If I say, Crimson King, Lorna Doone, King’s Favourite – you might think I’m talking about racehorses, pantomime characters, or at a push 19th Century novels – no, all wrong they’re apples – beautiful British apples!!!!
Having cooked and drunk plenty of Sheppy’s cider when I worked in Taunton, it was nice to come and see the process from start to finish. We arrived just at the right time of the year, just in time to harvest and press the apples. The varieties that David Sheppy grows are very old. Some of his trees are over 100 years old the most famous is Tremlett’s Bitter and Kingston Black.
The ancient press used to squeeze out the juice is a fine piece of machinery. Layered with racks of milled apples the whole squeezing process is fascinating and well worth a visit.
The sheer scale of the fermenting vats is amazing. Large ladders are needed to reach the top, and once fermenting, the bubbling is like something out of a Horror movie. Once fermented this takes a few weeks the cider is ready for maturing then bottling.
The wonderful smell around the whole farm is quite overpowering but very interesting; I took some bottles of Dabinett apple cider to Norway for a chef’s demonstration. It was a real hit they loved the stuff; I suggest you try it for yourselves.
R J Sheppy & Son Three Bridges, Bradford on Tone, Taunton, Somerset TA4 1ER
t: +44 (0) 1823 461233 w: www.sheppyscider.com