The results of the 2020 New Zealand Cider Awards have been announced with Old Mill Ice Cider taking out this year’s highest accolade.
From 107 entries, the judges awarded 10 trophies, 60 bronze medals, 18 silver medals and five gold medals.
“We welcomed some new judges to the panel this year along with some associates
who contributed to building a pool of experienced judges with diverse knowledge,” says Chairman, Jody Scott.
“This has included using cider makers as judges to add their unique perspective on
the ciders in the market.”
The NZ Champion Cider is made by Nelson’s Old Mill Cider – owned by husband and wife team Rodney and Norma Sherman. They also took out a Gold, Silver and Bronze medal.
“We were thrilled to win the Champion Cider Trophy for our Ice Cider, as well as it getting a Gold Medal in its class,” Rodney told The Shout NZ.
“Ice Cider is a quite difficult cider to make, getting the balance of sweetness and acidity just right can be tricky, it is also quite expensive to make with it containing the natural sweetness and flavour of around 15 Apples in one 375 ml bottle.
Ice Cider
“We use a mixture of sweet and tart apples to get the balance we need. The pressed apple juice is frozen in a container, we then defrost it and collect the rich naturally sweet juice that melts and runs off first, we discard the white water ice that is left behind still frozen, the rich juice is then slowly fermented, the natural sugars are slowly converted to alcohol,” says Rodney.
“We check the progress of this and when we believe the balance of remaining sweetness and acidity is just right we stop the fermentation, by chilling it down, this inactivates the yeast.
“The end result is our Ice Cider a rich sweet and slightly tart taste sensation, with 11% alcohol, that is best served very cold as an occasional special treat.”
The People’s Choice Award from the NZ Cider Festival went to Rochdale Cider by McCashins Brewery.
The NZ Cider Awards trophy winners are:
NZ CHAMPION CIDER
Old Mill Ice Cider
NZ CHAMPION FRUIT WINE
Windermere Raspberry Wine
MODERN CIDER
Capital Cider Co – Tokyo Rose
TRADITIONAL CIDER
Paynter’s Cider Ltd – The Pilgrim 2019
CIDER WITH HOPS
Good George Brewing – Good George Drop Hop Cider
CIDER WITH FRUIT
Bohemian Cider – Tamarillo Amarillo
ICE CIDER
Old Mill Cider – Old Mill Ice Cider
FRUIT WINE:
BEST SPARKLING WINE
The Cider Factorie – Sparkling Feijoa
STILL RED FRUIT WINE
Wildfern NZ Ltd – Windermere Raspberry Wine
LIQUEURS:
GRAEME OLDFIELD MEMORIAL TROPHY (TOP FEIJOA WINE) &
BEST FORTIFIED WINE TROPHY
Lothlorien Winery Ltd – Lothlorien Liqueur Feijoa & Honey 500ml
For a full list of medal winners, click here.
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