OUTBACK MAGAZINE

APPLE CIDER RENAISSANCE From RM Williams Outback Magazine, Summer 2006.

A combination of medieval techniques and perfect terroir has resulted in an outstanding range of apple ciders, apple wines and even method Champanoise Sparkling ciders. Story by John Kruger.

There's quite a pedigree to apple cider, The first champagnes were made from cider, it was once the drink of English aristocrats, and it was imbibed as a health food by American presidents. A small cidery on the outskirts of Burra, South Australia, is producing methods traditional - yet unique - ciders that are winning awards for their creators Tony and Susan Thorogood.

"We have always loved apples", Tony Says. "But we had to buy land and start making cider because we had a vision of what cider should taste like and we couldn't find a cider that remotely approached that."  Tony and Susan left full-time careers behind in Adelaide in 1989 for a tree change on the scenic hillsides of Burra. They originally planned to plant their 43 hectares with every variety of fruit tree they could get their hands on, but heavy frosts determined what would survive and what would perish.

The apple varieties Cox's Orange Pippin, an eating apple; Bramley Seedling, a cooking apple; and Kingston Black, a true cider apple, thrived in the climate. Following nature's cue, the Thorogoods planted 70 varieties of old cider apples, including Somerset Redstreak, Yarlington Mill and Fox Whelp. Tony's background in studying medieval agriculture at Adelaide University provided a launch pad for investigating cider-making techniques dating back to the 17th century. Through successive vintages since their early dabblings in 1993, Tony and Susan discovered that the more traditional the technique, the better tasting the cider.

One method they have adopted is straw bale cider, where the pulped apples are pressed through a bale of organic straw to filter the juice from the apple. Traditional all-apple cider took a downturn slide during the 19th century, when cider began being produced in factories for the mass market with concentrates and sugar used as well as apples. The Thorogoods have rejected this development and use nothing but apples in their cider, pressing the pulp in a vintage Italian basket press and maturing the cider for at least a year in French oak barrels.

At their cellar door, Cider Cellar, Tony asks, "Guess what's in the one you're tasting now? Apples!" He's making the point that only fruit will suffice if you want the fruit flavour to be prominent" no additives, chemicals or sugars can be used. The Thorogoods also champion the healthy aspects of cider. Both diligent about what they eat "avoiding preservatives and processed foods and running the orchard 95 percent chemical free" they imbibe their own cider regularly. "We like to drink our own products because we know what's in them," Tony says. As well as their range of a dozen ciders, the Thorogoods have developed five mixed fruit liqueurs, one made with apples and organic apricots, one with apples and mandarins and popular drop is Cherry Panic. Their flagship liqueur, Sweet Panic, a viscous aromatic apple liqueur, has won several awards, the most recent being Best Commercial Wine at the 2005 Perth Show. The Thorogoods' Method Champanoise sparkling cider, Misty Morning, is also popular, due to its dry finish and full-bodied apple flavour. The Thorogoods undertake the complex process to produce a traditional bottle-conditioned sparkling wine right behind their scenic cellar door. "It basically involves storing Misty Morning in the bottle for a year to mature further," Tony explains. "Then they're stored upside down in racks and turned by hand every day for 21 days to encourage the spent yeast to collect in the neck. The neck of the bottle is then frozen to minus 25 degrees Celsius and an ice cube of yeast is extracted and replaced with a dose of Misty Morning."

The Thorogoods also produce Billy B's Golden Apple Beer, two malted traditional ales, which are thick, fruity beers created by adding either light or dark malt to the apples. With their slightly tart, crisp flavour, they make a perfect nightcap for brisk winter evenings in Burra. Tony happily admits that the first ciders they made 12 years ago were "not so good", but he says they then threw away the rulebook “and eureka we made Gold Dust, a cider that's been popular ever since."

Cheers J.K.