And what a tour it was!
On a rather wet and drizzly Saturday afternoon, 25 cider lovers arrived at the shop to embark on the last cidery tour of this year’s pressing season. Our intrepid group this time, included two American fans of Dunkertons Cider, who thought we were still situated in Herefordshire so were not expecting to see us in Cheltenham as they were driving by. On top of their surprise in finding we had opened a new shop in Cheltenham, they were also over the moon to find they had arrived just in time to join this last tour of the pressing season! What a wedding gift!
Huddled together in our cask area, everyone introduced themselves to each other over a cup of our newly launched organic mulled cider, made with our Black Fox blend and organic apple juice direct from Dowdeswell Court across the road, which helped to warm everyone up whilst we had a brief history of Dunkertons Cider before all moving outside in the gloomy weather, to commence the walking part of the tour.
First came the pressing area, where we met Sam, one of our production chaps, who explained to the group, how our apples are washed three times, which also includes a sort of jacuzzi, before entering the press, where in the first press, we obtain 90% of the apple’s juice.
Then it was time for moving into the actual cidery and an explanation of our bottling machinery and how we get the fizz into our cider, before moving onto the fermenting and blending hall.
In the blending hall, everyone got to try some of our unblended and unsweetened, natural cider that we call “Bone Dry”, before moving on to the fermenting hall, where, after a little explanation, everyone put their ear up to the vat, listening….for what?
Well, if you would like to find out, why not get yourself booked onto our next tour on 26th January! We now even have gift vouchers, so you can buy a tour as a Christmas present for a friend or loved one.
After the cidery tour, everyone got to sit down to enjoy some special cider and food pairing tasters, provided by our Retail Manager, Alan, who explained how to pair other foods with cider and what to look out for.
Amongst our happy cider lovers, was Teresa Jones who had recently won a competition in SoGlos and her prize was a free tour and a specially selected hamper, filled with cider, crackers, chutney and cheese!
If you would like to find out more about our cider, why not give our shop a visit where either Alan, Trevor or Ian will be happy to help you discover your favourite! Or, if you would like to join us on our next tour on 26th January, simply book online here.
