I was in the area on a beautiful day and decided to pop into a new-to-me local spot for a drink…read more That's how I ended up at New England Cider Company. It's tucked inside an old industrial park. If you're not looking closely, you'll drive right past it. Outside, there's a casual setup with a tent, whiskey barrel tables, and some umbrellas, which sounds nice in theory, but the grass really needed a cut. It kind of took away from the whole outdoor vibe. I was planning to sit out there, so that was a bit of a letdown. Inside was a pleasant surprise. It's much bigger than it looks from the outside. The bar is right at the entrance, which made it feel like a high-traffic zone, so not ideal for lingering. There was a private party in the main room, so I headed back outside to enjoy the sun. Now to the cider: I asked for 2 samples and ended up with the cider that I didn't actually choose, but hey, I'm not one to make a fuss so I went with it. The cider I wanted was actually pretty tasty, so I might return just to give the menu another try. You know how some ciders are sweet and yummy? The one I got was the kind that tastes sour but has a higher ABV. Still good, but my goal was sweet and yummy. Service was fine but not overly warm. Nothing bad, just not memorable. Would I go back? Sure, on a really nice day. If they had live music, I'd absolutely give it another shot. There's potential here, especially for cider fans, but it's not quite my go-to yet. They did have a very cool bathroom sink. Points for that!

Awesome cider at this establishment! Always serving new flavors of the season. Definitely worth to…read morecheck this place out if you enjoy a good cup of hard cider.

This place is stunning! Bring your own snack or don't …read more They have food trucks and also offer snacks for purchase. Variety of delicious ciders.. my favorite is the Honey one. Plenty of outdoor seating with fire pits available ( reservations required ) they build the fire for you .

I reviewed the other Long View Cider page, but will add to this page as well…read more We took our friend from Florida here on an October Saturday afternoon. It was peak foliage season and the orchards still had a ton of apples. The parking lots were completely full and people were parking everywhere, even in the orchards; it was insane. The last time I came, it was earlier in the day and in the summer. There were no lines at the Orchard Truck. There were seats open everywhere from the Adirondack chairs, the picnic tables on the field, and under the huge tent. A food truck was there. There was a viewing platform; the place had priceless views of the hills. I can understand why it was packed the second time we went; the foliage here is amazing. The customer service was good and the ciders were even better. I had a flight of ciders and they all tasted great. There were plenty of porta potties too. Overall, a beautiful place! Just don't go when it's peak season because parking was atrocious.

I've been here once before for a painting class and it was amazing…read more Since then, there have been many updates to the menu, including wine mixers, and different ciders. We got a flight of ciders this time, and tried to 8 different flavors. This has to be one of my favorite places for cider as there are about 20 different flavors ranging from sweet, sour, and even spicy!! There is an outdoor seating area and a bunch of seating inside. There are a ton of games to choose from. What's even better as this place this dog friendly!

I came to Valor Wines for an event, and trust your GPS! I thought I was being directed to a random…read moreconstruction company, but Valor Wines has a door in the "elbow" of another building. There are signs and arrows. There is parking, but not a huge amount. The inside is indescribable in a few words. Elvis is on a balcony, theres a carousel horse, and the lights on what may be barrels are changing periodically. They also have their own merchandise. The seating includes plush velvet couches, a really long table, and outdoors with lights. There are two restrooms. The drinks themselves were fun. For non-drinkers, they are a Coke spot. I had a blueberry lemonade sangria, and could feel the antioxidants. It was something I actually enjoyed, and it's rare for me to say. The star was the adorable puppy. I hope she was tipped well.

One of the last steam powered Apple cider presses in the country. Cider pressing demonstrations on…read morethe weekends. Also on the weekends they have free Apple wine tastings with a ton of small batch local Apple wines to choose from. Big country store with great gifts like pancake mixes, jellies and jams, hot sauces, apple wines, etc. Hot cider (can get caramel added to the cup if you want) and hot apple cider donuts for sale. Not sure if they have it all the time but sometimes at the counter they have a tray of sample donuts ( basically the reject ones. But who cares. Still taste amazing). Tons of bees and wasps here so take notice if you have a a fear or allergy.

