2005 cider innovation award
The Cider Innovation Award at this year’s Royal Bath and West Show, kindly sponsored by Thatchers Cider Company went to The Powerstock Cider Festival near Bridport in Dorset, for encouraging a renaissance in cider making and drinking in the area. From a small cider tasting evening hosted by the West Milton Cider Club, this event has grown into a major festival regularly attended by a dozen or more cider makers and huge numbers of the public. It has inspired both new makers and new drinkers; new orchards are appearing as a result and a new culture celebrating this ancient English drink is emerging in this area and beyond. Mr Bill Wiggin MP, Shadow Agriculture Minister and Chairman of the all-party Parliamentary Cider Group presented Nick Poole with £100 cash and a Bath & West Society Silver Medal. John Thatcher himself no stranger to innovation commented, “We thought the entry was refreshing, encouraging new cider makers and promoting local foods at the same time.”
Second was Regalis, a new spray from BASF which will reduce overall growth and pruning costs of cider apple trees while increasing cropping and improving the calcium content and therefore the quality of fruit. The trees have a more open canopy allowing 20% more light to filter through and enabling leaves to dry more quickly, with the result that they are less susceptible to scab and mildew.
Geoff Jenkins of Abbeydore, Hereford was third with his manually operated apple tree pruning platform.
The Award recognises the most innovative product in the Cider industry. It must make a significant contribution to the industry, can be of any size, and be mechanical, chemical or cultural. Cost effectiveness is a high priority. Entries came from the trade and from private individuals. The Cider Innovation Award is a significant honour and much prized.
Though cider is the oldest drink produced in the UK with a unique tradition, there has been a significant amount of innovation and enterprise evident in the last decade. In fact, it is testament to the determination, imagination and energy of those in the industry that it has responded as well as it has to the very serious challenges it has faced. By common consensus, the quality of husbandry and general orchard management, particularly relative to sound environmental practice, is better than it has ever been before and the quality and breadth of ciders and perrys now available is exceptional. John Thatcher again: “There is much to be optimistic about in our industry as long as people like Nick Poole continue to have imaginative ideas like the Powerstock Cider Festival and the enthusiasm and skills to make it a reality.
