Thorogoods Strawbale Cider

Commercial Description:
My Straw Bale Cider was inspired by an ancient method of cider making from Somerset in England where traditionally after the apples were crushed the apple pulp was pressed through straw to extract the juice. During the harvest of 2001 I decided to try this method however the first hurdle to cross was getting hold of organic straw that had not been contaminated by chemical fertilizers or animal droppings. I eventually found an organic farmer in South Australia ’s Barossa Valley who sold me some clean straw. I then assembled a blend of my own Kingston Black cider apples, a few tart Granny Smiths from the Adelaide Hills and some very ripe sweet and mushy heritage apples from the Barossa Valley . The Straw Bale method is especially good for pressing super ripe and mushy apples and such apples can provide a very good alcohol level. The Straw Bale method enabled me to squeeze every last drop of juice from the apples, in fact the last of the juice was black and sweet like treacle.
As I pressed the juice from the apple it went straight into French Oak Barrels and I expected the juice to take a full twelve months to ferment completely as is usually the case on our cider farm. However three years later it was still fermenting and when I tested the alcohol level it had reached nearly fourteen percent, amazing! Not only was the alcohol very high but the flavour was full on and I felt that it tasted more like an old fashioned red wine masquerading as cider. Straw Bale Cider is a dry wine with a mouth filling finish that most modern red wines shy away from. I would drink it with a well done scotch fillet but for the modern taste perhaps a rump steak that is briefly splashed onto a very hot grill turned and then placed on a big white plate with potatoes roasted with Saffron.