Merrydown
Contact: Amanda Grabham
Merrydown PLC
Manderson House
5230 Valiant Court
Delta Way, Brockworth
Gloucester
GL3 4FE
Tel: 01454 378 555
Fax: 01454 378 585
Email:
The Merrydown business started back in 1946 with three former primary school friends – Jack Ward, Ian Howie and John Kelland-Knight. The name of ‘Merrydown’ has actually the name of Jack’s house and it was his passion for making wine that was the catalyst for the business.
The first Merrydown Vintage Cider, then known as apple wine, was fermented from 450 gallons of apple juice and pressed in a 300 year old oak cider press borrowed from a neighbouring farmer. Working to a time-honoured Sussex recipe, the cider was made with using cooking and eating apple varieties and that practice continues today.
The fermentation and blending process used by Merrydown is based on the original wine making methods pioneered by Jack Ward and uses a champagne-style yeast. Wine fermentation takes longer than traditional cider methods and produces alcohol levels of 15% ABV.
To obtain the distinctive Merrydown flavour, the 15% ABV wine fermentation is blended with apple juice to reduce the ABV to 7.5% for Merrydown Vintage. The result is a fresh and fruity cider.
© NACM 2008