The Hills Cider Company

Overview

There are no prizes for guessing what The Hills Cider Company makes — or where this South Australian joint is based. In Hay Valley in the Adelaide Hills, it has spent the past ten years turning apples and pears into alcoholic beverages, with a particular focus on supporting local farmers and using 100-percent Australian grown fruit sourced from the area.

The Hills' style: minimal intervention, which means its vegan, gluten-free ciders are oh-so-fruity. That includes its popular Apple Cider, as made from green apples that've been under the company's control from "land to hand", as it describes it. Taste-wise, you'll notice vanilla, custard apple, and even lemon and lime sherbet, as well as a natural sweetness.

The Hills Cider Company is located at the 84-hectare site known as LOT.100, forming part of a collective that also includes a cidery, distillery, winemaker, a juice company and a restaurant. At the latter, a paddock-to-plate lunch menu is on offer from 12–5pm Thursday–Sunday.