henry westons vintage cider tour

Take Westons Cider Mill Tour and Taste Traditional Herefordshire Cider

by The Foodie Travel Guide | Aug 8, 2016

Westons Cider Mill, Much Marcle, Herefordshire

Herefordshire produces a staggering 60% of the world’s cider. At the heart of the county is Westons Cider Mill, an independent family-owned business that’s rich in cider-making history and heritage.

Grow Your Own Cider

Wooden Apple Press

Three Litre Moonshine Bottle

Wooden Apple Storage Rack

Need more inspiration? Shop for cider gifts

Where to Stay 

Brooks Country House – ‘affordable luxury’ in this new 22-roomed hotel housed in a former Georgian Manor with stunning views of the Black Mountains and surrounding countryside

The Bell at Skenfrith  – a foodie pub in the Monmouthshire countryside close to Abergavenny that’s also a great base for walkers

Westons Cider Mill, The Bounds, Much Marcle, Ledbury HR8 2NQ

Website: www.westons-cider.co.uk

Discover more  Cider Tasting Experiences .

The Foodie Travel Guide

Sally is the founder and editor of The Foodie Travel Guide. She travels around the UK and beyond in search of the best foodie days out, tasting experiences and delicious places to stay. She loves a glass of English sparkling wine, afternoon tea with friends and escaping London for gastronomic adventures. 

A Day Out at Westons Cider Mill

By: Author Laura

Posted on Published: 26th September 2017  - Last updated: 1st November 2020

Categories UK , Food & Drink , Travel

Westons is a household name in the UK and I don’t know anyone who isn’t a fan of Henry Weston’s cider. But did you know you can go on a tour at the Westons Cider Mill? The Westons Cider tour makes for a great day out in Herefordshire and is perfect for cider lovers.

Keep on reading for more on what you’ll get to see!

I was invited to Westons Cider Mill in Herefordshire to spend the day with Wyld Wood Organic Cider and celebrate Organic September. I’m a huge fan of cider and my uni friends had a soft spot for Westons (it’s 8% cider, what’s not to love?), so I was really excited to see how the stuff is actually made!

Westons is the head of many different Cider brands but we were there to find out more about Wyld Wood Organic Cider, which is (unsurprisingly), made from organic apples.

What does organic mean?

If I asked you to tell me what “organic” means or why it’s better for your body, I’m sure most of you reply with “it just… is?”. Now I’ll confess that I’m a food documentary addict so whilst the ins and outs of what “organic” really means is fascinating to me, you guys might not feel quite the same. Here are a couple of mind-boggling facts that you surprise you:

• Almost 2/3 of all antibiotics used in the EU are used on FARM ANIMALS (yep, farm animals and not humans), and these are passed down to us through the food chain
• If organic farming was common practice in the UK, we could offset at least 23% of agriculture’s current greenhouse emissions. Yes, eating organic food can help save our planet too!

I’ll throw in another fun fact for you: the “E” in “E numbers” actually stands for “Europe” as it’s a code for substances allowed in the European Union. Bet no one told you that when you voted for Brexit! Now we’ll have to call them “B numbers or something…

After this introduction to organic produce and Wyld Wood Cider , it was time for lunch (i.e. MORE CIDER but also food). The lunch spread prepared for us was absolutely amazing and it was like we were on a bloggers’ summer picnic with Westons. There was plenty of Cider to go around and I liked that it wasn’t fizzy or bubbly as many other Cider’s are. It’s a really refreshing summer drink, perfect for washing down a big meal.

Westons Cider Tour

When we had filled our bellies (mine a little toooo much – I had to undo the top button of my skirt!), it was time for the Westons cider tour! You really don’t know what it takes to handle a large scale business operation for a major brand until you go right to the source and see the process at every step of the way.

I feel really privileged to have been able to see how Westons make their various different ciders from picking the apples from the orchard to the long fermentation process in barrels that are 20 feet tall!

Here on the right we have the original stone mill used to make apple pulp. Westons Cider actually has a long and very interesting history dating back to the 19th century and it has remained a family business since then!

