Glenbernie Orchard’s Darkes Ciders have won international acclaim!
In the October 2021 edition of 2515 Coast News, Jo Fahey reports from the sixth-generation family farm in Darkes Forest
When we sent a selection of our ciders to the World Cider Awards, judged in London, we hoped we might do well but were shocked and somewhat overwhelmed to be so successful.
We sent three products and won four awards. That’s pretty huge. To win gold medals for Darkes Howler Cider and Darkes Perry, a silver for our Dry Cider and capping it off with the title of ‘World’s Best Sparkling Perry’ was a major thrill.
This means our Perry was not only awarded Gold in its category, it has been placed above all other gold winners across all Perry sparkling categories.
With travel out of the question, we couldn’t send anyone to London to the awards night! It’s all hush-hush anyway until the announcement so we went to bed not knowing we’d won until the next day, when it was all over the news.
Tell us about the medal winners.
Perry: ‘World’s Best Sparkling Perry’ (World Champion Award) and Gold Medal – ‘Worlds Best Sparkling Contemporary Perry’
Most people know little about Perry. Perry is the term for pear cider. It is cider made from pears. In our case, it is cider made from 100% fresh crushed pears. There would be the equivalent of at least four pears in each of our bottles.
We have been perfecting our Perry for the past six years. This one is absolutely delicious at only 3.5% alcohol. It has a light, fresh pear aroma and when you drink it you will sense the beautiful light fine bubble within a gorgeous fresh fruity taste.
It finishes dry, just like any beautiful champagne.
Perry is not usually a drink that you ‘guzzle’ a lot of in a session. Keep it special. For example, it’s the sort of drink that you may have one or two glasses of, with a lovely Thai-inspired dinner or as a pre-dinner drink with a cheese platter.
Howler: Gold Medal - ‘World’s Best Sparkling Cider’ – Contemporary Medium Cider
Howler was our first cider. We released our first batch in 2013, with the launch party on the farm in the middle of a storm. It’s named after one of our farm dogs, who would howl to warn us of dangers within the farm, things like snakes and other intruders. She was a wonderful dog who lived an idyllic dog life, accompanying the workers each day within the farm, overseeing everything and protecting them from harm. Howler is an all-occasions drink and is great to add to your cooking – try a splash in your bolognese!
Drink it with a burger or pasta; it is also lovely with seafood. The Gelatoman, our local expert gelato maker, has even used it in a very special gelato!
Darkes Dry: Silver Medal – ‘World’s Best Sparkling Cider’ – Contemporary Dry Cider
Darkes Dry is definitely also a go-to in our family. We think it’s useful to marinate a roast pork and then drink with a pulled pork bun!
What are your top cider tips?
Always drink cider from a beautiful glass, and ladies this is a chance to use your best crystal and especially a champagne style flute! Our non-alcoholic cider, Little Blue, is also beautiful served the same way.
Great craft ciders, like ours can be served at around 7°C, that way you will pick up more flavour. In other words, if it’s in your picnic hamper and not as cold, there’s no worries! If you are at a party and you like to sip slowly, again no worries! There is no need to add ice.
What can we look forward to on the farm?
We are beavering away at our farming as we always have, getting ready for stone fruit picking season, starting around mid November.
Inviting locals and visitors to share the farm is evolving with the needs of our community. The way we run activities and events will be changing with Covid regulations and challenges as they arise. There will be plenty of opportunities to enjoy our spaces this summer, including picnicking.
When lockdown ends, travelling for experiences here in the Northern Illawarra area and staying local is a great thing for our local economy, local jobs and it is environmentally friendly! Buying your food locally grown is such a benefit.
We are currently planning and preparing for reopening. We have just released our brand-new branding and will be rolling out a fresh new look over the coming months. You can keep up to date on everything that’s happening on the orchard and in the Darkes Cider space by checking our website, darkes.com.au
Local Delivery = Low food miles
During lockdown we have streamlined a whole new side to our business. We are delivering locally ourselves and this will continue after the lockdown ends. You can purchase a huge range of products and produce from our darkes.com.au website.
Your order leaves our farm fresh and is delivered straight to you in the local area. We mostly ‘knock and run’, to keep contactless delivery. You probably mostly catch the back of our drivers!
We would like to thank you for your support – locals supporting locals. It is possible that we may be able to expand this side of our business if we keep the momentum going after lockdown. It makes sense that if you are short on time and can’t get here, no need to worry, we’ll come to you and because we are in the area anyway, it’s cutting down on environmental impacts. A win-win!
We are busy putting together some amazing new hamper ideas for Christmas orders. Trays of fresh fruit will also be on the delivery menu locally.
If you are in a rush for your cider, there are some great local bottle shops who stock our products, so it can be convenient to run down the road and pick up a four-pack or two.
Where to buy world’s best ciders
Shop online: www.darkes.com.au
Visit local bottleshops: Helensburgh Hotel, Stanwell Park Cellars, Coledale Fine Wines, Thirroul Cellars and Ryans Hotel
Sit and sip, once Covid restrictions permit: At Tradies Helensburgh, Helensburgh Hotel, Scarborough Wombarra Bowlo, Coledale RSL, Headlands Hotel, South Sailor, Franks Wild Years, Two Mountains Merchants and Ryans Hotel
