Virginia Cider: A Guide from Colonial Days to Craft's Golden AgeYour guide to the remarkable history, and ongoing popularity, of cider in the Commonwealth A cultural phenomenon with surprisingly deep roots, cider has been one of Virginia's favorite beverages for more than four hundred years, representing a time-honored ingredient of the cultural heritage that the first English settlers brought with them to America. Since the seventeenth century, apple orchards have been a fixture of the farming landscape, and cider was made and consumed by almost everyone--men, women, and children of all socioeconomic orders throughout the state's history. Recent decades have witnessed a renaissance of cider culture and cultivation, and today cider-making is a thriving craft-beverage industry, gaining ever-greater numbers of enthusiasts and connoisseurs as more and more cideries spring up every year. An essential title for the Virginian bookshelf, and for all readers interested in American cider: |