Cider is increasing in global popularity, and U.S. drinkers are contributing to the surge, whether they’re looking for something with a lower ABV, a traditional European style, innovative styles, or something delicious to quaff in addition to their customary adult beverages. Cider checks every box.
Although cider is often grouped with beer in liquor store aisles, it isn’t brewed like beer at all. Cider is made from fermented fruit and is produced more like wine than beer. In fact, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau classifies alcoholic cider—commonly referred to simply as cider—as a type of wine.
Many New Jersey wineries also produce cider, offering styles that range from bone-dry to sweet. Some are made solely from apples, while others incorporate additional fruits, fruit flavors, or even hops.
Curious about cider from New Jersey wineries? Head to one of these five wineries to discover the variety and quality of cider coming from the Garden State. (One of them recently had its cider take Best of Class at the prestigious 2026 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition!)
Hawk Haven Vineyard & Winery
Bastard Hawk, a blend of Winesap, Golden Delicious, and Fuji apples, is the flagship cider of Cape May County’s Hawk Haven Vineyard & Winery in Rio Grande. It’s currently the winery’s only cider, produced once a year in November and December, after the wine fermentations have concluded. The cider is released in 12-ounce cans the following spring.
The choice to produce cider was made out of interest and practicality.
“Our team had an inherent interest in cider,” says winemaker Conor McCaney. “We also had specialized sparkling wine tanks and bottling equipment on hand that could be cross-utilized for cider making. It made sense to create a potential alternative revenue stream while cross-utilizing production equipment we already had.”
With the cider selling out by September or October each year, the decision to make it has paid off.
“It is a nice alternative offering for guests who come with a group of people and may not be wine drinkers, but cider appeals to them,” says McCaney. “Customers who are not traditional wine drinkers are somewhat pleasantly surprised. Traditional beer drinkers appear enthusiastic that there is a beverage option for them beyond wine.”
The medium-dry cider made from New Jersey apples is light, crisp, and fruity. It’s for sale in the winery’s tasting room and in select restaurants local to Cape May.
Hawk Haven Vineyard & Winery
600 S Railroad Ave
Rio Grande, NJ 08242
Rebel Sheep Wine Co.
Located in Chester in Morris County, Rebel Sheep Wine Co. is one of the state’s newest wineries, opening in June of 2024. The winery crafts minimal intervention wines and ciders.
“We produce a range of ciders, from a basic semi-dry cider to a blood orange cider, hopped cider, strawberry cider, bourbon barrel-aged cider, lavender cider, and ginger cider,” says winemaker Dana Ronyack-Davis of Rebel Sheep. The ciders come in glass bottles, and the apples to make the cider inside those bottles come from Stony Hill, a farm that grows over 500 acres of specialty crops.
“The crops we grow have a short shelf life, and we decided to reduce waste by saving excess or damaged fruit and fermenting it. Crops we ferment include strawberries, raspberries, peaches, plums, apples, cherries, rhubarb, and blueberries,” she says. Some of those fermented fruits end up in fruit wine, others end up in cider.
Rebel Sheep uses cold storage to preserve apples for up to a year, allowing them to press fruit and produce cider year-round. The ciders are available year-round, too, in the winter at the tasting room in Chester or online. Once farmers’ market season rolls around, Rebel Sheep’s ciders can be found at markets in Hoboken, South Orange, and Maplewood.
To get the best sampling of what Rebel Sheep offers, try the Sanguine Cider, made from the best apples on the farm. It’s a little bitter, slightly off-dry, and incredibly food-friendly. Then, try one of the less-traditional offerings, like Hopposites Attract—a cider made with apples and strawberries that spends time with Washington State–grown hops, resulting in a slightly funky, fruity, and exceptionally well-crafted cider that showcases innovation.
Rebel Sheep Wine Co
15 North Rd
Chester, NJ 07930
Sharrott Winery
Sharrott Winery’s cider—simply called Cider—is only available for purchase at the winery in Hammonton, Gloucester County. It’s packaged like a sparkling wine, complete with a traditional cork and cage closure.
The cider is fermented to dryness, then undergoes a second fermentation in the bottle to create its bubbles—mirroring the traditional Champagne method. The result is a cider that’s refreshing and sparkling wine-like. It would be as appropriate for a celebratory toast, an aperitivo hour, or to pair with a roast chicken dinner.
