Some of My Favorite Hudson Valley Ciders

It's cider week in New York state, and there's no better place to go for apple cider, wines, distilled products, and good old fashion cider than the Hudson Valley.

Cider is a very big thing in te hudson Valley. The Hudson Valley is long been one of the bastions of apple growing in New York state. And some of the best cider producers are in this region.

First and foremost among them is Warwick Valley. Jason Grizzanti and Jeremy Kidde have built this winery and distillery into one of the powerhouses of the Hudson Valley. Jason has traveled all over the world, Spain, France, England, etc., to learn more and more about how to make great ciders. The ffort has paid off. Warwick has three great ciders - Doc'sDraft Hard Apple Cider (a classic apple cider); Doc's Draft Framboise (made with raspberries); and Doc's Draft Pear Cider.

The apple cider is clean and refreshing. Perfect for a fall day. The Framboise is an elegant, sweet mix of apple cider and raspberriies in the classic Belgian/French tradition. Absolutely fabulous! And the Pear Cider is an elegant, effervescent sparkling wine. Tremendous!

Next up would be the Apple Dave's Stone Fence Apple Cider from Applewood Winery. This is a classic Hudson Valley hard cider with wonderful flavor or tart apples and a hint of sweetness. Just absolutely superb!

Then comes Annandale Cider from Montgomery Place Orchards. It's sold at the farm stand in Mason jars. It's clean, dry, and very refreshing. Really has a huge apple nose, and nice.

Next I would have to recommend the Hudson-Chatham Pomme Bulle. This is a nice sparkling cider, with nice apple on the nose and not too sweet. Very good.

Also in the region are two tohers defintely worth mentioning. Firstly is SLyboro House a small artisanal producer deviooted solely to apple ciders and dessert wines. Tremendous small production stuff. Really wonderful.

And lastbuit certainly not least are the cioders from Furnace Brook Winery. Yes, they are Massachusetts, but they are just over the line, and they belong to the Hudson-Berkshire Beverage Trail. They make a French farmhouse style cider (Zvery elegant) and then a more popularly styled slightly sweet styled classic hard cider. Both are excellent!!

Have fun tooling around the valley and tasting these tremendous ciders.