By Jo of Darkes Glenbernie Orchard
Cider Australia announced the winners of the 2022 Australian Cider Awards at a gala dinner held at Lot 100 in the Adelaide Hills on Friday, November 18.
At the dinner Darkes Cider was awarded a Gold medal for Darkes Perry in the 'Speciality Styles Lighter Strength Cider Or Perry' class. We are absolutely thrilled with this result. This medal was one of only nine gold medals awarded across 24 categories of cider in a field of 212 Australian and International entries. Darkes Perry was also awarded Best Lighter Strength Cider or Perry.
Our Perry is light and fruity and it’s just getting better and better. It has previously won Best Perry at the Red Hill Cider Show and internationally won World's Best Sparkling Perry at the World Cider Awards in 2021.
It’s fantastic to be recognised so highly at a national and international level for us at Darkes Forest. We are such a small producer punching well above our weight and our future. As the last apple farm in Wollongong making world's best ciders is really exciting. Our best is certainly yet to come. We strive to improve so our community can be proud of our locally grown and made products.
The Australian Cider Awards are hosted by Cider Australia and supported by a dedicated team of volunteers. The awards promote and reward excellence in cider production. This is the 11th national show and the first presentation event to be held in South Australia. An international guest judge, Yann Gilles from France, joined this year's judging panel of nine respected industry professionals, led by chief judge Sebastian Crowther MS of Real Wines.
Celebrate with Jo Fahey at the I Am Not Making This Up festival of true stories this weekend! Jo will be telling the story of the farm's transformation at a Cider Tasting session on Saturday, 26 November, 5.15pm-6pm. Book tickets
Visit Darkes Glenbernie Orchard here and find a full list of the 2022 Australian Cider Awards here