Albemarle CiderWorks

Date/Event	Description
Wednesdays-Sundays, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.: Albemarle CiderWorks Tasting Room is open to the public	The Albemarle CiderWorks Tasting Room is open for groups or individuals. Call if you would like a "virtual tour" of the Cidery. Sample our three premium hard cider varieties. Cost: $3.00 per person.
February 20, 2010 : Planning and Planting the Home Orchard from 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.	Rich Marini, Tom Burford, and the Vintage Virginia Apples staff will present a comprehensive workshop on planning, managing and cultivating the home orchard. A tour of Rural Ridge Orchards will be included. Workshop Cost: $85.00, Lunch included.
Pruning Workshop from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 noon. 1) February 13, 2010 and 2) February 27, 2010	Careful pruning ensures a more bountiful harvest. Find out how much to prune, where to make the pruning cuts, and when it should be done. This workshop is paired with the Grafting workshop, but you may choose to take it separately. Note that both workshops are available on two separate dates. Choose the one that best suits your schedule. Workshop Cost: $25.00, box lunch available for $10.00.
Grafting Workshop from 1:00-4:00 p.m. 1) February 13, 2010 and 2) February 27, 2010	Since apples do not reproduce true from seed, propagation depends on grafting the desired variety onto a reliable rootstock. Rootstock will be available for this workshop, and experts will guide you in the fine art of grafting. This workshop is paired with the Pruning workshop, but you may choose to take it separately. Note that both workshops are available on two separate dates. Choose the one that best suits your schedule. Workshop Cost: $25.00, box lunch available for $10.00
April 17, 2010: CiderMaker's Forum from 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.	Learn about the art and science of making fresh cider. Demonstration and discussion of preparing, blending, and pressing apples for cider. Participants will enjoy a lively roundtable discussion of cidermaking and taste samples from the mill. Cider production in Virginia will be featured. Workshop Cost: $85.00, Lunch included.
November 6, 2010: Apple Harvest Festival from 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.	Sponsored by Vintage Virginia Apples and the CoveGarden Ruritan Club, our festival features the diverse bounty of the apple crop and the heritage of apple-growing in Southern Albemarle County. This event includes displays of crafts and skills of yesteryear, apples for tasting and purchase, old-fashioned apple butter cooking over a slow fire, cider pressing, hay rides over the nearby ridge, and instruction on growing your own fruit. Again, this year, we will feature tours through the Cidery and events in our Tasting Room. Come join us for a beautiful fall day in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains. Open Event: Free Admission.
September 12, 2010: Monticello's 2010 Heritage Harvest Festival from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.	This event is held annually in September at Monticello's Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants at Tufton Farm. This year's event will feature a varied program of workshops, performances, presentations and tastings. Vintage Virginia Apples is one of the co-sponsors and participants.

Come join us for one or more of these special events at Rural Ridge Orchards. We are located on U.S. Route 29, south of Charlottesville, Virginia, about 8/10ths of a mile north of State Route 692. From Charlottesville, proceed exactly 8 miles south from I-64 and turn right onto Rural Ridge Lane. Click here for a map to our location.

For a place to stay, consider our Guest House, Rural Ridge Cottage, located near the Cidery and Tasting Room.

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