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Harcourt Dry Cider Bottle

$105.00Add to cart

Harcourt - Apple Cider - Can - 375

$105.00Add to cart

TASTING NOTES

Lightly Carbonated, Dry, 7% alcohol
Made from 100% Real AUSTRALIAN Apples
No Concentrates
No Added Sugars

THE FINISHED PRODUCT

Lightly carbonated, Dry Apple Cider.

Appearance: A clear, pale straw colour with a fine bead and lasting effervescence.
Aroma: Features a distinctive Apple Cider aroma.
Palate:
Slightly sharp taste with gentle fruity notes and a lingering, creamy finish. Mouth-watering. Real Apple flavour.
Package sizes: 500 ml, 15 bottles per case.
Dolium 30 Litre KEG (Non-returnable, 100% recyclable)

CULTIVATION AND CLIMATE

The Harcourt Valley has long been renowned for growing quality Apples and Pears.
The flavour and crispness of Harcourt Apples is derived from the unique interplay of climate and granite soils in the district.
Located at the foot of Mount Alexander, the district experiences cool to cold winters, with occasional snow-falls, and warm dry ripening conditions in late summer and through an extended autumn.
The cold winters promote fruit set while the spring rains are adequate for early fruit development.
Growing conditions are supplemented throughout summer by irrigation from spring-fed dams and the historic Coliban irrigation system.
The long dry autumns are ideal for ripening of fruit, particularly the late red varieties of Apple.
The soils, derived from the granitic rocks of Mount Alexander, are sandy and ideal for the cultivation of Pomme fruit.
These granitic soils are naturally low in nutrient levels which enables the growers to control tree vigour by carefully applied fertilisers so that most of the bio-energy is directed into the development of dense crisp Apple rather than very large vigorous Apple tree.

CIDER MAKING PROCESS

Harcourt Ciders are made using minimal chemical inputs and draw on techniques used in Somerset, England and Normandy, France.The cider making process:

Picking of Apples
  • Picking (selection) of apples is based on flavour first, sugar levels second. Harcourt Apple Cider is produced using Pink Lady and Granny Smith Apples.
  • All Harcourt Apples Products are all Cold Pressed using a Hydraulic Basket press. This is a time honoured tradition of pressing that is gentle and we believe that it promotes the best possible flavours from the fruit. Pressing temperatures typically hover between 1 and 6 degrees Celsius.
Sorting & milling
  • The Apples are sorted (discarding any damaged Apples), then conveyed into the Apple mill, which crushes the Apples into a coarse pulp.
Pressing
  • An “Open Throat” pump is used to transfer the pulp to the press.
  • A traditional hydraulic basket press is used to extract the Juice from the coarse pulp.
  • Extraction rates range between 450 and 750 litres per tonne depending on variety and Apple size.
Juice Settling and fermentation
  • Post pressing, the Apple Juice is not racked from the solids (sediment).
  • Allowing a high proportion of solids promotes greater mouth feel and generally ensures that supplementary yeast food is not added to the fermentation.
  • Fermentations are conducted by cultured Champagne yeasts.
  • Temperature controlled fermentation duration is 14 to 21 days, depending on the Apple variety.
Post primary fermentation settling & blending
  • When the natural sugar found in the Apple Juice has been converted to alcohol by the yeast, the yeast die and settle to the bottom of the fermentation tank. Dead yeast are called lees.
  • Once fermentation has finished, the Ciders are racked off the lees (decanted) to another tank where fresh juice is added to the Cider to adjust the final sugar and acid levels as well as the finished product alcohol percentage. Our Harcourt DRY Cider is 7% alcohol and has between 8 and 12 gram per litre of residual sugar from the fresh Apple Juice that we add back prior to bottling.
  • The Cider is then cross-flow filtered for clarity and to remove any residual yeast or bacteria, thus producing a bottle stable product.
  • Harcourt DRY Cider is lightly carbonated by the injection of carbon dioxide gas into the Cider during the bottling process.
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