Cider Making

How Cider is produced

The Traditional Method

The traditional way is using a rack and cloth press, apple is pulped and wrapped in strong cloths sandwiched between slatted wooden racks to produce a stack, known as a ‘cheese’ which is then pressed.

In the autumn the apples are harvested by hand to ensure only the best fruit is used. All the fruit comes from local Somerset orchards, including my own trees, the Cider is then matured in Oak barrels the influence of the Oak on Cider creates a stronger deeper flavour.

The Modern Alternative

Belt presses are the modern alternative to the rack & cloth press. A thin layer of fruit pulp is fed continuously onto a porous belt and pressed against a series of stainless steel rollers to extract the juice.

Owing to the short pressing time and minimal air contact the quality of the juice is very high and the solid content very low: juice freshness and flavour is maximised.