The known history of Wattles Orchards goes back to the time of Queen Elizabeth 1st whom granted a Royal Charter, on the 25th November 1591, which defined the ‘Vicars Choral’ of Wells Cathedral. Within that Charter the lands which comprised Wattles Orchards were listed. The orchards remained in the ownership of the Vicars Choral through the period of the Civil War, Restoration, and, Napoleonic Wars until 21st September 1866 when the Choral were forced to sell the land to the Ecclesiastical Commission. The latter then sold the land on the 4th July 1878 to a Squire of Wells: since when it has had only two other owners before Helen and Paul took over its stewardship in 1999. Wattles Orchards are thus also known as the ‘Vicars Choral Orchards’.
At Wattles Cider we reuse the great traditions of the past and especially of the late 17th century, when refined Somerset cider was considered superior to many French wines. Our cider-apple juice is crafted in 1000 litre batches using fresh, hand picked, unsprayed fruit with minimal intervention: just washed, milled, macerated, pressed. Some of the cider-apple juice is then bottled: the rest fermented, then matured and aged in new French-oak barrels. A carefully selected range of our own Wattles cider apples - 90% Kingston Black with Sweet Coppin and Ashton Bitter - give the drinks a grown-up complexity and depth, making them especially suited to drink with food. Over the coming years our goal is to produce a range of single orchard juices and ciders that reflect the microclimates and range of apples of each of our five orchards.
