This year I invested in a scratter and press so I could start making cider. My trees are still too young to really provide any sensible quantities of fruit so I supplemented them with scrumped windfall fruit from trees I located around the village , I also put out a call on the community facebook group and achieved access to 2 other trees and my friend Martin harvested his apples for me. In addition via some circuitous means I got my hands on 20L of pasteurized Kingston Black must from Peckhams. I have been pressing about once a fortnight and so far have about 60L fermenting in the garage. I envisage 2 ciders coming out of this first vintage. Atarangi o Hemi Matenga (In the Shaddow of Hemi Matenga) which is the blend of village apples mostly grown in the lee of the Hemi Matenga ridge which protects us from the southerlies and encourages the clouds of the Tasman Ocean to give up its rain and Te Whenua Uru (The West Country) made from a blend of coxs , Kingston Black and village windfalls and is more in the west country  scrumpy style.  Both are being wild fermented with light sulphite addition. It has taken me over a decade to get to this point so I am pretty happy to be here. I have given the ciders names in Te Reo as much like my people the apple trees around here trace back to south west England but grow, live and die in Aotearoa. Fingers crossed what comes out the other side of winter is drinkable.