William Shakespeare in the 1593 play Richard III, wrote “Now is the winter of our discontent”. The play is about the War of Roses but Will was writing to his audience too. They were literally suffering the Little Ice Age. That ushered in cider as the vines died of cold but apples grew well #cider

Tannins in cider apples give cider its flavour and colour It reacts with an enzyme in the presence of oxygen when the apple is turning into pomace in the scratter The enzyme transforms the tannins into quinones. These are unstable and quickly react with amino acids to form melanin like compounds.

So all of a sudden it’s perry pear harvest time. Apples are more tolerant but pears which ripen from inside out can be rock hard one day and a sludge the next! We brought in just over 200kg of Dyers Pass pears yesterday and scrattered them. Today pressing the pomace. #pears #perry #scratter

Trees of Beau Vista orchard the sweet chestnut. Native to S Europe and widely cultivated throughout the temperate world including England and NZ A large long-lived deciduous tree, it produces an edible seed, the chestnut, which has been used in cooking since ancient times. Roast chestnuts yum #trees

Bird's-foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) a herbaceous perennial in the pea family (Fabaceae) has just come into flower with clusters of bright yellow flowers some tinged with red The plant grows in orchards meadows & roadsides. It is a nectar source for such as bees #plants #bees#pollinators

The Wairarapa, the home of TeePee Cider hosted the 2026 World Golden Shears at Masterton. This is an amazing competitive sport based on real farm life. Ten countries competing. Every room in the hotels and B+Bs were bookd out. Great to hear all the different languages. #sheep #shearing #competition

Unwanted introduced plants in NZ an our orchard - wild blackberry a widespread, highly invasive plant found across NZ especially roadsides & forest margins A fast growing prickly, perennial shrub that bears fruit in early autumn. They are a significant ecological threat, requiring ongoing control

The perry pears are coming along nicely. Harvest soon. This is one I call Alex after scion wood the late Alex Peckham gave me several years ago. I hope to make a Single varietal perry perry from it this year as a good crop. Good tannins and forms the backbone of our Home Block perry #perry #Aotearoa

At TeePee Cidery we decide to establish bumblebees at Beau Vita orchard in 2020 as they are the heavy lifters in the bee world for apples and pears. We imported them from Hawkes Bay. They are still here, many generations on,I was pleased to see they now have a nest under a shed. #bumblebee #orchard

It’s cold at the cidery! A polar vortex has spun cold and wild weather over NZ. Snow on the Tararua ranges yesterday well that was a surprise. This morning clear skies but fog and sunny only 5°C! A high is settling over NZ for the next few days. Unusual for the end of summer. #wairarapa #weather

Butterflies of Beau Vista orchard the yellow admiral Vanessa itea is native to Australia & NZ/Aotearoa The Māori name is kahukōwhai - yellow cloak It is thought the New Zealand ones were carried here on the wind from Australia It is a strong flier and long lived up to several months. #butterfly

Camille Pissarro’s painting “Apple Harvest at Eragny”, housed in the Dallas Museum of Art, is a pointillism masterpiece. The painting uses small dots of red, green, and yellow Painted in 1888, this work dates to a period when Pissarro was experimenting with the techniques of Georges Seurat. #apples

At Beau Vista orchard we strive for a traditional way to manage the ecology Grazing sheep balances pests and nutrients through ecological relationships rather than external inputs such as fertiliser & pesticides to control pests that get out of control with intensive farming. #farming #orchard

Winslow Homer began his career working as a commercial illustrator. Born in 1836 he became prominent American oil painter. Winslow Homer captured the practical side of orchard life in this wood engraving "Spring Farm Work-Grafting" published in Harper's Weekly, Apr 30 1870. #apple #grafting #art

Yesterday I made a longer article that does not fit easily on social media, but it’s an interesting insight on marketing of iconic brands and worth a read especially if you don’t know this man’s name. Below is the link to it on our website. #cider #champagne #vodka #marketing

Sadly the cider world has just lost a major figure. Ted Brunning a writer on drinks wrote this major book on cider history in 2012. He lived in Cambridge. Sadly I never got to meet him but we corresponded frequently. 😢 #cider

On the way to the cidery! This is not good for business 🤪. However it’s just Carterton District Council being cautious about flooding. First time I have seen the barriers being used and ironically no flooding (just) this time. #cider #flooding #barrier #roadclosed

