To celebrate our Wassail, each year we release a cider to accompany the merry making in our orchard! This year’s cider is made from a single variety, Stoke Red which has a beautiful bright acidity with lots of residual natural sugar to balance it. Coming in at 4.2%, it works wonderfully as an apéritif and its freshness is sure to make you think of the coming Spring.

Food pairing suggestions: This cider works perfectly on it’s own as an aperitif (we like to serve it in flutes) but also works well with some salty charcuterie or with large, buttery tasting Bella di Cerignola olives. Drink now unitl 2028.

The story behind the cider: Early in bleak January, when the fieldfares fly low over the last of the sodden seed heads and leafless trees cast cobweb silhouettes against cold, blue skies, we summon the spirit of the Green man to the orchard in the hope that with enough cajoling, he might bless the fruit trees with a bountiful crop come Autumn.

The word wassail comes from the Anglo Saxon ‘Waes Hael’ meaning ‘good health’, and the tradition of gathering in the orchards was first recorded as far back at the mid 1500s. Wassailing for us has become an essential part of what it means to be a cider maker; if the promise of a decent haul of fruit wasn’t enough, the opportunity to foster community at the same time as sprinkling a bit of magic on the darkest month of the year is impossible to resist.
Vital statistics

4.2% Vol.
Titratable acidity: 6.6g/l
Residual (natural) sugar: 37g/l
75cl
Medium, perlant, unfiltered, unpasteurised, wild fermented, pure juice, natural cider
Ingredients: Apples (Stoke Red) handpicked from unsprayed traditional standard orchards
Orchard/s: Woodlands Farm
Pressed November 2024
No added sulphites
Batch no: M2412
Batch size: 232x 75cl bottles