Artistraw Cider
Artistraw make natural cider and perry solely from apples handpicked by Tom and Lydia from old, often abandoned traditional standard orchards in the Welsh Marches.
The cider is fermented in small batches, using indigenous yeasts, celebrating the fact that the ciders vary each year depending on everything from the climatic conditions of the season to the individual orchard terroir. Containing no sulphites, water, sugar, or indeed nothing other than apples, the ciders are made in a variety of low intervention methods; some naturally sparkling from in-bottle fermentation, some ancestral method hand-disgorged celebration ciders, and some still, using both tannic cider apples and rare local dessert and culinary varieties. Most are aged on the fine lees in bottle for at least a year and sometimes far longer more before they are released onto the market, resulting in a diverse offering of styles with varying residual sugar content from bone dry to medium sweet, all done by retaining unfermented natural sugars.
Lydia and Tom are restoring ancient orchards, protecting rare old forgotten varieties by grafting and planting them into their own new orchard in Clifford, near Hay-on-Wye where they have acquired around 90 different varieties. Each apple is unique in flavour which in turn captures the imagination of their customers and adds genuine commercial value to these increasingly rare fruit, orchards and habitats.
You’ll find them selling cider every Thursday between 9am-2pm from their stall at the market in Hay-on- Wye.They also offer tours and tastings at their cidery and orchard. These popular tours are your chance to learn all about the work going into creating the museum orchard, the creatures that inhabit it as well as all about how the cider is made. After admiring the amazing view of the Black Mountains from the top of the orchard and having a look at the fermentation rooms you will also get to enjoy a tutored tasting of three different ciders in the permaculture garden.
To book a tour either head to their website (www.artistraw.co.uk) or ring on 01497 831 366. There is also a bottle shop which is open every day between 10am-7pm, by appointment.