Helpful Perthshire residents ensure cider can’t be pipped

With a ceremony more fitting for a military send-off, Perthshire winery Cairn o’ Mohr launched its local cider on Saturday.

Winery boss Ron Gillies lined up a “21-bottle” salute to hail the popular tipple’s arrival for the spring.

With locally-sourced fruit the key to the recipe, he said the return of the Carse of Gowrie as Scotland’s apple capital was something worth celebrating in style.

He said, “The reason we make such a fuss about this is because it’s made with the help of local people who give us their apples.

“The first year we did it we gathered four tonnes of apples and this time we got 45 tonnes from people’s gardens and the heritage orchards all over the Carse.

“People were bringing them in left, right and centre so the 21-bottle salute is for them.

“It really is the revival of the apple industry in this area and a return to what the Carse used to be in terms of fruit production.”

Saturday also marked the opening of the Errol winery’s cafe for the season.