Asheville cidery ranks on list of ‘Best Cider’ in the U.S.

ASHEVILLE – The nation has spoken, catapulting an Asheville cidery to the top of a “best of” list.

On Oct. 27, 10Best editors released the rankings for the “Best Cider” in the U.S. for 2023.

10Best, a media component of USA TODAY, charged an expert panel to nominate their top picks for vegan and gluten-free food and restaurants, including gluten-free bakeries, vegan cheese and cider, which is naturally gluten-free.

Then, readers were prompted to vote for their favorites of the nine categories.

For the “10 must-taste picks” for cider, Urban Orchard Cider Co. ranked at No. 2 for its Vacation Station, described as “semi-sweet and tropical with guava, kiwi, and mango.”

Vacation Station is 5% alcohol by volume.

Urban Orchard, which uses apples sourced from Hendersonville, has two local taprooms — 210 Haywood Road in West Asheville and 24 Buxton Ave. in the South Slope brewing district.