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"The art of distilling has been revived in the orchards of Somerset..." News Brussels again Last Autumn we had another problem with Brussels. The Commission decided to rewrite the 197 pages of spirit regulations which define all the spirits produced in the EC. They wanted to keep the words 'cider brandy', which are in the current regulations, but 5 wine making states objected: France, Spain, Germany, Italy and Greece. They consulted Defra, but in the best traditions of Munich, our ministry decided to keep quiet. They didn't even advise the UK distillers that there were problems. As a result, the words 'Cider Brandy' were dropped. We have had to approach the Commission ourselves and have been hugely helped by one of our regional MEPs, Graham Watson, who has always been a great support. He now heads the European Liberal Democrats and his 102 MEPs hold the balance of power in Strasbourg. We had a meeting with the Commission and, while they declined to amend the regulation they promised to support a Somerset Cider Brandy application for PGI status. This may take two years and hopefully we will end up with Somerset Cider Brandy having the same legal protection as Calvados or Champagne. (The local Tory and UKIP MEPs were of no help). In what we think is a huge coup the Calvados producers association wrote to the Commission in our support and their letter completely destroys any future objections from the French government. So for the next two years it's fingers crossed! Napoli In January 2007 a huge container ship called the Napoli was beached off the coast of East Devon and, amongst its cargo, were containers holding some very fine barrels made with Allier oak, on their way to South Africa to be filled with wine. We acquired some of these barrels, which had been protected from the sea by Bibles in Zulu, and after we received legal guardianship from the Receiver of Wrecks we filled them with 10 year old Cider Brandy. After 6 months in the oak we bottled "Shipwreck" in 50cl bottles in time for Christmas 2007. The bottles have been hugely well received and we will bottle some more for Christmas 2008. A fun story of a superb spirit blended with a little West Country villainy, which has brought a smile to many all over the country. New Bond This year's distilling is being matured in the new bonded warehouse which has just been built on the farm. You will be able to view this live from a webcam shortly. The new bond means that our control of maturing stock will be monitored more closely and is part of our quest for quality. It will also mean that the Customs and Excise will be able to see what we are up to from their offices in Bristol.