Maggie Beer

October 18, 2014

Established over a century ago, Maggie’s Barossa orchard is made up of a collection of 2000 trees including heirloom apples and pears, all bursting with the kind of flavour many of us might remember from our childhood; real flavour - and in combination with hand-tended Adelaide Hills fruit of the very same character - that’s exactly what you’ll find filling each of her Apple and Pear Cider bottles.

“The Heritage Orchard is very dear to me, holding equal measures of sentimental value and the chance to preserve an all but lost tradition of fruit growing, beyond grapes, in the Valley. If we hadn’t bought this place, somebody else would have and the trees would have been pulled out and planted to vines. We simply can’t lose the tradition of the landscape and all that heritage”, explains Maggie.

Hand picked fruit from the Barossa orchard is supported with Adelaide Hills pears and apples, combined to Maggie’s exacting standards of what good cider should be. Starting with fruit that is picked only at its most flavoursome and utilising the traditional ‘charmat’ fermenting method, this is cider that truly doesn’t fall far from the tree, showing every character of its provenance and hand tending.

“I have to tell you how thrilled I am with our new cider; it's quite unlike commercial ciders I've tasted but it's even more than I had hoped for. What I love is that you get the wonderful freshness of the fruit to start, with a truly velvety mouthfeel from my use of champagne yeasts, and then the finish with the rich flavour that lingers”, says Maggie.

Freshly pressed, with minimal filtration, this traditional cider is delicious straight from the bottle, just be sure to serve it super, super cold. On Maggie’s advice, go the extra mile and pour into pre-chilled champagne glasses - great for Summer!

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