Apr 3, 2024
British Cider Week is brought to you by a collaboration of cider-makers, retailers and venues from across the United Kingdom.
Join us to celebrate the depth and diversity of British cider. The week will feature events from a wide range of producers, from new young startups to traditional producers with generations of heritage. There will be activity across the country; from the cider heartlands of the West Country, to the apple gardens of Kent, from country orchards to urban cider works.
For more information and to view planned events visit the British Cider Week website or contact info@britishciderweek.org.uk.
If you are UK cider-maker or cider retailer, you may submit your event here.
Oct 19, 2022
21 October 2022 – Cider makers across the UK are celebrating Apple Day by sharing the importance of orcharding and cider making. A crucial part of the country’s economy, cider making not only supports employment, farming, and sustainability, but boosts tourism particularly in the West, Southwest and West Midlands.
Apples, that are only suitable for making cider, grow in abundance throughout the orchards in the country and it is the skill of the cider maker to turn those apples into a delicious drink. British cider producers are part of an industry that is steeped in heritage with traditional, artisan expertise passed down through the generations.
Fenella Tyler, Chief Executive at National Association of Cider Makers (NACM) said: “Apple Day gives cider makers the opportunity to promote their trade and highlight the importance of cider making to their local community. The industry provides much needed support to the broader rural economy providing over 11,500 rural jobs across the UK and attracting tourists from around the country and the rest of the world.
The culture of cider making is interwoven within the fabric of local communities and is essential to sustaining rural areas. The industry supports local amenities and charities, funding wildlife ventures and community orchards. It is essential that the British heritage of cider making is supported.”
Throughout the UK there are three hundred farmers growing over sixteen thousand acres of orchards that are often handed down through generations. This farmland crucially preserves the UK’s biodiversity by attracting wildlife, and more specifically bees, that are needed for pollination. Once produced, cider flies the flag for British food and drink with over £100million of exports of cider per year.
About Apple Day
Apple Day, 21 October, was launched in 1990 by Common Ground. The aspiration was to create a calendar custom, an autumn holiday. From the start, Apple Day was intended to be both a celebration and a demonstration of the variety we are in danger of losing, not simply in apples, but in the richness and diversity of landscape, ecology and culture too. It has also played a part in raising awareness in the provenance and traceability of food.
Dec 8, 2021
Devon’s Sandford Orchards, producer of authentic cider created by combining tradition and innovation, is thrilled to have won gold at the International Cider Awards for their Sandford Reserve, which is part of their recently launched vintage collection. This is the second highly prestigious international award bestowed on Sandford Reserve since it was released earlier this year, making it officially one of the best ciders in the world.
Barny Butterfield, Chief Cidermaker at Sandford Orchards comments: “We are absolutely delighted to receive a gold from the International Cider Awards. Sandford Reserve won the only gold in the medium tannic cider class and this follows hot on the heels of its win at the World Cider Awards. This is truly a great achievement which confirms, what we already suspected, that Sandford Reserve is one of the best ciders around. We are so proud that this cider, made in Devon from apples from our orchards, has taken on and beaten the leading ciders from across the globe.”
The International Cider Awards, launched in 1888, is the ‘Oscars’ of international cider competitions and is one of the oldest competitions that is judged by cider makers. An International Cider Award is recognition, by fellow professional cider makers, that a cider is an outstanding example of its style.
Barny explains: ”This is a peer reviewed award, judged entirely by professional cider makers who have tested some fantastic ciders from across the globe. Amongst this showcase of impeccable products, in the category that represents around 90% of the British Cider Market, Sandford Orchards has marched off with the gold medal. This is the most amazing accolade. We are completely overwhelmed to have received this award. ”
Sandford Reserve (ABV 7.4%), a finest cask-aged cider, is the ‘exhibition’ cider of the recently launched vintage range. Using the pick of the 2019 crop and matured in larger wine casks, Sandford Reserve drinks like a smooth, oaky, chardonnay with flavours of honey, Madeira and dried fruits. It’s the perfect partner for curry or spicy Asian food.
