VERMONT WINE & CIDER

Our surrounding farmland boasts row after row of happy apple trees, and wild apple trees can be discovered next to aging barns and farmhouse around New England. It’s no surprise that the cider making tradition is rooted back generations, and no less a surprise that the enterprising cider makers of Vermont have brought that tradition into the modern age.  From the vinous-inspired ciders of Fable Farm to the lightly hopped or ginger-infused ciders from Citizen Cider, the cider scene of Burlington is decidedly twenty-first century.

And that same terroir has made our corner of the US one of the most interesting places to make wine. You can taste that delicious, hidden secret of our valleys and mountainsides come to life in the glasses of Vermont winemakers, and with the self-guided Vermont Wine Passport you can traverse from Grand Isle to Shoreham to see it for yourself, too.

If you’re staying in town, you’re in luck as well-- that dedication to dynamic flavor is translated into local wine lists. Dip your toe into natural wine at the open-air deck of Dedalus Wine Shop, Market and Wine Bar, where bright rosès and chilled Chablis hold court with the fresh bubbles from local winemaking legend La Garagista.

Down on Pine Street, cider and wine blur lines with the newly minted Co-Cellars, a co-fermenting production space and tasting room at Shacksbury Cider. Sample everything from lively ciders to inky wines, and hang on the patio with bites from local chefs and food trucks. Be sure to keep an eye out for when they launch their joint-venture special releases—crushable, bubbly cans that pull together foraged apples, seasonal fruit, and local grapes that are not to be missed.