There are lots of old structures and even the original Henry Westons house on site for you to see. Would you believe they still have the original barrels used for fermentation? That means they’re centuries old!

They can also hold a whopping 5,500 gallons of liquid, and there are lots and lots of these – one can only imagine how much cider they must produce annually!

Westons Apple Orchard Tour

After a tour of the production process, the original Henry Weston’s great-grandson (also named Henry Weston!) arrived on a tractor to give us a tour of the apple orchards. Although incredibly bumpy, the tractor ride gave us a whistle-stop tour of the area and we got to see some sweeping views of the great British countryside.

At this point I thought I’d mention I am actually allergic to apples. Only raw ones mind, so apple crumble is still on the cards. Touching apples is ok but ingesting them raw is a big nono, though, we were told that cider apples taste disgusting anyway! Even worse than baking apples supposedly…

So you can appreciate just HOW big Westons orchards are (and there are several), take a look at this breathtaking picture. Their mill really is in the heart of the country side and some of the apples are even grown by locals! The orchards stretch on for miles and miles with rows and rows of juicy red apples lined along them.

Now I’m sure you’re wondering how they actually pick the apples. In my mind I had this romantic image of farmers picking them carefully one by one, but obviously that’s completely impractical. Today they use this large tree shaking machine to get all the apples onto the ground before a sweeping machine (much like road cleaners) come along and gather up all the fallen apples.

So that’s where our tour ended and it was time to catch our trains back to London! It’s always interesting to see exactly where your favourite brands come from and how their produce is made so I’d highly recommend taking a tour of Westons Cider Mill if you’re ever out in Herefordshire!

It’s important to be more educated about our food and what goes into it and I’d urge everyone to take a closer look at what exactly “organic” means and how you can make sure that you’re buying sustainable and ethically sourced produce from your supermarket. Check out the Soil Association’s website for more info on how you can help make a difference.

Find out more about Wyld Wood Cider on their IG page here and H Westons Cider Mill tours on their website here .

Many thanks to Wyld Wood Organic Cider for inviting me to Westons Cider Mill for the day! 

Editor of What’s Hot?

Saturday 30th of September 2017

Sounds like a fun visit, I do like the fruity ciders!

I love cider! I would have loved this tour!

Helen Costello

Friday 29th of September 2017

OH I love a tour around food or drink premises. Those apples look so inviting - very interesting to discover that raw they would be horrid. You did make me smile about changing E numbers to B numbers!

What a fab day out that must have been! I love cider so seeing how it’s made is really interesting. I was with you on the idea of the farmers picking the apples one by one ha!

It's amazing to see how cider is made, isn't it! I really enjoyed my trip to Westons.

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Westons Cider

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The shop here at Westons Cider Mill stocks all our brands including traditional favourites like Old Rosie and new innovations like Caple Road and Henry Weston's Vintage Rosé. The Scrumpy House restaurant and café serves delicious breakfasts, lunches and snacks. Our tour experience allows you to go behind the scenes and into the heart of the Mill, we guide you through the process of making our award-winning brands, all rounded off with a tutored tasting.

The popular Tour Packages also include tasty food in the restaurant, enjoy a tour and tasting followed by a cream tea, a ploughman's or even a two course lunch.

Special Features

• Historical Interest
• Rural location
• On-site cafe/restaurant
• Picnics welcome
• Baby changing
• Public toilets
• Outdoor Seating
• High chairs available

Accessibility

• Disabled facilities
• Children welcome
• Dogs welcome
• Accepts groups
• Corporate hospitality
• Coach parties
• Private parking
• Free parking

Drinks Menu

• Herefordshire Cider
• Locally Sourced (Herefordshire or neighbouring counties)
• Vegetarian menu
• Takeaway available

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Directions & parking, caring for the planet.

• Recycling (>75% of all waste)
• Energy from renewable sources

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Henry Westons

In 1880 Henry Weston first started crafting cider from the bittersweet apples grown on his farm in Much Marcle, Herefordshire.

