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Last week, USA Today readers ranked Vermont Cider Lab in Essex No. 8 among the 10 best cideries in the country, and its Cassa Frass came in at No. 10 on a separate list of must-taste ciders. That's a big deal for a small, new-ish spot in our own backyard. The focus is dry cider made from freshly pressed apples, and the owners set out from the start to build a place where people could come together as a community. Thursday trivia nights are a good way to see that for yourself…and it’s hard not to love the dog theme throughout its branding.

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Also close to home, Citizen Cider marks one year at its Flynn Avenue location on October 11, and it's a good place to go when you want to see how far cider can stretch. The lineup has included flavors like espresso, habanero, turmeric and rhubarb, along with a menu of cocktails built with cider as the main ingredient. This Saturday, October 3, its Ciderfest runs from 2 to 8 p.m. with live music, tastings and tours, and admission is free.

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Champlain Orchards in Shoreham grows the apples it presses, and its Farmstead cider ranked No. 3 on that same USA Today must-taste list. An orchard that makes its own cider is about as close to the source as it gets. This weekend, the Cider Garden is open Saturday from noon to 7 p.m., with live music from 3 to 6, and Sunday from noon to 4. Pick-your-own is happening, too, with 40 apple varieties. The drive down through Addison County this time of year is reason enough for the trip.

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For wine drinkers who aren't sure where to start with cider, Shacksbury in Vergennes makes an easy bridge. Its Rosé cider is made by blending organic apples with wine grapes, and it will feel familiar to anyone who reaches for pink wine. The Classic Dry, also made with organic apples, is a crisp everyday option.

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A few towns north of Woodstock in Barnard, Fable Farm Fermentory makes cider the way that natural winemakers make wine…its ciders are made with wild yeasts and local fruit, and they're never filtered, pasteurized or dosed with sulfites. Some are blended with Vermont-grown grapes, and the farm also makes wine and mead. The tasting room is open Saturdays from noon to 6 p.m. If you like what you taste there, you can also look for bottles from Puckerbrush Cider Company, located in nearby Reading. It's a tiny farm operation making wild-fermented ciders from feral apples and crabapples, and there's no tasting room, but it turns up on wine shop shelves and restaurant lists.

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Eden Specialty Ciders in Newport is Vermont's ice cider story. The Northeast Kingdom cidery lets Vermont's winter cold concentrate the juice before fermentation, which produces a rich dessert-style cider with bright acidity to balance the sweetness. Eden has earned spots on wine lists at Michelin-starred restaurants like Gramercy Tavern in New York. If you read our recent piece on sweet wines, think of this as a Vermont answer to dessert wine. You don't have to drive to Newport to try it, either…Eden is poured at the Shelburne Vineyard tasting room on Route 7. If you do make a foliage trip north, tastings and tours at the cidery are by appointment.

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If you're heading up Route 100 for foliage this weekend, Stowe Cider is an easy stop. Its flagship cider is made dry, with no sugar and no preservatives, and the taproom also pours releases you can only get there, along with local beer, cocktails and non-alcoholic options. There's low-and-slow barbecue, seating inside or outdoors on the patio or in the cider garden, and live music every weekend (note that seating is first-come, first-served, and peak weekends fill up).

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And of course, on Route 100, Cold Hollow Cider Mill in Waterbury Center is one of the busiest stops in the state this time of year. The family-owned mill, set in a historic dairy barn, still presses cider the old-fashioned way, and visitors can watch it happen. That same fresh cider is also the base for the mill's hard cider, with a full lineup including their seasonal Cider Donut hard cider, made to taste like the mill's famous donuts. There's a café serving breakfast and lunch, a bakery, and a big store stocked with Vermont maple, cheese, pantry goods and gifts. It's open every day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. On peak foliage weekends, the donut line and the parking lot both fill up fast, so the earlier you get there, the better.

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Whichever direction you head this fall, there's a glass of cider waiting at the end of the drive, and probably a donut, too. Just don't wait too long, because the best leaves won't hold out much longer.