Fallen fruit can make rich pickings

By Ronnie Kerr

It’s one thing to enjoy great local produce, but quite another to play your part in making it.

So let’s raise a glass to those clever people at the Cairn o’ Mohr Winery in Carse of Gowrie, who are encouraging Perth and Kinross residents to donate their apples in exchange for cider.

You’ve heard of all-you-can-eat offers; this is a haul-you-can-drink deal.

Bring apples from your garden, or allotment, to the winery and you’ll receive 20p per kilogramme in drinks, which include Cairn o’ Mohr’s range of ciders, wines and their apple juice par excellence.

Gardeners from across the region – and as far afield as Edinburgh and the Lothians – have been turning up with dessert, crab and early cooking apples since the start of September. Five tons, on average, have been brought to the winery each week.

With this May being one of the finest on record – its clear skies and warm weather invigorating the crop –staff are anticipating a vintage year for garden-grown apples; 2018 looks certain to match last year’s record haul of 74 tons.

Says Cairn o’ Mohr director Judith Gillies: “It is important for us to use local fresh fruit as that’s what makes our drinks so good.

“When people bring in their spare apples, we press them in a mill. Some of the juice is bottled up for our delicious Braes of Gowrie apple juice, and the rest we ferment into cider.”

“The scheme is very popular because when people bring in their apples, in exchange they’re getting the value of their fruit.

“Most people buy cider or wine from the shop, which is great because you don’t have to wait around forever for them to mature. You just hand them in and get cider straight away.”

The apples must be ripe with no mould, rot or bad cuts. Windfalls are accepted too. If apples are picked before they are fully ripe, they can be stored in open boxes or buckets before being brought to the winery.

Staff say apples are better transported in net bags rather than plastic bags, which make the apples sweat and increases the risk of mould.

Cairn o' Mohr has been creating its distinctive brand of fruit wines since 1987 before adding its own range of ciders 11 years ago.

Owners Ron and Judith Gillies believe in sourcing locally, and, living in an area flush with wild ingredients and some of the best fruit in the world, there’s plenty there for the taking.

The Carse of Gowrie was famous for its apples, pears and plums in Victorian times when fruit was shipped straight to London on boats sailing out of Port Allen on the Tay.

The winery’s cider is made with a mixture of old and modern varieties – some unique to the region. The most celebrated are those picked from ancient trees at King James VI Golf Course on Moncrieff Island that are used to make Cairn o’ Mohr’s celebrated King Jimmy’s cider.

Apples can be handed in to the winery in East Inchmichael, near Errol, between 8am and 4pm during the week, and from 1pm until 4pm at weekends with dessert apples currently being accepted.

Residents who are unable to pick their own apples can ask the Cairn o’ Mohr team to do the job for them, and they will get round everyone that they can.

Apples will no longer be accepted by the end of November, or once the tanks are full, so those wanting to hand in apples during November should check before bringing their donations.

Those who do drop their apples off will be well rewarded. They say good things come to those who wait, but this instant return on your fallen fruit is proving an exception to the rule.