Homegrown: In our new column, we talk to Australian artisans. This month it is Andrew Smith of Willie Smith’s Cider in Tasmania.

IN OUR NEW COLUMN, WE FOCUS ON AN ARTISAN CREATING UNIQUELY AUSTRALIAN PRODUCTS. HERE WE TALK TO TASMANIAN ANDREW SMITH ABOUT CRAFTING CIDER FROM HIS GREAT-GRANDFATHER’S 132-YEAR-OLD APPLE ORCHARD.

ANDREW SMITH IS A Fourth-generation apple grower, whose sprawling Huon Valley orchard was planted by his greatgrandfather, Willie, in 1888. His family’s century-long reign over their small corner of pristine Tasmania has seen immense change in the growers’ community. But Andrew still harvests fruit from that very first tree his greatgrandfather planted — only now he turns some of them into sharp, organic Tasmanian cider.

He jokes that, when he returned from a European backpacking trip in his 20s, with his head full of ideas for a wholly organic operation, he “drove the business off a cliff”. In 1997, he replaced $100,000 worth of chemicals with a million dollars’ worth of labour. But time has proven his daring gambit was a shrewd one.

“Organic has won out,” he says. “This is truer now than it has ever been.” As the changing world has interrupted supply chains and made us all reflect on the origins of what we buy and consume, Andrew’s sparkling organic cider has been embraced more than ever before.

“Local and organic has definitely had a kick … we’re probably as busy on that side of the business as we’ve ever been,” he says. “The reality is that people are going to value Australian product more.”

Cape Grim, in Tasmania’s north-west, is widely acknowledged as having the cleanest air on Earth, and Andrew wants to capitalise on the island’s clean reputation. He believes that by switching to organic, he can operate a business that is not only better for consumers, but also lowers the environmental impact on the land.

Andrew and his father still ship organic apples around the country, but the cider is Andrew’s creation.

Although it is named after his great-grandfather, he’s proud to share the role the family matriarchs played in cementing the family legacy. Elsie, his great-grandmother, was the daughter of Charles Oates, one of the Tasmania’s largest landowners. When she married Willie, the orchard land was Charles’ wedding gift.

“Charles was a convict, an entrepreneur and an amazing character,” says Andrew.

Willie and Elsie’s son, Ron, took over the orchard when he was old enough, but when he was imprisoned in Singapore’s Changi prison during military service in WWII, Ron’s wife Ruth, Andrew’s grandmother, took over the running of the orchard.

“When Ron came back, he was a different guy, so Ruth still had a strong presence. Then my father took it off her about 10 years later,” says Andrew.

Tasmania’s apple industry was thriving at the time. “He thought he was going to be driving a gold Porsche,” Andrew says. “Then, 12 months later, the government was paying people to pull out orchards.”

Andrew’s life as a grower has demanded resilience and devotion, which is why shifting to organic proved to be such a prescient move.

“Anyone who thinks that Australian consumers don’t know what they’re buying is crazy,” says Andrew.

“We have to be high end. We have to be niche.”

Willie Smith’s Cider, 2064 Huon Hwy, Grove, Tasmania, (03) 6266 4345, williesmiths.com.au