Olivers World Class Cider & Perry, Taste Of Herefordshire

Olivers

Here at Oliver’s Cider and Perry we make cider and perry for everyday enjoyment and special occasions. Our goal is to make a distinguished selection of fine Herefordshire and Three Counties ciders and perries and to relish doing it and do it profitably.

Cider was made on the farm until my grandfather decided with the arrival of mechanization that it was unsafe and the consequent move away from horse and man power left less need for refreshment while on the job. The old stone mill decayed and the rest of the equipment was sold, given away or fell into disrepair so I started from scratch again.

The cider and perry is fermented by wild yeasts in small batches, using fresh pressed (mostly hand picked and unsprayed) fruit with minimal intervention. We strive to “take what the fruit gives”, respecting the great heritage and traditions of the past but with an eye to innovating for the future.

Oliver’s motto is to “take what the fruit gives” and from there we try to intervene as little as possible.

Oliver’s aim to give a unique personal service, valuing the health, safety and well-being of our customers, consumers, employees, the earth’s natural resources and the environment.

When ready for pressing the fruit is washed and then milled. Some perry pears are then macerated for up to 48 hours. The milled fruit is then pressed on either a rack and cloth press or a belt press. The resulting juice is pumped into tanks or wooden barrels for fermentation. Now it starts to get interesting and we run the gauntlet with no sulphur addition and just let the wild, native yeasts do their thing. To our mind the end results justify the potential pitfalls.

Through blossom time and beyond we keep checking the state of play of the resulting ciders and perries and start to draw up a plan for each barrel or tank. Is it destined for a single varietal, a blend, a vintage, a naturally conditioned? So many possible outcomes and each barrel suggests to us, in it’s own way, what it’s future destiny is.

Then when the time has come, we blend the various ciders and perries, choosing the best from the barrels and tanks we have, to get the right harmonious balance of sweetness, acidity and the astringency/bitterness of the tannins. Then we bottle or package in Bag in Box or kegs for draught, finally labelling, to be ready for you to come, taste and buy.