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"With fifty cideries in the commonwealth at the time of publication, the cider industry in Virginia is not nearly as developed as those producing wine and beer-yet the beverage has been made in the Old Dominion at least as long-that is, since the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century. Apple orchards were a staple of plantation life, and cider was made and consumed by almost everyone-men, women, and children of all socioeconomic orders, both Black and white. By the mid-nineteenth century cider was slowly being eclipsed in popularity, and it reached its nadir around the time of Prohibition. Recent decades, however, have seen its rebirth, and today cider-making is a small but thriving craft-beverage industry, and it continues to gain fans as more cideries spring up anywhere a few apple trees are gathered together. This concise volume charts the history of cider-making in Virginia and provides an in-depth guide to cideries throughout the state, with digressions covering everything from home cider-making to the storied Taliaferro apple and Laird's distillery"--
About the author
Gregory J. Hansard teaches history and museum studies at Brightpoint Community College.
