A Visit to Thatchers!
Last week the Wine Shop Team were very lucky to have an evening tour of local family cider makers Thatchers. It was a fantastic evening learning all about how the cider is made and the ethos behind the company.
Thatchers started in 1904 when William Thatcher, a farmer, began making cider for his farm workers. The company has grown in over 120 years since it started and is now in its fifth generation with the Thatcher family. Our guide, Phil, started by showing the team where the apples come in and how they are washed before beginning their journey through the cider house. It was impressive how Phil was able to identify the type of apple just by looking at it (especially as we'd learned there are over 7000 different species of apple!)
The apples are then crushed and move through the cider house to the presses where all of the juice is separated from the skins and pips, the remains of which is called 'pomace', and the juice is then fermented in batches. It was fascinating to learn that there is zero wastage at Thatchers. The pomace is used to create energy, even the carbon dioxide produced during fermentation is stored and later used to carbonate the cider. It was hugely impressive the see the scale of sustainability underway here.
Our tour then moved us on to the fermentation room, and following this to the oak ageing room where 100 year old enormous oak barrels help to age some of the ciders with a small amount of oxygen (for example the Thatchers Vintage cider). We then got to see where the ciders are packaged and stored before being sent out.
We would all agree that it was a hugely interesting evening, and to learn about some of the ways in which cider making crosses over with winemaking, and the differences too!
Our evening finished with tasting a few ciders and a delicious meal at Thatchers' Railway Inn which is on the site of the cider house. We are very proud to be partnering with the Railway Inn for our next wine dinner which features some delicious Italian Wines from renowned wine maker Botter. Tickets for the wine dinner are available here
On behalf of all of us we'd like to say a huge thank you to Thatchers, our fantastic tour guide Phil and the staff at Railway Inn for a wonderful and insightful evening. We strongly recommend a visit to Thatchers to sample some of their fantastic cider.