Herefordshire Cider

I didn't know much about cider when I first came to Hay - just the Strongbow adverts with the arrow thunking into the scenery, and the vague idea that it was too tart and acidic for me.
I was just getting into real ale.
But Herefordshire is traditionally a cider county, and that overflows to the Welsh side of the border too, with lots of old cider presses dotted around.
The Bulmers factory in Hereford didn't look much like the old cider presses, though the orchards are lovely. I've been down to Monnington-on-Wye when the blossom was out, and it was a sea of pink everywhere we looked.
And then someone introduced me to Dunkertons cider, which was like fine wine alongside the likes of Woodpecker and Strongbow. It's organic, too.
This week in the Hereford Times, I see that Ivor Dunkerton, the founder of the business, has died at the age of 83. His son Julian runs the business now. In 1980 starting an organic cider business must have seemed an eccentric thing to do, but the business is still growing, so they must be doing something right.