CIDER HOUSE RULES

Q&A WITH THOMAS NEW, HEAD CIDER MAKER AT WILLIE SMITH’S APPLE SHED, GROVE

The Smith family knows their apples. From the first planting in 1888 by William Smith, four generations of apple growers have tended the orchard on the family farm in the Huon Valley. Some 133 years later, current orchardist Andrew Smith, together with head cider maker Thomas New, continue to innovate.

Why did Willie Smith go organic?

It went organic in 1997, which was quite radical at the time. Andrew Smith was looking for a way to increase the value and worth of the operation, while also being more environmentally responsible.

What was behind the move to start making cider?

Willie Smith started making organic cider as an extension of Andrew’s desire to utilise ‘second’ grade apples, which were otherwise going to livestock, juice or waste. We are in a unique position in that we grow all of the apples: we make the cider on the farm and package it on the farm. The cidery started small, but has seen rapid growth over the past eight years. We have also diversified recently into making apple spirits.

Has COVID-19 brought about any changes?

The downtime gave us time to experiment with new techniques. In addition to our core organic apple cider, which is made from table apples such as gala, fuji and pink lady, we have started using singlevariety cider apples. The results are clean and crisp, yet more complex. We also played around with pét-nats (pétillant naturel) ciders, using an old-school sparkling wine technique to develop natural bubbles.

Tell us about some of these new releases.

The single variety 2020 Bulmer’s Norman is a complex, fruity cider with interesting tannins. You can taste strawberry and raspberry. Another one we developed during COVID-19 downtime is the 2020 Yarlington Mill, a complex and generous cider that captures the apple’s true character. We also made a Cool As Ice cider, similar to iced wine where the juice is frozen and thawed and the flavours are intensified.

What’s great about the new single-variety ciders?

It’s a chance to explore cider apple varieties and to discover their personalities. Apples express themselves differently once they are fermented. Some apples you can see how they’ll carry through to the finished product; others are more shy. It’s a whole new journey.

Willie Smith’s Apple Shed is open for cider tastings, distillery tours and meals. williesmiths.com.au