Welsh cidermaker wins again

Gwynt y Ddraig, the Welsh Cider and Perry Company have today won two silver medals in the CAMRA National Cider Competition held at Reading Beer Festival. Black Dragon Cider and Two Trees Perry both won silver awards in their respective categories.
The full list of winners are:
Cider -
GOLD- Virtual Orchard, Hard Core (of
Wolverton, Buckinghamshire)
SILVER- Gwynt y Ddraig, Black Dragon
(of Llantwit Fardre, Glamorgan)
BRONZE- Hartland, Sweet (of Tirley,
Gloucestershire)
Perry -
GOLD- Rathays, Painted Lady (of
Sutton St Nicholas, Herefordshire)
SILVER- Gwynt y Ddraig, Two Trees
(of Llantwit Fardre, Glamorgan)
JOINT BRONZE- Ralph ’s, Old Badland
(New Radnor, Powys) and Oliver’s,
Medium (of Ocle Pychard,
Herefordshire)
Press release from CAMRA:

CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale,
has today announced the overall
winners of the National Cider and
Perry Championships 2011. The
competition is held annually at the
Reading Beer and Cider Festival,
Reading, Berkshire.
The winner of the Cider Gold Medal is
Virtual Orchards, Hard Core, which
the judges described as 'a bold,
flavoursome cider, eminently
drinkable, with a balanced, dryish finish.’
The winner of the Perry Gold Medal is
Rathays, Painted Lady which the
judges noted as ‘a sweet, pleasant
and refreshing perry, with a good
astringency and light fruitiness on
the aftertaste. ’
CAMRA's National Cider and Perry
Championship finals for 2011 in
Reading featured 24 ciders and 24
perries, from different regions of the
UK, and assessed on factors such as
aroma, flavour, finish, and overall
balance by a judging panel
consisting of publicans, drinks
writers and CAMRA members.
Laurence Conisbee, producer of
Virtual Orchard cider, was taken
aback on hearing news of winning
the national title. He said:
‘I’ve been aspiring to win this
accolade for a few years now, and it’s
absolutely amazing to achieve this.
I ’m gobsmacked! My champion cider
is the result of a 2009 harvest, which
is when I re-started cider making
after first getting involved in
production 15 years ago. This is a
pleasing return to cider making !’
the results of the Perry competition,
Jenny Blackmore, of Rathays, said:
‘We are absolutely thrilled and
delighted and it’s so nice to know
people are drinking and enjoying
what we produce. ’
Andrea Briers, CAMRA National Cider
and Perry Committee chair, praised
the variety of this year ’s entrants.
She said:
‘One of the things that struck me was
the range of tastes and the strong
attention to detail in the choice of
apples. The competition this year
was very tight and of a very high
standard, and we are seeing an
increased range of flavours, better
blending, and all round choice on
show each year. ’