// Julian Dunkerton
Of your range of ciders which one do you prefer to drink? I like them all but Black Fox, is my favorite.
What makes a premium organic cider? The process begins with the quality of the fruit varieties, pressing them and then carefully choosing specific varieties to make a blend. At harvest time, we make sure the fruit is in the right condition, not too soft, to produce a nice quality juice.
We carefully monitor the juices throughout the fermentation process over the year. Continual tests for specific gravities which checks the sugar content which in turn gives an indication of the potential alcohol of the fermented cider makes a difference. Timing, testing and fermentation is absolutely critical to what we do.
For the ‘home brew’ enthusiasts what are the key factors to making an organic cider? Primarily - Don’t let air into your vessel or vat after fermentation. One single type of apple doesn’t usually have all the qualities that you want in your final cider so choose your fruit varieties carefully. Most cider is made from a blend of apples that contribute various flavours and aromas giving depth and balance. Get to know the characteristics of the fruit you use.
Susie and Ivor Dunkerton
One lad has been working with us in his spare time since he was 14, (apple juice non-alcoholic) he has now left school and joined full time. There are no real qualifications needed, apart from a belief in the product, willingness to learn and reliability! I love to see young peoples interest in cider making.
How do you see the business develop in the next 3-5 years? We have the best ciders in Britain, what we needed to do was to up our production to meet demand. We will continue to invest to meet that demand which is both in Britain and export.
What makes Dunkerton Cider so special? The reason that our cider is so special is down to how Ivor and Susie perfected hand blending by selecting the best fruit designed for cider and perry making. Each of the varieties we use has its own uniqueness in relation to the characteristics of the end product. They loved fine wine and using similar thinking in creating cider and perry makes us unique. We press apples and pears only in harvest season from October to December and the juice isn’t ready for a full year – the longer you leave the juice, the richer the depth of the flavour – the better the product.
We understand you already export internationally – where are you going and where would you like to go in the world? Do foreigners have an understanding of cider or is this still an emerging market? This is an emerging market; there is a definite growing knowledge and they are understanding the difference between ciders from culinary and dessert fruits and concentrates – a completely different taste on the palate and ours, which is the true method. We currently export to areas of: The US, Canada, Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Netherlands, Denmark, Estonia, Sweden, Hong Kong, Czech Republic, Finland, Taiwan, Switzerland, Norway, Canada. We have ongoing enquiries in France, Germany, Malta and within all the territories above there is scope to grow our presence. As I said before the US will be key to our growth and recently winning both gold and bronze awards for our Dry Organic cider and Organic Perry at the US Open Cider Championships will certainly help to promote an appreciation and develop brand awareness for our product.
Do you see yourself as the custodian of the Dunkerton brand and is it your wish that it will be able to stay in the family for future generations? Yes, definitely, this will always be a family business and as custodian, it is my job to take the incredible product my father and step- mother created and turn it into a globally recognised brand. With the new production plant, investment in infrastructure and knowledge of market trends we have started that journey!
Dunkertons Cider will open a new shop on site at Dowdeswell Park, Cheltenham in May 2018. All products are now available online at:
www.dunkertonscider.co.uk
/ 13
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84
