Alexandria, VA – Alexandria celebrates Virginia Cider Week from November 15-24. A long-time favorite of those who crossed the Atlantic from England to Virginia and their descendants, hard cider was perceived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as the fermented drink of the lower classes. Despite that reputation, cideries have continued to operate in the Commonwealth throughout its history.
The 2012 designation of Virginia Cider Week highlights not only hard cider’s renaissance as a drink of choice but also the long and continued tradition of cider-making in our state. Similarly, the French region of Normandy, which includes Alexandria’s sister city of Caen, also has a historic cider tradition.
Apple cider made locally was inexpensive, popular, and enjoyed by all ages and economic levels. Fermented or “hard” cider was drunk as a beverage and distilled into apple brandy or apple jack. English cider was also popular, although considerably more expensive. It is calculated that by 1800, Americans drank over 15 gallons of cider per person annually.
Advertisements in newspapers such as the Alexandria Gazette show the prevalence of cider consumption in previous centuries. For example, on December 5, 1863, during the middle of the Civil War, R.H. Gemeny took out an ad saying that he had just received 20 barrels of pure apple cider. Others, such as George H. Robinson, advertised a crab apple cider that probably combined methods and materials from the New and Old Worlds.
Although not an Alexandrian, John Adams was a renowned fan and advocate of cider. From a letter sent the year before his marriage to Abigail, Adams declared, “Give me Bacon, and Cyder, and Books and Girl and Friend, and I will frisk it.” After his term as president over 40 years later, he wrote to a physician friend that he had met a Virginia doctor who told him:
“Those who drank cyder, for their ordinary Beveredge were the most healthy and longest Livers, that those who drank Wine or ardent Spirits…were not so healthy and ended their Days earlier.”
Adams wasn’t the only presidential cider admirer. An opposition newspaper claimed about William Henry Harrison:
“Give him a barrel of hard (alcoholic) cider and settle a pension of two thousand a year on him, and take my word for it, he will sit the remainder of his days in his log cabin.”
The attack backfired, as Harrison cultivated an everyman persona to contrast with Martin Van Buren’s supposed aristocratic airs and won the election of 1840.
What caused cider’s decline? The Industrial Revolution and changing tastes influenced by a growing immigrant population that preferred beer to cider were the first blows to cider production and consumption. Then Prohibition forced many orchards and cideries to close in the 20th century.
In this century, after decades of being overlooked in favor of other fermented drinks, cider came back to popularity in the United States. To highlight its renaissance and draw attention to Virginia’s long history with the drink, the Virginia General Assembly established Virginia Cider Week on September 5, 2012.
Joint Resolution 105 designated the full week before Thanksgiving as Virginia Cider Week in 2012 and each succeeding year. The bill recognized cider’s role in early Virginia, its favor in the eyes of Thomas Jefferson, its decline due to industrialization and Prohibition, and its rebirth in this century. According to Virginia Cider Week:
“Virginia hard apple cider can be up to 10% alcohol by volume, without chaptalizing (adding sugar to the juice). Any fermented apple juice above 10% alcohol must be labeled ‘apple wine.’ Cider cannot have more than 7% alcohol when chaptalized according to current law.”
Alexandria’s sister city Caen, France, also has a vibrant cider tradition. Normandy, the region of which Caen is the capital, includes the only “Route du Cidre,” a 40-kilometer loop marked by signs with an apple. Cider producers in Normandy also produce calvados, an apple brandy that is cider distilled for two years in oak casks.
This year’s Alexandria Cider Festival will be held on November 23. Advance-priced tickets can be purchased online at alexandriava.gov/shop for $50.00 or at the door for $65.00 per person. Tickets include cider tastings, a souvenir glass, live music, and a little history! While enjoying a selection of Virginia ciders, learn more about the growing Virginia cider industry and its connection to Alexandria’s history. The Alexandria Cider usually includes offerings from 10-14 cideries. Stay up to date on the festival here: www.alexandriava.gov/historic-alexandria/alexandria-cider-festival.
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