Mock Red Hill (Red Hill, Victoria, Australia)

Have you ever been in a cider tasting? For me this was the first, I never knew there was such a thing like that Sake tasting we had before. I was fortunate enough to have this tasting with my colleagues when we had our conference in Melbourne several weeks ago and there was no better place to do this than the Mock Red Hill. Just shy from an hour and half drive from Melbourne CBD is the town of Red Hill where Mock Orchards the home of Mock Red Hill.

It’s a nice quiet town and most of the properties here are farm lands. Mock Orchards owned by the Mock family has been in this premises since 1895 and five generations later, they continue to grow apples to produce these amazing ciders, juices and apple cider vinegar. They also freeze-dried fruits and vegetables as well as apple filled doughnuts which we are trying today.

As we visited the place we got invited inside their Cider Lounge, a place where they offer their tasting experience. Originally a wooden cool store built for the Orchard in 1945 and now it’s a cosy place to relax and try those delicious treats that is in offer for us. We tried all if not most of what they offer and here is a list of what we did.

In order below: (Note: The descriptions are copied directly the menu given to us)

Classic Apple Cider
Like a mouthful of fresh pink lady’s. Big but harmonic with a particular fruity-taste. The perfect balance of fruit, acid, tannins and alcohol. For the dry palate.

Golden Apple Cider
Opulent Golden in Colour, clean and crisp with aromas of apple blossom. An authentic taste for easy drinking. A playful cider for the medium palate.

Pear and Apple Cider
Made from fermented Jonathan apples & fresh pear juice, well balanced, smooth and creamy with a subtle pear taste. Low acidity for a great rounder mouth feel and finish. For the medium-sweet palate.

Sweet Apple Cider
Elegant, light and refreshing cider. Perfect over ice on a sunny afternoon or mulled by the fire in Winter. For the sweeter palate.

Sparkling Apple Juice
Made from late harvest Golden Delicious Apples. This non-alcoholic refreshment is made from fresh juice this is filtered, pasteurized and lightly carbonated.

Sparkling Pear Juice
Made from William Pears. This non-alcoholic refreshment is made from fresh juice this is filtered, pasteurized and lightly carbonated.

Cloudy Apple Juice
Made from 100% Biodynamic Apples. This juice is pure, unfiltered (cloudy) and pasteurized with no additives. The perfect breakfast juice or cocktail mixer.

Everything was delicious and refreshing, very different taste from each other. I love everything but if I have to choose three the Classic Apple Cider is good for a nice summer day, very crisp and refreshing, not very sweet. And if I am in the mood for sweet stuff I will pick the Sweet Apple Cider, so light you won’t even think it’s a cider, very sweet and juicy. Then finally the Cloudy Apple Juice which is sweet as well, it’s like pure sweet apples liquified in your mouth which it is.

Then while we are having this we had doughnuts filled with apple and this were amazing! it’s like an apple pie in a doughnut, nice texture, soft, fluffy, bouncy and dense. I love it so much and I think they do a better job than most doughnut shops. We also had a chance to try their freeze-dried fruits where the fruits water was taken out in a freeze dryer leaving all the nutrients and flavour, nice to snack with and it pack a ton of flavour, like a reduced soup where the water was extracted leaving the pure flavour intact. Feels like you’re eating a flavourful meringue as it has the same texture. We tried the bananas, apples, strawberries and a chocolate coated one.

It was a good trip, a nice stop over and basically the start of a bigger night which we I will post next. So, if you ever pass by this place this, give this a shot, trust me you will not be disappointed specially with those doughnuts that pair well with a good cider.

Mock Red Hill
Address: 1103 Mornington-Flinders Rd, Red Hill VIC 3937, Australia
Phone: +61 3 5989 2242
Website: http://mockredhill.com.au/