If you could capture the essence of fall, it would be at B.F Clyde's Cider Mill! Gorgeous greenery…read more+ a nice historical scene (it's one of the last steam powered cider presses in the country). Did a free wine tasting of the fruit wines (includes unique flavors like strawberry wine, mango wine, different hard ciders) and then got ourselves some apple cider and donuts. A funny and cute touch was that they had a phone stand positioned right in front of the sign, perfectly placed for people to take selfies with the sign! Great variety of food/spreads/drinks inside.

Hogans is great! We love the cider and doughnuts! Theres plenty of outdoor seating + a cozy space…read moreinside.

This place is so cute! A little crazy in space, but cute. There is limited parking before you have…read moreto park in a field. The tap room is also limited, but has picnic benches outside. The building itself has no water, so I'm not sure about restroom or if they exist. The first floor has all this cute locally made stuff, and donuts and pies. Yum. The second floor has a bar right at the top of the stairs (I suspect when they're busy a line may form there) and there are roughly three rooms with different types of tables and chairs to sit in. It IS worth getting a drink with a donut. Just grab napkins for sugar spills. My drink had the face of a Halloween pumpkin, and even though I'm not a drinker, was sweet without being toothaching and fun to drink.

Located on a dark road. Parking is across the street. We couldn't choose which cider to pick so we…read moredid all 12 for $36! Tip the bartenders via venmo. ALL the ciders were delicious from dry ti sweet.

I've tried their samples many times at the Coventry Farmer's market and after collecting a few…read moretasting flight coupons my friend and I finally made the trip to try it out! THE DRINKS -we each got a flight after choosing 6 ciders/wines from their extensive options -I really loved that they let us mix and match ciders and wine -the flavors are really unique! While there are some straight forward ones like tart Cherry (one of my favs), I was able to try ones like blueberry rhubarb ginger and vanilla peach THE FOOD -there's little snacks like chips available for purchase, also maybe soft pretzels and something else quick that they prepare (I can't quite remember) but we brought our own food with us which is always nice THE ATMOSPHERE -the tap room is beautiful , all wood and very rustic feeling -the indoor space is a bit small though it wasn't very busy when we went, I'm not sure what it gets like in the cooler months -the outdoor space was very nice too! Lots of picnic tables and some Adirondack chairs. There's also a little bench that is great for photo opps with beautiful trees in the background. I think there are also 2 cornhole sets hanging up that guests can use THE SERVICE -everyone I've ever interacted with has been so kind and patient -when we were there one of the workers was detained with something else so only one person was serving. He was HUSTLING and so polite while getting all the flights filled for multiple people (even running them outside to folks!) Overall, I definitely recommend Yankee Cider Co.! They have delicious ciders and wine at reasonable prices. They are great to grab some bottles for yourself or take somewhere as a gift. I will be bringing a bottle (or a few!) of their spiced wine home for the holidays.

