On January 13th we have the pleasure of featuring Foggy Ridge Cider for our 2nd Tuesday Tasting. We got to meet Diane Flynt, the founder of Foggy Ridge, at the Southern Foodways Alliance Symposium in Oxford, Mississippi this fall. We fell in love with her ciders at first sip.

Located in Virginia, in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Foggy Ridge doesn’t just grow apples in it’s three orchards, it grows ingredients. The staff blends a variety of heirloom apples such as Hewe’s Crab (providing sugar and texture), Harrison, Asmead’s Kernel, Dabinett, and Tremlett’s Bitter (balancing with acidity) to revive the artisan cider making tradition that was once more prevalent in the area, dating back to the colonists who brought apples from Europe in 1625. Fermented cider was the drink of choice for many of the first years of our country’s existence, and was even promoted by such prominent figures such as John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

Foggy Ridge’s cider making process is very simple. The goal is to put the fruit into the bottle with minimal manipulation. You won’t find hopping or oaking anywhere in the process. The apples are blended for the optimal flavor in each bottle, and each of the four sparkling varieties and two dessert apple ports offers something special and unique for the drinker. I would encourage you to taste through the entire portfolio side by side so that you can see all the different nuances that can be offered through the different blends of heirloom varietals. The ciders can be found locally at 5 Points Bottle Shop, and we will have a few on our list for the next few months as well.