Woodchuck Cider: Vermont's Pioneering Hard Cider in Middlebury

Before hard cider was cool, there was Woodchuck. In 1991, when almost nobody was making hard cider commercially in America, a recipe developed in a Proctorsville, Vermont garage became Woodchuck Amber, and a garage experiment became an industry. Today, Woodchuck Hard Cider is produced by the Vermont Hard Cider Company in Middlebury, Vermont, and its story is the story of American craft cider itself. See the full listing at Woodchuck Cider.

The founding is the stuff of Vermont legend. Woodchuck was started in 1991 at the Joseph Cerniglia Winery in Proctorsville by Joe Cerniglia and Barry Blake, along with winemaker Greg Failing, whose garage experiments produced the original Amber recipe. Failing remains at the core of the product's identity. From those small beginnings, the company grew fast: by 1996 it was producing 400,000 cases a year, which forced a move to a larger cidery, and in 2000 production settled into its current home in Middlebury. The garage-to-greatness arc is pure Vermont: no focus groups, no venture capital, just a good recipe and the stubbornness to see it through. Failing's original Amber set the template for American hard cider, balanced and apple-forward, and the style still holds up three decades later.

The milestones piled up from there. In 2007, Woodchuck became the first cider company in the nation to sell one million cases in a single year. In 2011, it was the top-selling hard cider in the United States, capturing roughly 47 percent of the country's hard cider market. Distribution that started in a single Vermont country store stretched across all 50 states. For a drink that barely existed as a commercial category when Woodchuck started, those numbers are staggering. Those numbers are even more impressive in context: Woodchuck essentially created the commercial hard cider category in America, then led it for two decades. Every craft cidery that followed owes the pioneers in Proctorsville a debt, whether they know it or not.

The Middlebury cidery is where the magic happens now. The state-of-the-art facility at 1321 Exchange Street houses production, and the taproom and tasting room welcome visitors to experience the cider at the source. Guests can take a self-guided tour through the viewing gallery, read the story of the brand on the walls, and then settle in for a flight in the tasting room. The taproom pours around twenty ciders, from flagship styles to small-batch and limited releases that never leave Vermont.

The cider itself deserves the attention. Woodchuck's lineup runs from the classic Amber that started it all through seasonal favorites like Fall Harvest and Winter Chill, plus limited releases in flavors like pear, cherry, and pumpkin. The ciders are naturally gluten-free, which has made them a go-to for drinkers who cannot do beer, and they pair beautifully with food, from sharp Vermont cheddar to a full cheese plate in the tasting room. Flights are the move: line up a row of tasters and find your favorite. The limited releases are where the cidermakers play: experimental flavors, barrel-aged batches, and taproom-only pours that reward the trip to Middlebury. Ask the bartender what is new; the answer is usually worth ordering.

The taproom experience is built for lingering. The space is welcoming and unpretentious, the bar staff is friendly, and the events calendar keeps things lively, from line-dancing nights to comedy shows. It is a family-friendly destination where cider nerds and total newcomers both feel at home. Pair your flight with a cheese plate, browse the shop for bottles and merchandise, and you have a proper Vermont afternoon. The viewing gallery lets you watch production in action, which adds a factory-tour thrill to the tasting-room leisure. Kids are welcome, and the whole operation has the relaxed, unpretentious feel of a company that never forgot its garage roots.

Woodchuck's roots in the local orchard economy run deep. The cidermakers work closely with Vermont orchards, and at its peak the company was buying a significant share of the state's processed fruit. That relationship between cidery and orchard is the backbone of Vermont's cider boom, and Woodchuck helped build the market that today's smaller cideries thrive in. The big cidery never lost sight of where the apples come from.

Today the Woodchuck name carries far beyond Vermont, but the Middlebury cidery keeps the experience rooted: this is where the cider is made, and tasting it at the source is different from grabbing a six-pack at home. The shop stocks bottles, merchandise, and releases you will not find on store shelves, so the taproom visit doubles as a supply run. Come thirsty, leave stocked.

Practical details for the visit: the cidery is at 1321 Exchange Street in Middlebury, and the phone is 802-385-3656. The taproom is open Wednesday through Sunday, with hours shifting by season, so check woodchuck.com before you go. Fall is the prime season, when the apple harvest is in and the seasonal releases are at their best, but the taproom pours year-round. It pairs perfectly with a Middlebury day: the college town's shops and restaurants, the Marble Works, and the Snow Bowl in winter.

Woodchuck's story is a Vermont story: a garage, a good recipe, and the stubborn belief that something made well will find its people. Three decades later, the garage is a state-of-the-art cidery, the recipe is a national brand, and the people found it. Whether you are a longtime fan of the Amber or a curious first-timer, the Middlebury cidery is where the legend lives. Go taste where it all started. Raise a glass to the garage that started it all. The cider tastes better when you know the story, and the story tastes like Vermont.