This cider was inspired by a European style.
“I found some really interesting French ciders that I really like,” says co-owner Larry Sharrott, Jr. “They’re rustic, funky, and complex. I think wine drinkers, and more adventurous cider drinkers, appreciate the complex, dry cider we produce.”
While Sharrott’s Cider doesn’t have a vintage on the label, it is made annually from fresh cider made from apples sourced from New York, and what’s found in the tasting room is from the previous year’s apple harvest.
Sharrot Winery
370 S Egg Harbor Rd
Hammonton, NJ 08037
Tomasello Winery
At the 2026 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition—the largest North American wine competition—Hammonton’s Tomasello Winery earned a double gold medal and Best of Show in its category for its Artisan Orchard Hard Cider. The award-winning cider is made from small lots of hand-selected, first-choice cider apples. It’s sweet and tangy, perfect for solo sipping or pairing with roast pork or funky cheese.
In addition to the Artisan Orchard, Tomasello produces Peach Ginger, Strawberry Mango, Blueberry, Pineapple, and Watermelon varieties of cider, each with a base of fermented apples and using local fruits when possible. For the blueberry variety, they use Jersey highbush blueberries, and co-owner Charlie Tomasello proudly says they’re “grown here in Hammonton, the Blueberry Capital of the World!”
“We started the cider line because of consumer demand,” he says, and consumers have been enjoying these ciders, each in 750ml bottles with Belgian swing tops (a great feature for stopping the cider if you don’t finish the bottle in one sitting), ever since.
“We source our apples from multiple locations, based on apple flavor profiles,” says Tomsello, each apple variety chosen according to which cider it will end up in.
The ciders are made each fall, but they’re available year-round at the winery in Hammonton, as well as Tomasello’s tasting rooms throughout the state and on Tomasello’s website. They may also be distributed to various retailers across the state.
Tomasello Winery
225 N White Horse Pike
Hammonton, NJ 08037
William Heritage Winery
It should be no surprise that William Heritage Winery in Gloucester County’s Mullica Hill makes great cider. The family farm, which is now better known for producing award-winning wine, was once an orchard with apples, peaches, and pears. Now, primarily planted with vines, some fruit trees still exist.
“Over time, we realized that the remaining apple orchards on our property were perfectly suited for producing a hard cider product. More than just a product, this cider became a way for us to tell the story of our deep agricultural roots in Mullica Hill,” says Heritage’s director of sales and marketing, Rich Heritage.
“Our family has farmed the same piece of land since 1851,” he says. “My grandfather (and a couple of generations before him) farmed tree-fruit on our existing property. This was the type of farming that defined a large portion of my family’s history. The cider project is a tribute to those generations who worked the land before us and helped sustain our agricultural legacy.”
The winery currently produces a single cider, William Heritage Craft Cider (5.4% ABV), which Heritage describes as “high-quality, small-batch cider made from apples grown on our own estate.” It’s packed in 12-ounce cans and comes in four-packs and six-packs.
“Our goal was to create something approachable and easy to drink, while still reflecting the quality of a small-batch product,” he says. And it is just that. It’s semi-dry and easy to drink. Clean apple flavor—exactly what you think a quality apple cider with a bit of sweetness on it should taste like.
It’s also a cider that beer drinkers at a winery can choose.
“Some of our most loyal customers bring friends who tend to gravitate more toward beer than wine, and those beer-leaning guests are always excited to discover that we offer a cider,” says Heritage. In many cases, it becomes their entry point into the wine world.”
Released as summer turns to fall, each new batch is made from estate apples harvested the previous year. It’s available at Heritage’s Mullica Hill and Haddonfield tasting rooms and, if not sold out, at select Gloucester and Camden County retailers.
William Heritage Winery
480 Mullica Hill Rd
Mullica Hill, NJ 08062
The next time you visit one of these wineries, don’t skip the cider. A close cousin to wine, these thoughtfully made offerings deserve a spot in your glass. And if you enjoy them, spread the word—New Jersey wine lovers, and beer drinkers looking for something different at wineries, should know about these well-crafted beverages that check many of the boxes today’s drinkers are looking for.
