LATE autumn may be the time of 'mist and mellow fruitfulness', but it is also the time to be picking cider apples.

Mike Leigh, who lives in Aconbury, met Steve Williams and Seb Hughes, partners in Williams and Hughes, cider producers in Cradleigh when they were busy in one of Aconbury's orchards.

Steve told Mike that the beauty of organic orchards is that they are never sprayed with chemicals. Mike was there to take photos when they were simply shaking the trees with their hands, hand picking the best apples off the ground and bagging them in preparation for fermentation. One 15 kilo bag will produce seven litres of cider Steve told Mike.

Whilst there is a very wide variety of cider apples, four are grown in Aconbury Steve explained. Ashton Bitter, an Early Bittersweet, was resurrected in the 1980s in Hereford. It's highly coloured - bright orange-red, producing a full bittersweet cider perfect for blending. Major is another Early Bittersweet, relatively small and conical in shape, right red with an overall pinkish appearance. Its flesh is sweet, fruity and juicy. The Brown's Apple is an Early Sharp. It's quite a generous size, distinctive bright red and rather broad and flattened. Brown's Apple makes a very good, slightly scented sharp cider. The final of the four varieties is the most popular and highly esteemed variety – the Dabinett. Full bodied and a Full Bittersweet, an excellent single variety cider for the connoisseur.

Steve told Mike that organic cider orchards, like the ones in Aconbury, are worth preserving as they are wildlife important areas – particularly for moths.

Many ciders, like beers have evocative names like Brown Snout, Bulls Bitter Sweet and Chisel Jersey.

"I've always preferred cider to beer" said Mike "now that I know more about the varieties and the skill in blending I shall be looking out for these labels."

These orchards are part of Merrivale farm, an Organic Farm in Aconbury.