JOIN THE HARD CIDER REVIVAL DURING VIRGINIA CIDER WEEK
Celebrate our local cider crafters November 9th through the 18th!
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (November 8, 2012) – The Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau (CACVB) is proud to invite visitors and local residents to celebrate Virginia Cider Week. With many special events scheduled to take place in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Virginia Cider Week is the perfect occasion to get reacquainted with this locally crafted beverage.
Virginia Cider Week kicks off at Feast! in Charlottesville on Friday, November 9 from 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. with hard cider and local artisanal cheese and food tastings (tickets are available by calling Feast! at 434-244-8700.) Events culminate Saturday, November 17 with a Cider Revival at Castle Hill Cider in Keswick from 2:00 -6:00 p.m. All of Virginia’s cider makers will gather here for tastings, conversation, food, live music and fun for the whole family (tickets are available at www.castlehillcider.com under Shop tab.)
During Virginia Cider Week, restaurants, shops and cider makers across the state will hold dinners, in-store tastings, workshops and classes promoting Virginia cider. Gary Nabhan, a MacArthur Grant recipient and author, will visit Charlottesville as Virginia Cider Week’s Scholar in Residence. New York’s Chris Lehault, a cider columnist with Serious Eats, will pit Virginia hard ciders against Yankee blends in a North South Cider Smackdown on Saturday, November 10 at Albemarle Ciderworks in North Garden, Virginia.
“There is such a strong, vibrant community of cider makers and cider lovers in Charlottesville and Albemarle County,” says Kurt Burkhart, Executive Director of the CACVB. “From Castle Hill Cider in Keswick to Albemarle Cider Works in North Garden, the interest for cider is growing amongst locals and visitors alike; it is a beautiful thing and Cider Week is a great time to partake!”
Virginia is the first state to have an officially proclaimed “Cider Week”, and this is only the second weeklong cider celebration in the US. Over 100 restaurants and shops in 30 cities will promote cider during Virginia Cider Week. The week includes 20 special events in Blacksburg, Charlottesville, Crozet, Richmond, Roanoke, Staunton and Washington, DC., plus cider promotions at shops, cafes, bistros and fine dining restaurants.
Virginia currently has six producing cidermakers including Albemarle Ciderworks in North Garden, Bold Rock Cider in Nellysford, Castle Hill Cider in Keswick, Foggy Ridge Cider in Dugspur, Old Hill Cider in Timberville and Potter’s Craft Cider in Free Union. Blue Bee Cider in Richmond and Winchester Ciderworks in Middletown will begin selling cider in 2013.
Charlotte Shelton of Albemarle Ciderworks says, “Throughout the 19th century, growing apples and crafting cider was part of every community. The decline of cider began with the Industrial Revolution and changing immigration patterns. Cider production came to a halt with Prohibition. Virginia cider makers are reviving tradition by growing the original cider apple varieties and crafting hard cider with modern fermentation methods.”
Visit www.ciderweekva.com or www.visitcharlottesville.org for complete event listings.
Brigitte Bélanger-Warner
Director of Sales & Marketing
Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau
434.970.3632 – warnerb@charlottesville.org
About the CACVB
In addition to providing a wealth of information on the area to individual visitors, the CACVB assists tour operators, meeting planners, reunions and other groups to find attractions, restaurants, hotels, and other visitor related businesses. Its mission is “to enhance the economic prosperity of City and County by promoting, selling and marketing the City of Charlottesville and County of Albemarle, as a destination, in pursuit of the meetings and tourism markets.”