Founded in 2002, independent, family-owned Sandford Orchards is based in Crediton, Mid Devon in the oldest working cider mill in the UK. The area has long been known as one of the most fertile parishes in all of Britain, both for its grasslands and its orchards. Crediton’s ‘Redlands’ boast a unique microclimate, sheltered between Devon’s huge moors. Long hours of warm sunshine and mineral rich soils produce the most flavoursome apples for cider imaginable.
Combining tradition and innovation, Sandford Orchards produces an award-winning range of core session ciders including Devon Red, Devon Dry and Devon Mist and fruit ciders; blackberry flavoured Fanny’s Bramble, Berry Lane using perfectly ripe raspberries, Old Blossom made from delicate Elderflower and an invigorating and zingy Cider Ginger. Their recently launched vintage cider collection includes Sandford Reserve, a finest cask-aged cider, Apple & Oak, a fresh oak-finished cider and a mighty vat-aged cider named ‘The General’.
To celebrate this latest award, Sandford Orchards is offering 10% off purchases of Sandford Reserve at www.sandfordorchards.co.uk.
For further information on Sandford Orchards please visit www.sandfordorchards.co.uk, follow Sandford Orchards on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Feb 3, 2021
Sandford Orchards, one of the fastest growing challenger brands in the cider industry, has bucked the business trend during the pandemic by investing £1.2 million into expanding its bottling and canning capabilities and developing and implementing a new branding strategy. Sandford Orchards, whose ethos is to produce the best tasting cider ‘done right’ is now well placed to meet an increased demand for real cider driven by a strong consumer interest in authenticity and quality.
Barny Butterfield, Chief Cidermaker comments: “Whilst other businesses have retrenched during the last twelve months we have taken the opportunity to press forward with our expansion plans buoyed by an ever-growing number of consumers who are looking for an antidote to the standard commercial cider brands.”
Barny explains: “ At the end of 2019, we made the strategic decision to invest heavily in a full rebrand and we appointed award-winning branding agency Kingdom & Sparrow and market research agency Branding Express, who conducted focus groups across the UK. Blind tastings showed that consumers unanimously agreed that our cider tasted delicious, more natural and flavourful than mainstream alternatives. Our research also confirmed that there was a great opportunity for us as our ciders are far higher quality than the cheap mass produced ciders available but more accessible than the pricey craft options. This gave us the confidence to continue to invest in 2020 with the implementation of the rebrand and an expansion of our packaging capability to include setting up our own canning line for the first time.”
Barny elaborates: “At the beginning of the first lockdown our usual canning business became too busy to provide us with the capacity that we needed. We knew that canned cider offered us a huge potential market, as it is not well served by quality craft ciders, so we took the plunge and invested in our own in-house canning line which delivers 3,500 cans of cider per hour. In the same period we also purchased brand new state of the art bottling machinery to allow us to meet the growing demand for our products and match our ambitious projections. This has tripled our bottling rate to an impressive 6000 bottles an hour. Alongside this, we have also increased automation in our kegging line thus ensuring that we control the whole process from orchard to glass and have the ability to meet future demands.”
Barny continues: “We believe that we make the best tasting cider and we are proud to do it properly taking a fresh, natural, low impact approach and using the best apples in the world. With our new branding and expanded capacity we are starting 2021 in a strong position to meet the needs of our fast growing fan base as well as those consumers wanting to trade up to something more authentic and better tasting. We make simply great cider and we are optimistic that 2021 will be a simply great year for us.”
Founded in 2002, independent, family-owned Sandford Orchards is based in Mid Devon in the oldest working cider mill in the UK. They press and ferment whole juice from the finest locally grown bittersweet apples and age it to perfection to create beautifully balanced and naturally refreshing cider.
Sandford Orchards’ range of ciders includes session ciders and a selection of flavoured ciders which will soon be joined by some brand new vintage ciders due to be launched in March.
For further information on Sandford Orchards please visit www.sandfordorchards.co.uk
email cider@sandfordorchards.co.uk or call 01363 777 822.
Follow Sandford Orchards on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Dec 16, 2020
To comply with legislation there are a number of things you must do before you start selling your cider in the UK*. NACM has put together a brief guide which leads you to the information and forms you may need to become registered. The guide can be downloaded from the Cider Makers page of this website.
Please contact us if you would like further information.
* from 1 January 2021 there will be additional rules to sell in Northern Ireland
