The Lambourn Valley Cider Company was formed in December 1995 to produce real Berkshire cider from local apples. Our policy was to use fruit of all types - cookers, eaters, crab apples and even some genuine cider apples such as Dabinett - which grow in orchards and gardens and on farmland in the countryside around Newbury. We have also produced a perry - a rare enough drink anywhere and almost unheard of in Berkshire.

Whatever different varieties of fruit went into the press, they all had one thing in common - they came from trees unsullied by pesticides and growing on land free of artificial fertilisers and agrochemicals. Although we are not registered with the Soil Association, our cider and perry have been effectively organic.

The use of culinary rather than cider apples produces a drink in the tradition of Kent and East Anglia, rather than the West Country. Consequently, our ciders have tended to be fruitier and less nutty than those of Somerset and Herefordshire. On the other hand, our perry has been made from what is almost certainly a genuine perry pear.

As from Autumn 2007 we decided to downsize by ceasing the production of cider and concentrating instead on making bottle-fermented perry. This will be sold at outside events, together with the produce of the two other local cider makers, with whom we have formed an informal consortium to be known as WEST BERKSHIRE CIDER MAKERS. For further details, click here.