Our Story
8
Years in Business
8
Varieties of apples
14
Different Ciders
15
Awards
Cider Maker, Richard Wise, has worked in the fruit industry for over 20 years, managing apple orchards across Kent.
After visiting the West Country for many years, Richard and his wife Paula started to get very interested in Cider, attending Cider Festivals and generally researching production methods.
So we then decided to make our own…
We made our first lot of cider in 2012 and had our first commercial batch bottled in June 2014. We use variety apples often sourced from a friend’s farm in Pluckley (one of the “Most Haunted Villages in Britain”) and bittersweet cider varieties from near Bodiam Castle.
We use approximately eight different varieties of apple that we mill and press ourselves.
The cider is then initially fermented for around 2 months and is then racked (transferred) into sterile tanks to mature for a further four months before it is bottled or bulk stored.
We wanted to produce a cider that appealed to a wide range of tastes, for every generation, that was light, flavoursome and well rounded.
We are looking forward to a cider-filled future!
How Wise Owl Cider is made
LOCAL FRUIT WITHIN 5 MILES
The apples and pears that we use for our ciders are all grown locally to us – Most within 5 miles.
02
PICKED BY HAND & MACHINE
A lot of the fruit we use is picked by hand when ripe. Some are harvested by tractor mounted tree shakers, air blowers & mechanical brushes.
03
TRANSPORTED & SORTED
The fruit is then loaded into bulk bins for transport. It’s placed on the sorting table & is sorted by hand to take out any rotten /unusable fruit.
04
WASHED & MILLED
05
PRESSED & SQUEEZED
It is then hydraulically pressed using a rack & cloth press giving 24 tonnes of pressure to squeeze the juice out of the cloths.
06
STERILISED
The juice is then pumped into sterilised fermentation tanks. Fermentation usually starts within a few days depending on temperature.
07
FERMENTATION
Naturally occurring or cultured yeasts then convert the fruit sugar into alcohol.
08
STERILISED
Once fermentation has finished (2-3 months) the cider is then racked (pumped) into second sterilised tank for maturation.
09
BOTTLED
After 6-8 months, the cider is then ready for bottling/kegging or second racking into bulk store tanks.
10
READY TO DRINK
Our Wise Owl Cider is now ready to drink! Buy some online, visit the shop!
Over the Years
1990
Richard began working in the fruit industry
2012
Made our first batch of Cider
2014
Bottled our first commercial Cider
2015
Won our first award
THE LIFE OF CIDER MAKERS
The ‘Cider Life’ takes us many places. When we aren’t making it we are often found out at various events, meeting lovely people and having them try Wise Owl. You can find out where we will be next. Look foward to meeting you!
Richard & Paula
WE’RE ROSY WITH PRIDE
We are very proud of our achievements and endorsements and so happy that you all enjoy our Cider so much. Here are some of the awards that we have won over the years.
