COTSWOLD Drink
Mates Cider and Perry Company
It may have started as a hobby at a friend’s house but only four years after formation a company from Wiltshire is now selling a variety of bottled and cask cider and perry to rugby clubs, pubs and music festivals all over the region. Dave Harrison and Roger Heston, owners of Mates
Cider and Perry Company, invited Brendan McFadden to meet them at their farm base near Minety, to find out more about their business. Pictures by Richard Pasco
IN the first year the cider was produced in Roger’s back garden. “There were four of us at the start. We
didn’t sell it -just drunk a lot. It was a bit of fun,” explains Roger, 67. But after coming fourth in the Hereford
International Cider festival & Perry Competition at Hereford museum, the
68 COTSWOLDESSENCE | March - 2014
group made the decision to set up a professional business. “We decided to enter the festival and
came fourth and that was just amazing. We then thought why not do it professionally if people like it,” said Roger, who is a food technologist. The company produce a variety of cask
ciders, such as Ravens Roost, Jackdaw and Golden Eye as well as Red Leg perry . Two of their most popular customers
are award winning pubs The Red Lion in Cricklade and The Rummer Hotel in Bristol - both picked up accolades in the Great British pub awards recently. To make the drinks, each summer
www.cotswoldessence.co.uk
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