A SOMERSET cider maker is enjoying the sweet taste of success after picking up a top award at the recent Royal Bath and West Show.
A sweet cider made by Alan Berry and his son Mark, of Blackmore Vale Cider, near Templecombe, was voted The People’s Choice in the Orchards and Cider Exhibition at the show, which ran last week.
More than 1,000 showgoers voted in the competition, which gives participants the chance to taste and pick a winner from six ciders.
Blackmore Vale Sweet was the clear winner, with Silly Cow Medium, by Paul Courtney of Courtneys of Whimple in Devon, the runner-up.
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“We’re just really, really pleased to have been given what amounts to a vote of confidence by the people who matter most – our customers, both present and future,” said Alan.
“The winning cider was at the drier end of the sweet category, made from 80 per cent Dabinett apples and 20 per cent Bramleys, from our own and other Somerset orchards.
“The public do tend to favour sweeter ciders – hence the Dabinett’s – but they also seem to enjoy a bit of bite, which is what the Bramleys provide.
“It should really be my son Mark who gets the credit, as he looks after the cider business, while I concentrate on the apple juice.
“We’re only a small business, producing 4,000 to 5,000 litres of cider a year, but we’re very proud of the quality of our products and to win this accolade means a lot.
“It was particularly gratifying that when our local MP, Sarah Dyke, was given the chance to tale part in the People’s Choice, she chose our cider and told me how much she had enjoyed it.”
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