 woodchuck hard cider is a brand of hard cider produced by the vermont hard cider company, llc in middlebury, vermont. it is the top-selling hard cider in the united states, with approximately 47% of the hard cider market there. on october 23, 2012, woodchuck hard cider was purchased by irish beverage company c&c group for $305 million.  woodchuck was originally started at the joseph cerniglia winery, cavendish, vt, in 1991 by joe cerniglia and barry blake, along with wine maker greg failing. ==varieties== thumb|right|autumn themed variant. all woodchuck ciders are naturally gluten-free because the product is made from apples only, without any grains. the company sells several types of cider under the woodchuck name, including core flavors, limited releases which are sold at particular times of year, private reserves which are produced in limited batches, and "farmhouse select" which is produced in small batches and sold in 750ml bottles."cider styles." woodchuck. retrieved 27 june 2009. ===core styles=== *amber â traditional new england cider *802 (dark & dry) â has caramelized sugar added, but still drier than amber. it is named for area code 802, which covers vermont, where woodchuck is based. *granny smith â made from only granny smith apples *pear â pear cider with natural pear flavoring added *raspberry â apple cider with a raspberry flavoring added *crisp â a dry cider ===limited releases=== woodchuck has seasonal cider varieties which are released according to time of year: *spring â flavored with maple syrup and brown sugar *summer â more tart than amber cider, with blueberry juice added{{cite press_relea
American_alcoholic_beverages American_ciders Brands_of_cider Middlebury,_Vermont