Apple County Cider recently appeared on BBC Saturday Kitchen…

…and received great reviews with their Dabinett Cider

Great cider is a timeless joy. Apple County make real cider and perry from 100% freshly pressed juice. Each cider is make from a single variety of bitter-sweet apples all grown in local orchards.

Cider is made with all the skills and reverence of a traditional winemaker, allowing the distinctive flavours of each variety to develop through a slow, cool fermentation.

Their ciders and perries have won acclaim from chefs, critics, writers, and foodies alike. Valentine Warner, Oz Clarke and Pete Brown have all expressed their appreciation for Apple County Cider.

How do they make their cider?

“Cider apples come in a wonderful array with hundreds of shapes, colours and sizes. Each variety brings its own distinct character to cider. If you respect the natural alchemy of cider-making, allowing enough time for the flavour notes to slowly reveal themselves, we believe that each cider apple has a unique song to sing.

Making cider from fresh juice, there is one production each year, which starts when the fruit is harvested in the autumn. We are 100% committed to this juice and have just one opportunity to make a vintage of delectable ciders and perries for the following year.

We add winemakers’ yeast to the fresh juice and it is stored in the barn where it slowly ferments. You can hear it bubbling away, slower and quieter when the temperature drops in deepest winter.

As the first blossom is finally appearing on the apple trees, the cider in the barn is racked off into a new vessel for a secondary fermentation. This last stage gives smoothness and balance to the cider, by which the full complexity of flavour can shine through.”

In 2015 & 2016 Apple County Cider won the prestigious Golden Fork for Wales at the Guild of Fine Food Great Taste Awards and scooped more stars again in 2017 & 2018.