Discover Foggy Ridge Cider

Foggy Ridge Cider has always begun in the orchard with cider apples carefully selected for flavor and grown for taste, not appearance. For over twenty years, we aimed to put this fruit in the bottle with minimal manipulation. You wouldn’t have found hopped or oak flavored cider; we didn’t flavor our hard won cider apples with additions. Instead, we aimed to put the orchard in every bottle.

While Foggy Ridge Cider released its last vintage in late 2017, the cidery has produced several cider blends in our 20 year history. See Cidermaker Jocelyn Kuzelka’s tasting notes below. Foggy Ridge Final Call was our last cider bottled. This and a few other rare vintages are still available in limited supply at restaurants and shops.

thumb-final-call-ciderFinal Call was Foggy Ridge Cider’s last and final cider release. A field blend (apples were “blended” in the orchard and pressed in mixed batches) of Foggy Ridge’s most valuable cider apples, Final Call is juicy mouth-filling cider with tart notes and a rich apple finish. Made from Harrison, Hewe’s Crab and Newtown Pippin, this balanced food friendly cider reflects Foggy Ridge’s 3000′ mountain terroir…our orchard to your glass.

thumb-cart-serious-ciderSerious Cider mixed traditional English cider apples like Tremlett’s Bitter and Dabinett with tart American favorites like Ashmead’s Kernel and Roxbury Russet. This crisp light food friendly cider is a refreshing aperitif paired with cheesy nibbles.

Cidermaker Notes: “Rich apple and citrus aroma with a touch of apricot and apple blossoms. Serious Cider is bright and lively on the palate with creamy layers. It is full bodied with soft minerality and hints of peach and lime zest. Focused acidity combined with textured dusty tannin create a long and pleasantly dry finish.”

thumb-cart-first-fruitFoggy Ridge’s First Fruit cider blended early season American heirloom apples to create a rich fruity cider with lively acidity to drink, like Thomas Jefferson, on its own or with a meal.

Cidermaker Notes: “Tart apple aroma with tropical fruit notes and lemon curd notes, This fruit forward cider dominates the palate with crisp apple and pear flavors, lingering strawberry notes and a clean apple finish.”

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The famous Virginia Stayman apples ripen late in mountain orchards but are worth the wait. Our Stayman Winesap Cider blended the original Stayman apple with heirloom varieties like Grimes Golden and Cox’s Orange Pippin to create a lightly sweet cider to sip on its own or with spicy food.

Cidermaker Notes: “This off dry blend has an intense ripe apple nose, with a touch of caramel and ripe cherry. The fruit forward palate has apple and pear flavors, seamlessly juxtaposed with complex fine grained tannin and balanced acidity. The lingering finish has mouth coating apple and berry flavors.”

thumb-cart-handmade3Foggy Ridge Handmade was bottled in baby champagne bottles and full of complex apple flavors. This crisp cider made from mostly Newtown Pippin apples with a hint of Gold Rush, and has beautiful soft tannins with light pear notes.

Cidermaker Notes: “This cider is characterized by apple and soft tropical fruit aromas. The entry is soft and supple with a full round mouthfeel underpinned by apple, peach and pineapple flavors. The finish is smooth yet crisp.”

Pippin Gold was a unique blend of 100% Newtown Pippin hard cider and apple brandy from Laird and Company, the country’s oldest distiller. Pippin Gold is delicious as a dessert cider or sweet aperitif. Some have swooned over peaches soaked in Pippin Gold served with homemade pound cake.

Cidermaker Notes:  “Lifted aromas of honey, apple, clove and sweet spirits.  The palate is supple and warm with mouth filling sweet apple layered with spice.  The Newton Pippin essence is captured here with a rich almost tropical fruit and lingering spice notes on the finish.”

thumb-pippin-blackMade only when we have Arkansas Black and Black Twig apples, Pippin Black combined hard cider from Newtown Pippin and those late season “black apples” with Virginia apple brandy. To gild the lily we aged this blend on Hungarian Oak. Butterscotch and caramel notes combine with rich apple flavor, making this apple port ideal with blue cheese and walnuts.