Adelaide Hills

NEW VENUE: Lenswood Cider Co opens cellar door amongst apple orchards in the hills

After almost five years of producing cider it’s the perfect time for Lenswood Cider Co to open it’s brand new venue.

Image credit: Lenswood Cider Co

The local small-batch Adelaide Hills cider label has been selling like hotcakes lately, and with business kicking up a notch, it’s the perfect time to unveil a fresh new cellar door on the property where it all began. After almost five years of producing cider on their Lenswood orchard, the new venue will officially open in early 2025.

On January 26, Lenswood Cider Co will officially open the doors to their long-awaited cellar door for a special grand opening celebration. The event will see Lenswood Cider’s pizza oven fired up with calamari, skewers, arancini balls, and of course, plenty of crisp, all-natural cider.

The new space offers all the classic Lenswood Cider Co ciders on tap, along with some special pours. The bright, welcoming cellar doors has room for 75 guests, and sits amongst the apple orchards and pristine lawns on the picturesque Lenswood property. With high-ceiling indoor seating and outdoor lounges, the space has a contemporary feel, and is set to be a spectacular summer venue, perfect for your next visit to the hills.

While the cider making has temporarily moved off-site, the plan is to bring it back to the orchard. The team is looking to once again make all their cider on site as soon as possible.

The whole Lenswood Cider Co ethos is built on supporting the Adelaide Hills. Everything from the fruit to the packaging is locally sourced. The cheeses, dips, biscuits, and wines served at the cellar door will all be from the region.

Lenswood Cider Co will have a build-you-own platter system on offer, dubbed the Lenswood Larder. Cheeses, dips, pates, pastes, salamis, and other meats will all be on offer for a customisable tasting experience to perfectly pair with your cider.

“We want to create a nice relaxed family-friendly environment for people to come and enjoy,” co-owner Peter Burnett said. “We’re trying to keep it on the smaller side so the front of house can be personable, speak to people, show them around, and really explain our whole process. We make the cider, market the cider, distribute the cider, we do everything! A lot of people are interested in the process and we’re really interested in sharing our story with everyone.”

Owners Peter, Tegan, and David of Lenswood Cider Co.

Peter Burnett, his wife Tegan, and brother David started making cider as a hobby on the side before transforming into a thriving local business. The trio began making cider almost five years ago, after an inspiring trip around the world that set them on their cider journey. “It’s all run by the family, so it’s a pretty tight-knit group,” Peter said.

“My wife and I spent a year travelling the world about six years ago now,” Peter said. “We stumbled across a cider maker in Texas and chatted to the owners there, which got us really inspired by what they were doing and the products they were making.”

David and Peter of Lenswood Cider Co.

Luckily enough, Peter and David’s parents owned an apple orchard in Lenswood. “There’s unfortunately a huge amount of wastage in the fruit industry, and we hated seeing it go to waste.” That’s where the group started turning the wastage into cider.

“We wanted to make it the way we like drinking it,” Peter said. “No concentrates, or any added sugar. It’s all natural apple juice. We don’t try and mess with it too much, we just want to make a craft cider that appeals to us, and it’s proven to appeal to the masses too!”

The orchard had an existing disused shed, and 18-months ago, the trio saw the opportunity to fully revamp it into a wonderful new cellar door. Demand for the cider has been through the roof, and this new venture is set to showcase Lenswood Cider Co’s small-batch craft cider in its home environment.

With deep roots in the Adelaide Hills and a passion for keeping it local, Lenswood Cider Co’s new cellar door is a fresh chapter in the family business’ story.

Lenswood Cider Co Cellar Door

Where: 471 Swamp Rd, Lenswood, South Australia
When: Grand opening Sunday, 26 January
For more information, click here.

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