Darkes Cider is local cider. We make cider from our own apples and so when you buy our cider you support our farm, in Darkes Forest.
But have you ever wondered about the origin of other ciders? With the apple-picking season around the country underway four weeks later than usual, it’s time to chat about supporting Australian grown and made produce.
Local sales & deliveries
If you’re unable to visit Darkes Forest, shop online! We deliver fresh fruit and cider to your door ourselves from Sutherland Shire to Nowra.
How many apples are enough?
Buy in bulk to save money. An apple a day is a kilogram of consumption for one person in a week! So a family of five can eat 5kg in one week! That same 5kg will make a little over 3 litres of juice or cider. Our cider is made from fresh juice and no water or sugar is added.
What percentage of cider in Australia is made from Australian- grown fruit?
Answer: Less than 10%
Yes, that’s right, about 85% of the cider made in Australia utilises imported apple juice concentrate & about 5% of ciders are imported.
Where do you think most of that concentrate comes from?
Answer: China
China is the largest apple producer in the world and they concentrate and export a lot of this. You’d never know the “Australian” cider you were drinking was made from Chinese apples!
As an industry, we’ve lobbied the government for years to change the labelling laws so people know where the apples in their cider come from. You see origin stamped on wine labels, but we have had no success for cider at this stage.
So we have banded together with a bunch of other small cider producers who are making cider with Australian-grown fruit and developed a ‘100% Australian Grown trust mark’.
By choosing ciders with this ‘mark’ you:
- support Australian farmers, and
- generally end up with a better quality, more interesting style of cider!
Breaking news: Mead wins ‘Best in Show’!
Darkes Mallee Mead has won ‘Best in Show’ at Australia’s biggest mead competition, the Red Hill Mead Show! Full story in May’s edition.