Over many years Henry Weston refined the art of Herefordshire cider making. Today, Henry Weston Vintage Cider is crafted only from apples grown in a single year’s harvest in the three counties of Herefordshire, Gloucestershire & Worcestershire. The cider is then slowly matured, spending time in oak vats to deliver a smooth and rounded cider, with exceptional character.

• appearance Bright,Dark straw
• smell Rich & full of fruit
• taste A refreshing medium dry sparkling cider that is smooth and rounded in flavour packed with magnificently exceptional character
• ABV 8.2% ABV

Available In

• Bottle 500ml
• product type: bottle 12 x 500ml remove one from cart Add to basket £24.00 £20.00 0 in basket Add another? add one to basket

Cloudy Vintage

• appearance Lightly hazy,Golden
• smell Fresh & Fruity
• taste Medium dry cloudy cider with a full-bodied fruity character
• ABV 7.3% ABV
• product type: bottle 8 x 500ml remove one from cart Add to basket £19.00 0 in basket Add another? add one to basket

Vintage Rose

• appearance Blush & Sparkling
• smell Apple Blossom
• taste Medium rose cider which is smooth and rounded with a long fruity finish
• ABV 5.5% ABV
• product type: bottle 8 x 500ml remove one from cart Add to basket £22.00 £19.00 0 in basket Add another? add one to basket

• appearance Pale golden colour
• smell Honey & apples
• taste Rich and complex medium dry cider with honey notes and a balanced finish, made using apples from our organic orchards
• ABV 6.0% ABV
• Bag-in-Box 3l
• product type: bag-in-box 4 x 3l remove one from cart Add to basket £37.50 £33.75 0 in basket Add another? add one to basket

Signature Vintage

• appearance Bright,Sparkling
• smell Cidery Vanilla Oak
• taste Slowly matured to deliver a sparkling, complex and smooth medium dry cider
• ABV 6.8% ABV

Aged Vintage

• appearance Bright amber & sparkling
• smell Dry fruit & cidery
• taste Allowed to mature for up to 180 days to develop a depth of flavour, resulting in a cider with a deep, long finish
• ABV 6.5% ABV

British Vintage Medium Dry

• appearance Bright & Sparkling
• smell Fresh & Appley
• taste Crisp, rich & rounded
• product type: 6 x 75cl remove one from cart Add to basket £19.00 0 in basket Add another? add one to basket

Vintage Medium Dry

• smell Fruity, nutty & spicy
• taste A refreshing medium dry sparkling cider that is full-bodied, rounded and oaky
• product type: bottle 8 x 500ml remove one from cart Add to basket £18.00 0 in basket Add another? add one to basket

Vintage Medium Sweet

• appearance Clear,Straw colour
• smell Ripe apple aroma
• taste A refreshing medium sweet sparkling cider that is smooth and rounded in flavour, with sweet oaky notes
• ABV 4.5% ABV
• product type: bottle 12 x 500ml remove one from cart Add to basket £25.50 0 in basket Add another? add one to basket

Vintage Still Cider

• appearance Bright,Dark Straw
• taste A refreshing medium dry cider that is smooth and rounded in flavour packed with magnificently exceptional character

Cloudy Vintage Still Cider

• appearance Lightly Hazy,Golden
• smell Fresh & fruity
• Bag-in-Box 10l
• product type: bag-in-box 1 x 10l remove one from cart Add to basket £36.00 0 in basket Add another? add one to basket

Family Vintage Still Cider

• smell Ripe & mature bittersweet apples
• taste Medium dry cider, mellow and rounded with the flavour of slowly matured bittersweet cider apples
• ABV 5.0% ABV

Henry Westons Vintage Draught

• appearance Bright,Golden
• smell Slowly matured to ensure a a rich and characterful aroma
• taste A refreshing medium dry sparkling cider that is smooth and rounded in flavour packed with apples from a single year's harvest
• ABV 5.2% ABV

British Vintage Medium Dry Still

• appearance Bright and Still

Vintage Pear

• appearance Light,Bright,Sparkling
• smell Pear blossom
• taste Deliciously pear, medium sweet on the palate and using our vintage Perry pears for a lasting, characterful flavour

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