Local Food Britain member Biddenden Vineyards of Kent announces a UK first – a naturally-coloured sparkling cider called Red Love.
Perfectly timed for the summer season, this medium, 5% ABV cider, has a natural rosé blush and an intense, crisp apple flavour owing to the Red Love variety which are naturally red skinned, red fleshed apples.
It is being exclusively produced in Kent by the family-run Biddenden Vineyards, in conjunction with AG Thames, the only company with the rights to grow the Red Love variety in the UK for commercial purposes, and East Malling Research, where the trees are planted.
“Other red ciders and apple juices on the UK market tend to be coloured with ingredients, but the Red Love variety naturally produces a beautiful ruby red juice when it is pressed and filtered, giving the cider its special tint,” said Francis Wheatley, technical manager at AG Thames.
This unique single-varietal cider joins the Biddies range of carbonated ciders and is now available in 500ml bottles across Kent, Sussex, and South East London, as well as from the vineyard shop and online.
Julian Barnes, managing director at Biddenden, said: “We are proud to have been exclusively using the Red Love apple since November 2015. The sparkling cider is set to be a successful addition to the Red Love range which already includes a juice, in 1ltr and 250ml bottles, and a still bag in box cider.”
Biddenden is a single estate vineyard spanning 24 acres of gentle south facing slopes, just outside the picturesque Wealden village of Biddenden. It grows 11 different grape varieties to produce award-winning White, Red, Rosé and Sparkling English wines which are pressed, fermented and bottled on the estate. For its ciders, the producer works closely with local farmers to ensure all the apples are sourced right from the Garden of England, making its ciders truly Kentish. They are crafted following a traditional family recipe, which has been perfected at the vineyard for over 45 years.
Tags: Apples
cider
Kent
vineyard
