Virginia Tech senior Meg McGuire works at Foggy Ridge Cidery in Dugspur, Va. She helps process the apples, which involves washing, milling, and pressing to remove juice, which is then fermented on-site to make hard cider.
BLACKSBURG, Va., Nov. 20, 2014 – It’s been said that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. But one Virginia Tech student researcher is interested in a different phenomenon: howmany apples fall from the tree, and how does this affect cider quality?
Meg McGuire of Dublin, Virginia, a senior majoring in food science in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is interested in how the crop yield of apple trees affects the apple quality and ultimately, cider quality.
Over the past 10 years, entrepreneurial cider-making has enjoyed a boom in Virginia with more than 10 licensed commercial cideries in operation. This industry is expected to continue to boost Virginia’s economy for a long time to come.
Wine production is also popular in the region, but McGuire believes that cider making could equal or even bypass that industry, noting that in many areas of the state, climate and soil are much more conducive to apple growing than grape growing.
McGuire works with two College of Agriculture and Life Sciences faculty, Amanda Stewart, an assistant professor of food science and technology and Fralin Life Science Institute affiliate, and Greg Peck, an assistant professor of horticulture, to better understand the optimal orchard management practices for hard cider production.
