the story of Cider

Doesn't happen overnight

In the Autumn, after all the grain has been harvested, and the last of the straw bales have been brought back from the fields, we begin to bring in the apples.

We harvest the apples only when they are ready. This might mean returning to an orchard several times, but in this way we make sure that the apples are properly ripened and their flavour is at its best for cider making. The trees are given a shake to encourage the wavering apples down and into our bags. Once the days picking is done, the sacks of apples are loaded into a waiting trailer and hauled back to the cider barn. Then the apples get another wait. Typically we will store the harvested apples for another week or so to ripen and soften a little more prior to pressing.

The evening work begins as it gets dark. When we can no longer see to pick up apples we turn on the lights in the cider barn and begin our first press. One person filling buckets with apples, another working the mill - and one or two building the cheese. As the first buckets of milled apples are poured onto the press, the juice begins to run. And it is sweet! One of the hardest jobs when making cider is leaving enough of this nectar to make cider with. The cheese is made up of woven sheets to hold in the apple pulp, divided by wooden slats, which act as the strength to help squeeze out all of the juice. Once we have had all the moisture we can get out of the apples their journey still isn't over. The dry "pommace" is a real favourite with the cattle, who by cider time are back inside - and really go crazy for the sweet apple leftovers we bring them. Some also goes to the gamekeeper who puts it down for his birds. In fact not just the pheasants but all the birds enjoy picking over the apple mock - usually going for the pips!

After the last apples of the season are pressed we usually have a glass or two of cider, wash everything down twice with plenty of water and look forward to more help next year!

Once the juice is in the vat the process of fermentation begins. The yeasts, which the apples have picked up on their skins throughout the summer, thrive in the sugary broth and the vats begin to bubble and fizz. After the cider has got going the next job for the cider maker is to 'rack' his cider. Once the yeast has done most of its work it settles to the bottom of the vat, leaving the clear - nearly finished cider above. The art of 'racking' is to siphon away the cider without disturbing the yeast at the bottom. Some yeast will remain in suspension though - and is one of the most essential factors in deciding how each years cider will taste. Once the cider has been racked into clean vats the waiting begins.

It is common folklore that your cider is only ready to drink when you hear the first cuckoo cry. You can imagine that across the county many implements are dropped to that welcome sound of spring. Followed by the hasty scuttle of eager feet towards the cider barn.

To make Vintage cider though, the journey is still not over. At the end of the summer, when all the cider has matured to its full flavour we choose five hogsheads of the best and draw it off into our old rum casks. This cider is then left, at least a year to mellow, infuse and mature into what we believe is an extra special little treat.

We hope you enjoy it!