. As we’re in wine country, they have an large, open-feeling, sunny tasting room that is reminiscent of the many wineries in the area. All this is located on a large orchard nestled in the mountains. Really is nice. The people are nice. The ciders are excellent. They run fairly dry and are generally delicate and complex in flavor. Really impressive for a brand new place. Prices are pretty much in line for what you’d expect at a local winery... maybe even a bit more. Definitely not cheap. Tastings are $3 which is NOT refunded when you purchase bottles, which is the custom. Still, it’s one of only two cideries in Virginia and they make good stuff, so it’s definitely worth a visit.“ |