Spoke + Spy Ciderworks is a craft cidery that opened in Middletown, Connecticut in March 2018. It…read morewas founded by husband and wife Ronald and Kimberly Sansone. Ronald lived in London, England for a time and worked as a graphic designer. While in London, he saw how popular hard ciders were and it sparked his interest in the beverage. After returning to the states, he began making his own cider at home and enrolled in programs at Cornell and Oregan State Universities. He won numerous accolades over the years from his homemade ciders. Eventually, the Sansones decided to open their own cidery that featured hard ciders made from locally sourced apples. The cidery officially opened to the public in 2016 inside Middletown's old Remington Rand building. The historic building complex opened in 1896 as the Keating Bicycle Factory. Throughout the decades, motorcycles, automobiles, typewriters and even military missile parts were manufactured there. The building closed its doors in the early 1970s and fell into disrepair. The city later took it over and by 2009 it had been refurbished with several new tenants renting space inside. Sansone named the cidery 'Spoke & Spy' as a reference to the building's history as a bicycle factory as well as the Northern Spy Apple (one of Sansone's favorite varieties). I first visited Spoke + Spy in August 2019. I was training for the upcoming Closer To Free ride, so I decided to cycle from my home in North Haven all the way to Middletown (21 miles). By the time I made it to the cidery, I was very thirsty. The taproom is decorated with all sorts of bicycle memorabilia. I decided to order a sampler flight that consisted of six ciders ranging in flavors from pear to grape. I liked them all, but my favorite was a tart, semi-dry strawberry-rhubarb cider called "Love Shouldn't Hurt". I ended up purchasing a growler of it to bring back home. If you plan on visiting the cidery in Middletown, I must recommend making it a craft beer afternoon because the Remington Rand building is also home to Stubborn Beauty Brewing and Forest City Brewing.

Cool place. I guess new thing in CT is touring breweries…read more We did 3 brewery tour while we were visiting CT. This place is located right next to Forest City Brewery. I never tasted cider as beer, but liked them a lot. We tried a flight with 8 different ciders. Some tasted like apple juice with bubbles, but pretty good. It was 20F below out side, in side of this old factory converted brewery was not much warmer, but extremely good ambience. Definitely we will visit here again whenever we are in CT.

Jones Winery is one of my new favorites in CT! I went for the first time the other day, and…read moreinitially went to the wrong place! Keep in mind that there is a "Jones Family Farm Pumpkinseed Hill" at 120 Beardsley Rd., and then the "Jones Valley Farm/Jones Winery" at 606 Walnut Tree Rd. My GPS accidentally took me to the Pumpkinseed Farm at first, but it wasn't a big deal because the winery is just a few minutes away. Once I was in the right place, a staff member greeted me and gave me the wine/food menu. They have a lot of different areas to sit, including a patio with tables/umbrellas (where they had live music playing), a pavilion with tables underneath, an upper patio that was covered by a pergola with leaves/vines on top, and an inside bar area with seating. The inside bar area has garage doors that were open, leading out to the upper patio. Even though it was a hot day, I sat under the pergola and it was surprisingly cool underneath! After sitting down, a staff member quickly came over and took my drink/food order. I tried a glass of the Sunshine White, which was delicious! It was on the sweeter side though. Keep in mind that they only sell wine by the glass on the menu, but they do have a store where you can buy bottles to go. I also ordered the Simply Cheese Plate, which came with sharp cheddar cheese, Jones Berry Chutney, and sea salt crackers. This was excellent! They also do have a "Light Fare" menu with things like a hummus plate, cheesecake, popcorn, etc. The service was fast and the staff were friendly. They had a "Bouquet Bar" set up where you could buy fresh cut flowers, as well as a small gift shop. Overall a very cool winery in Shelton, I would definitely recommend!

I love strawberry and blueberry picking at Jones during the summer! It is such a great…read morefamily-friendly outdoor activity. You can check their website for the field locations for picking, call their number for the daily crop report, and make your reservation online. We usually get the large berry box. It is quite large and takes my family of 4 adults a long time to pick, so take that into consideration when deciding what sized basket/box you get. In addition, since the large box can fit so much, be prepared to bake with your fruit or feed many hungry guests!

Park Lane is so cute! It's been in New Milford for what feels like forever, and is check or cash…read moreonly. But the pumpkins and apples outside and so cute! Inside had a fair amount of New England honey and maple like products, as well as coffee, donuts, and apple fritters. The fritters have a lot of apple inside. Parking doesn't seem to have designated spots so much as pick your own adventure, but there's a lot of room. The apple fritter was a great driving snack but in the bag to keep the apple from spilling all over.

Classic Fall go to for locals for decades. Sweet cider is the best around. Donuts, local honey,…read morejelly and jam. A Fall classic in Litchfield County for decades. Try it.