"Chaptalization" means a method of increasing the alcohol in a wine by adding sugar to the must before or during fermentation.
"Cider" means any beverage, carbonated or otherwise, obtained by the fermentation of the natural sugar content of apples or pears (i) containing not more than 10 percent of alcohol by volume without chaptalization or (ii) containing not more than seven percent of alcohol by volume regardless of chaptalization. Cider shall be treated as wine for all purposes of this subtitle, except as otherwise provided in this subtitle or Board regulations.
Va. Code § 4.1-213