Cider Chat

Please Help Support Cider Chat donate today. Help keep the chat thriving! Chuck Shelton of Albemarle Ciderworks & Vintage Virginia Apples weighs in on blending and single apple variety ciders and the complexity of cidermaking.   This Virginia cidery is a family run business on a farm that was purchased by the Shelton Family. Today the business side of the cidery is managed by his sister Charlotte, while Chuck overseas the cider. Their brother  Bill is the Nursery Manager and Bill’s daughter Anne Shelton is the General Manager. This is a142 acre farm with a 12 acre orchard, where they grow over 250 varieties! The soil is red clay or what Chuck calls a “rocky. red clay”. The Sheltons tend to apple tree for the cidery and also sell trees. Their friendship with Virginian Tom Buford, has been fruitful for the family not only because he is consider now part of the family, but due to his extensive knowledge of Apples. Tom is the author of Apple of North American: Exceptional Varieties for Growers, Gardeners and