Another batch of the new 375 cL ‘champagne’ bottles of cider being riddled and disgorged. #rotojolly #cider #methodtraditional #riddling #disgorging

Living on the Taratahi alluvial plain in Wairarapa flooding is frequent The bush has been cut down and the swamps cleared but heavy rain in the Tararua hills overwhelms drainage given the flatness of the land. Flood protection covers the towns but not us on the rural land. Photos from 1920 and 2018

Twilight in Wairarapa. Pink glow to the clouds as another day slips by over the nature reserve near Beau Vista orchard. The colours deepen. The ever changing appearance of the pond through the seasons is delightful. Now early autumn. #Wairarapa #Twilight

Carterton. Our local rural town in Wairarapa. Population 6000. It was founded in 1857 and originally known as Three Mile Bush. It was later renamed Carterton after Charles Rooking Carter who was a pioneer here and politician in Wellington . #Wairarapa #Carterton #Taratahi

After the dense bush of the Wairarapa around Carterton of tōtara, rimu, rātā and mataī were cut down and logged from around the 1870s the land was turned in pastoral ( beef and sheep) and dairy farms. The large stumps needed to be cleared. This stumper was one way used. #history #farming #aotearoa

“Climacteric” Descriptive term for fruits that continue to ripen after being harvested, caused by a sharp increase in respiration and ethylene production during ripening such as apples Hence the best apples for cider making are those that fall from the tree, then collected and processed later #cider

Teepee Cider is on Dalefield Road However the road was not always called that Originally it was Arnold’s Line After clearing SH2 through the dense Wairarapa bush surveyors would set straight lines off it and often name them after local land holders In this case John Arnold. It was renamed in 1980.

We got a civil defence emergency text last night. And it was spot on. A wild night with wind and rain. Beau Vista orchard fared well considering. Power stayed on. And we (just) avoided flooding. We fared better than most in the region. #nature #storm #wairarapa

Dalefield Wairarapa. Now just a disused dairy factory, a rural school, community hall built 1898, several farms and of course the home of TeePee Cider. Originally a logging town, followed by early agricultural expansion, & renowned for its dairy factory which began exporting cheese in 1887. #dairy

Thunderstorms came though yesterday. It’s hot and humid and was threatening rain. Then Carterton was in the bullseye of an intense storm coming v in from the NW. Prudently we cut the orchard grass for the last time before the harvest. Finished half an hour before the rain. #orchard #rain #apples

Twilight last night at the cidery. Nearing the end of a week’s run of good weather. Thunderstorms and cold forecast later today. Luckily we are doing inside jobs for a bit. #apples #cider #cidery #Wairarapa #NZCider

The cider apple trees are becoming heavy laden with fruit This cooler wetter summer weather has been good for fruit development but now we need more sunshine to up the sugar content and flavour aroma development over the next month or so Some auto-thinning has been going on #apples #cider #Wairarapa

Following on from yesterday’s post the bard’s drunken escapade slept off under a crab apple tree, he seems to have a poor attitude to apples. His most famous apple quote is "There's small choice in rotten apples" from The Taming of the Shrew Act 1, Scene 1, meaning all options are equally poor.

Shakespeare once slept drunk under a crab apple tree after drinking at the Falcon Inn at Bidford upon Avon On waking Will uttered this epigram of local villages “Piping Pebworth, Dancing Marston, Haunted Hillboro, Hungry Grafton, Dodging Exhall, Papist Wixford, Beggarly Broom and Drunken Bidford”

Craft cider contains antioxidant polyphenols These fight free radicals & reduce disease But are they absorbed into the body? Scientists led by Serena Marks at the Uni of Glasgow have shown this with phloretin-2'-O-glucoside in plasma ileal fluid & urine and showing uptake and excretion. #chemistry

Plants of Beau Vista orchard. The Common Mullein or Verbascum thapsus is a naturalised biennial plant in New Zealand from Europe commonly found on roadsides and disturbed ground. Recognized by its soft, felt-like, silver-grey rosettes and tall, yellow-flowered spike in its 2nd year. #Botany #weeds

Teepee cider is introducing a new range of method cider. In 375 ml ‘half’ bottles that are more popular in restaurants. This requires some re-tooling such as a new base plate for the Roto-Jolly. #methodtraditional #cider #bottles

