Apple harvest all but complete

We are delighted to report that, with over 800 bottles of apple juice on the shelves as well as 300 pints of cider bubbling away in their vats,  the Great Gutton Apple Harvest is now complete.  A big thank you to all the guests and friends who helped out with the picking, pressing and bottling.  No doubt several will be back to 'test' the cider. 

Great Gutton cider is a new venture for us.  Having read various books and talked to those with experience a blend of apples from trees which were dropping their fruit was pressed with the resultant juice poured into  fermentation vessels.  While the natural yeasts on the apples themselves should be sufficient to get the fermentation going we took no chances and added additional white wine yeast to kick start the fermentation.  Within three days the bubbles started rising and bubbling through the air locks. The cider will be ready in the new year although most will be held over until next summer when our niece and her finance have asked for Gutton Cider to a feature of their Great Gutton wedding!

Harvest approaches

As August draws to a close it time to think about harvesting the various fruits at Great Gutton. The big job will be the collection of the apples from the three on farm orchards. The apples are pulped and pressed on the farm to produce the very popular Great Gutton Apple Juice which forms part of the welcome pack for our guests. The 150 or so apple trees have all be planted in the last 10 years as part of the farms Countryside Stewardship Scheme (more of which another time). Traditional Devon cider varieties have been mixed with desert apples in an attempt, over time, to reproduce the three old orchards that would have surrounded the house at the turn of the last century. Apple harvest takes place during October and November the challenge being to pick and mix apples from different trees to make a tasty blend of juice for us all to enjoy over the coming months. The next step is gather the necessary equipment and convince the guests, kids, friends and neighbours to help out! Some will no doubt be more persuadable that others!!