The County Cider Harvest
The wonderful staff at County Cider have been hard at work pressing this year’s apple harvest! Since 1995, each fall we harvest over 16 varieties of apples from our 25 acres of apple trees in Waupoos ON, producing roughly 1,600 tonnes of apples, which in turn produces about 350,000 litres of apple cider.
Apple picking typically begins in mid to late September and goes through to the end of October. However, this year we had a bumper crop. A bumper crop simply means our trees produced more apples than usual!
Because there are so many apples we will actually pick in November this year. The weather this growing season was perfect for the apples, with lots of hot sunny days and just enough rain to ensure the fruit is sweet and juicy.
The Harvest Process
Step 1
The picked apples are tossed from their large containers collected from the farm, rinsed, and sorted.
Step 2
Once sorted, the freshly picked apples are crushed to a pulp… literally.
Step 3
Then, the pulp is fed into an accordion-style press.
Step 4
Next, the juice is poured into fermentation tanks.
We press our apples on site at the farm in batches, keeping the sweeter juice separate from the juice that’s higher in acidity and tannins so we can blend to perfection later.
The final result? The most delicious and crisp apple cider you've ever tasted!
Shop Our Classic Ciders
Now that you know the ins and outs of how our cider is made, try one of our classic ciders that are made with our tried and true process.
- Tortured Path - Shop Here
Inspired by traditional Somerset ciders. Made with estate grown bittersharp and bittersweet apple varieties. Blended with our own Golden Russets to create a dry crisp taste and complexity for the true cider lover.
- County Apple - Shop Here
Our flagship product for over 20 years. Reflects the character of old-world cider apples - bittersharps and bittersweets. Made with a unique blend of our late season apples and culinary apples such as Northern Spy
- Waupoos Premium - Shop Here
Our top selling draft product for over 20 years. Exemplifies the crisp, fresh fruit qualities of our orchard-ripened apples with subtle undertones of bittersweet cider apples, giving an overall impression of freshness with the complexity of tannins and acidity