This postcard was from Wiveliscombe, Somerset from a photograph by George William French (1868-1940) who lived in the nearby area of Chardstock and Whitestaunton in Somerset. He was known for producing postcards of local social history and scenes. #postcards #Somerset #apples

TeePee Cider bought its M793 rootstock from L E Cooke of Hawkes Bay Run by the ever helpful Lawrie Cooke who retired in 2012 As well as dessert apples they grew a wide range of key apple and pear rootstocks like M793, MM106 & Quince A. Sadly Lawrie Cooke passed away in 2022 aged 91 years 😢 #apples

At TeePee Cider we care for the environment Although an orchard is not part of the natural order in Aotearoa we try to mitigate harm. Our footprint is low We do not use artificial fertiliser or pesticides We trap introduced pests such as possums and feral cats Wildlife rebounds. #feralcats #pests

The flowers of Queen Anne’s lace are small & dull white clustered in flat, dense umbels. But some umbels have one deep reddish flower or the "ruby" in the centre. Why was first discussed by Charles Darwin in his book The Different Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species 1877 #botany

Plants of Beau Vista orchard, Queen Anne's lace An early accidental introduction from Britain It has white, umbrella like flowers that start flat and then curl up into a "bird's nest" as they age The stems are typically green & hairy It is common roadside plant in New Zealand. Good for pollinators.

Plants of Beau Vista orchard The Bull thistle(Cirsium vulgare), or the spear thistle or common thistle, accidentally introduced from UK Not much use as food for the sheep they avoid it but great for butterflies bees and other pollinators We let them grow in the corners. #plants #orchard. #NewZealand

This is an old nashi type pear found growing in an old abandoned orchard on the Wairarapa coast. Adds some acidity and sugars to the ‘Home Block’ perry blend we make. Growing well despite the poor current season for sunshine hours. Harvest may be later this year #perry #pear #wairarapa #NewZealand

I have just discovered in this new book Ward’s Maps by Elizabeth Cox that I live close to the original orchard of Wellington Frank Wills of Fabian Villa on Town Acre 684 developed the city's first orchard, with trees imported from Tasmania. Soon boys were scrumping #Apples #Wellington #history #NZ

Maize is becoming an increasingly important and common summer crop for the Wairarapa dairy farmers around Beau Vista orchard helping feed supply and support pasture renewal. Often alternating with winter Italian ryegrass for winter grazing before replanting the maize in spring. #farming #wairarapa

Teepee Cider started several decades ago with sourcing cider apple trees. Reseach on the internet was a lot harder in those days. However I did find Bill Struthers who ran Nga Rakau nursery in west Auckland. He was very helpful and supplied our key varieties. A real gentleman. #cider #apples

What to do in the big wet? Photography of course! Dyers Pass perry pears are growing nicely. Not too late for the sun to help before harvest. And luckily Wairarapa is not badly affected like some. Good crop developing. #pear #perrypear #orchard #wairarapa #NewZealand #Aorearoa

A soggy day at the orchard as the 1st tropical storm of summer barrels down on New Zealand Wairarapa and Wellington will just be wet but significant rain expected again this week in Northland and Coromandel. The orchard has had enough rain this summer. We need more sunshine hours. #orchard #weather

Our Shropshire sheep at Beau Vista enjoying some apple leaves from branches that were brought down in the wind, just after they were shorn. They like the change from grass when they are out of the orchard in a paddock for the 8 weeks prior to harvest. #sheep #orchard #apples

Just used AI to find the earliest written record of the apocryphal story that Napoleon said perry was the English champagne. And the reference is only 20 years old! The Independent newspaper of 2005 by Mark MacKenzie. Any earlier references fellow sleuths? #perry #cider #History #Napoleon

Choke pear is a colloquial name for astringent and hard-to-swallow fruits that are used for perry or pear cider. Common examples of include certain cultivars like Moorcroft also known as Stinking Bishop for its strong smell and taste when ripe. #perry #pear #Moorcroft

Charles Martel is a perry aficionado farmer & cheese maker in England. “They’re important for the countryside because they soften the climate by acting as a windbreak You don’t get swallows in a cornfield; you get swallows in orchards, which should be grazed by cattle”. Photo Hartpury Heritage Trust