We catch up with fifth-generation cider maker Eleanor Thatcher after hearing the news that she’s joined the board of directors at the Thatchers family company – furthering her ability to blend deep-rooted traditions with opportunities to innovate, and making more growing decisions now that will affect generations to come…
If there’s one thing the south west knows, it’s cider. For as long as communities have farmed these gentle hills, we’ve grown apples and pressed them – creating crisp, glittering drinks synonymous with the region. It’s no wonder that Thatchers – arguably one of the UK’s most renowned cider brands – not only hails from the heart of Somerset, but has consistently worked in harmony with its natural surroundings on Myrtle Farm for 120 years.
Last spring, The Bristol Magazine visited the Thatchers orchards to see the work Eleanor Thatcher – who has become the family’s fifth-generation cider maker on the land – and orchard manager Chris Muntz-Torres were doing to protect, preserve and care for the UK’s largest and most diverse collection of apples used in cidermaking.
Our eyes lit up once again when we saw the news that Eleanor was further rooting herself in the family business by joining the board of directors, following six years of working across the business to learn as much as possible. Her passion is – of course – cidermaking, but also protecting the environment, ensuring the sustainability of the business for future generations, reducing Thatchers’ carbon footprint and protecting biodiversity. This is exactly the kind of direction any internationally celebrated brand would want to be heading towards – and Eleanor’s father Martin Thatcher said of her recent appointment: “I see it as my duty to ensure when the time is right, I hand down a business that is able to thrive both now and in the future. Eleanor’s appointment brings with it her unique blend of tradition and innovation. Her dedication to our family’s heritage, combined with her forward-thinking approach, makes her an invaluable addition.”
Core beliefs
Although Eleanor’s appointment to the board confirms her commitment to the business, she explains that her day-to-day life won’t change too much: “I’m still working my way through the business and taking on more responsibility for things and continuing to learn. It’s really exciting though. I spend a lot of my time making cider and also experimenting, trying new things and looking to the future. So that customer relationship work is still there – I spend a lot of time with our customers. Understanding what our customers and consumers want, and staying close to that, is really important.” Eleanor has gone from growing up among the trees to making key growing decisions, and her dedication to Thatchers as a family business was clear from the very outset: “I used to have really great learning experiences going out with my grandfather in the orchards, learning about the different apple varieties, so I learnt a lot during that time. “I absolutely love cidermaking. For me, it’s not a job. It’s a passion and I was never forced into it. This has been very much my choice.”
She remains unfazed about the potentially-daunting prospect of one day leading the company, instead focusing on the daily tasks at hand. “I think when you really enjoy what you do, and are doing it all the time, you don’t worry about it so much. We very much have a cycle around orchards, we get into their routine of harvesting and blending instead. It’s core for us that our cider is perfect every single time, and the bit about my job that I love is about blending together different varieties of apples to get the same consistent taste and as well as being out in the orchards. Being able to be so close to our orchards and our apples is really great.”
Planting ideas
Thatchers is keen to stay green – and it’s an approach to cidermaking that Eleanor will continue. Examples already in place include being one of the first cider makers to ditch plastic rings from packaging and use lightweight cans; on-site bee hives, wildflower strips and ensuring the orchards provide a home to as many species of bird, mammal and insect as possible; and investing in water recycling systems to reduce water use across the production process – among many others.
“As farmers we’re very much linked to the countryside and our environment,” Eleanor says. “We know that it is super important. And we also know that we want to look after what we have for future generations. We’re making long-term decisions all the time. We’ve invested heavily in solar, and now have 3,420 solar panels. We’re doing regenerative farming. We’re creating wildlife areas at Myrtle farm. Being a family business means we can make those decisions about investing in the environment and the community because we don’t have to remain focused on short-term projects.”
Tree planting is also a major long-term undertaking for the family. Thatchers had planted 158,000 trees by 2010, with plans to plant 13,000 more next year.
“It’s really exciting,” Eleanor says. “We had 50 acres of land. And we’ve been working on a project to improve the soil there, taking samples of it every quarter. We’ve seen a real improvement in the soil health, which has taken about three years. That’s just the land preparation, so we’ll move on and plant trees around Easter next year. It’s really important for us to have healthy soil, which means we’ll have healthy trees and great quality apples. It takes times for the new trees to get up to their full yield, but great quality cider starts in the soil, and that’s a big investment upfront but it really makes a difference long term.” The plan is to plant lots of Katy apple trees (which are of course used in Thatchers’ Katy Cider, but also make an appearance in many other ciders produced by the family here too), but Eleanor points out that it’s vital to mix a few different apple varieties into every orchard, avoiding a monoculture and therefore boosting pollination across the land. There is one drawback though of making the orchards so inviting to animals – and that’s rabbits munching happily on the young saplings. Nothing a rabbit guard can’t protect against, however, Eleanor assures us, as long as they’re added to the trees immediately.
“We tend to do all the tree planting in house,” she adds. “We plant via GPS. It’s quite the task to make sure everything’s lined up and perfect because that orchard could be there for over 100 years. So, it’s really important that we get it absolutely perfect; we get out there and spend a lot of time making sure that everything is right.”
The generation game
Leading the charge for a fifth generation of cidermakers is a fantastic opportunity, especially in the often male-dominated drinks industry. But Eleanor is determined to enrich the range of perspectives making the business decisions.
“For us as a family business, it’s all about bringing in the next generation. We see things differently. Right now, there are three generations working in the business – including my father and grandfather – and we all share the same vision for the company. We might not agree on certain aspects, but we’re always working towards the same thing.”
And she adds that blending modern and traditional insight is useful in a practical sense, too.
“A lot of the traditional techniques are still helpful in modern cidermaking today. We can learn a lot from what previous generations have done, but we have to continue to move forward, try new things and innovate. And I think we’ve done that with a lot of our new ciders, like Blood Orange and Juicy Apple [launched this year and available in pubs and bars]. I’m closer to the age of the people drinking those ciders, so that gives it a different perspective too.”
For Eleanor, it’s vital that her family business continues to innovate, and considering Thatchers has no less than 458 apple varieties to experiment with, there’s a real opportunity to keep up with changing consumer tastes. Plus, she reminds us, that you can come along to see Myrtle Farm for yourself, with tours you can book around the mill and visiting the on-site pub The Railway Inn At Sandford – just off The Strawberry Line – so you can conduct your own research into which cider you prefer.
As Eleanor and the team prepare for a busy harvest from September, Thatchers is certainly in safe hands, with decisions being made now to ensure future generations of south west cidermakers (plus the quality and biodiversity of the orchards) thrive.
