The secret is in the apples.
Kaylan Madeira of Twisted Hills craft
cider in Cawston said the success of the
young company boils down to the quality
of apples it uses.
“We actually use certified organic cider
apples. We planted the apples five to seven
years ago. We hand pick the apples of the
tree. It’s premium fruit, really,” she said.
Madeira is the cider maker for Twisted
Hills while better half Jo Schneider runs
the orchard.
Twisted Hills was previously known as
Fairview Cider but because of copyright
law had to change it’s name last year.
The company, which has been in operation
for a total of two years, recently earned
top honours for cider at Penticton’s Fest of
Ale event. The Kinston’s Twist cider was
named the best in class after being judged
by several experts in the field.
“This is the first time we’ve ever been
judged. It’s nice to know where we fall.
To see where we compare to other ciders.
We’re thrilled about it,” she said.
Madeira is extremely busy with two
other jobs in addition to cider making. She
works as a nurse and at Valley First.
The couple decided to enter cider making
after selling their apples to a cider
maker on the island for several years.
“We really got inspired. We decided we
wanted to do it and took a course a few
years ago,” she said.
At first Madeira and Schneider just let
friends and family sample the cider but
after receiving rave reviews they decided
to venture into making it for sale to the
general public.
Currently they make five unique ciders.
The first year Twisted Hills produced
4,500 litres of cider. This past year 7,900
litres was made and the goal is to continue
to grow the business over the years.
“One of the things people should know
is that we are truly overseeing the product
start to finish. We are involved in every
process. From orchard to glass,” she said.
For those looking to buy the award
winning cider details of area stores that
sell Twisted Hills products are available on
the website www.twistedhills.ca. The tasting
room at the orchard located on Ritchie
Drive in Cawston will be open starting the
May long weekend from 11 a.m. to 5:30
p.m.
The other winners from Fest of Ale are:
Best of Show:
Smoke and Mirrors - Coal Harbour
Brewing; Vancouver, BC
Best in Class:
Lager/Pilsner: 1516 Bavarian Lager -
Okanagan Spring Brewery; Vernon, BC
Pale Ale: Coast Trail Pale Ale - Canuck
Empire Brewing; Aldergrove, BC
IPA: Double IPA - Powell Street Craft
Brewery; Vancouver, BC
Hefeweizen: Hey Day Hefeweizen -
Granville Island Brewing; Vancouver, BC
Ales: Rum Runner - Persephone
Brewing Company; Gibsons, BC
Stout/Porter: Smoke and Mirrors - Coal
Harbour Brewing; Vancouver, BC
Belgian: White Bark Witbier - Driftwood
Brewery; Victoria, BC
Fruit Beer: Berried Alive - Longwood
Brewery; Nanaimo, BC
Other: Super G - Longwood Brewery;
Nanaimo, BC