Sandford Orchards has just launched the 2025 Breakthrough Cider Maker Awards which offer aspiring cider makers the chance to win an invaluable package of advice, guidance and guaranteed listings in the on and off trade. These unique awards, which are now in their fourth year, are free to enter, open to cider makers producing between 3,000 and 50,000 litres of cider or perry per year and designed to support the future of cider in the UK. The closing date is 31st January 2025.
Barny Butterfield, Chief Cidermaker at Sandford Orchards and founder of the awards comments: ”When we...
Independent, family-owned Sandford Orchards, based in Crediton, is celebrating two more awards for its hugely popular session cider, Devon Red. It has just scooped a Gold at the Food Drink Devon Awards and a Silver at the Great British Food Awards. These are in addition to the Gold it was awarded at the Taste of The West Awards earlier this year.
Barny Butterfield, Chief Cidermaker at Sandford Orchards comments: “Devon Red is our flagship cider and the one that is most well-known and widely adored by our fans. Just last year it was voted ‘best drink’ by the readers of Food...
A weekend bursting with fresh seasonal flavours, culinary inspiration and family fun is in store for food lovers at RHS Garden Rosemoor this October.
Sponsored by Atkins Ferrie Wealth Management, Festival of Flavours celebrates the bounty of autumn and Rosemoor’s Heritage Devon apple harvest with cookery demos, expert talks and garden tours, and an artisan food and craft market. There will also be live music and campfire cooking to get visitors into the festival mood.
Watch live cookery demonstrations and learn how to cook with foraged ingredients, make sourdough or press...
The school summer holidays have been a washout in Devon with bad weather contributing to a reported 20% downturn in tourist numbers but, for one Devon business, all this rain has resulted in a bumper apple harvest.
Barny Butterfield, Chief Cidermaker at award-winning Sandford Orchards comments: “A late cool spring followed by a flaming June was the perfect start to the apple growing season. The wet July filled the water table as the fruit swelled and the late sun at the end of August and early September has put us on track for big sweet juicy apples, and lots of them! We are...
Independent, family-owned Sandford Orchards, based in Crediton, has just scooped a host of accolades at the 2023 International Cider Challenge. These include a gold medal and the category trophy for its vintage cider, The General, making it officially the best tannin led cider in the world.
Barny Butterfield, Chief Cidermaker at Sandford Orchards comments: “We are over the moon to have our ciders recognised at such a prestigious competition which judged a huge range of ciders from more than 20 different countries across the globe. At 8.4%, The General is the Godfather of our...
Award-winning cider maker, Sandford Orchards, has revealed why drinking its fabulous cider is a more sustainable option than many other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages on the market. Sandford Orchards’ natural, low-impact approach to producing cider is good for soil health and wildlife diversity. It also has a short supply chain and uses a lot less energy and water than many of its counterparts.
Barny Butterfield, Chief Cidermaker at Sandford Orchards explains: “Starting from the ground up, our apples grow in local orchards, many of which contain diverse and often historic...
In 2002 Barny Butterfield began making cider in a shed. Fast forward 20 years and he is Chief Cidermaker and owner of Sandford Orchards, a business that produces over 7 million pints of cider per year, yet still retains Barny’s original vision, to produce the best tasting cider ‘done right’.
Barny Butterfield comments: “In the beginning, cider making was really just a hobby but one that I seemed to have some talent for. It was also something that I was incredibly passionate about, right from the outset. Eventually, it was clear that either my hobby or my day job had to go and I...
Following the success of the inaugural Breakthrough Cider Maker Awards, entries are now open for 2022. These remarkable awards are free to enter and offer aspiring cider makers advice, guidance and guaranteed listings with the on and off trade.
The closing date for applications is 28th February.
Barny Butterfield, Chief Cidermaker at Sandford Orchards explains:”The Breakthrough Cider Maker Awards are nothing like any other cider competition. It’s the competition that I wish I could have won when I was starting out. Without a budget, without much help and support, it can be...
Thatchers Cider bursary recipients will be trading for the first time at eat:Tiverton on 26th September.
The bursary allows first-time traders to take their first step into the eat:Festivals family, the award-winning food and drink festivals that take place throughout the West Country.
PiQi, Vic's Little Kitchen, Bennetts Kombucha and I am Cultured will all be trading for the first time at eat:Tiverton.
Exeter based Victoria Brown formed Vic’s Little Kitchen during lockdown makes luxury baked goods and artisan deli, using environmentally friendly packaging.
The impact from COVID and a government review of how cider is taxed was the focus for Simon Jupp’s visit to Darts Farm. Simon met with Sandford Orchards owner Barny Butterfield, Michael Dart from Darts Farm and Mark Hopper from the National Association of Cider Makers (NACM) at a public event held by Darts Farm.
After being given a tour of Darts Farm’s new restaurant & cidery, The Farm Table, and learning more about the cider industry, Simon listened to concerns about cider makers’ tanks remaining largely blocked with the 2019 and 2020 harvests, which may need to be destroyed...
