Perry Pears
When Don Perignon visited England in the 17th century, he discovered Perry, a sparkling drink made possible through partial fermentation and conditioning in newly developed strong bottles. He took the technology back to France and the rest is history. He was also impressed that Perry was the drink for the Royals so it;s little wonder that King Charles the 1st took refuge in the original Throne Farm House, no doubt enjoying Perry and cider from the farm.
There is a tinge of irony that in 2010 I visited the Western champagne region to source our Perry pear trees.
I chose the three main varieties Antricotin, Fausset and Longbois, based on an afternoons tasting and their successful growing in an organic orchard. They are quite dry and astringent which yields a refreshing contrast to sweet pear cider.
The local saying is that "you plant Pears for your heirs". A lot of work had been undertaken in France using a dwarfing rootstock which meant your perry pear trees would come into cropping a lot sooner. Since planting our perry pear trees in 2012, we are pleased to report that the trees have settled into regular cropping from our semi intensive planting system.
