BLACKCURRANT harvest in herefordshire on blackcurrant day!

Yesterday was Blackcurrant Day, 15th July, when this anti-oxidant filled, superfoods fruit is celebrated. Blackcurrant harvest usually starts in early July (late June this year due to the warm weather) and continues through August, at White Heron Estate and other UK farms. This year, the currants are plentiful and sweet, thanks to the glorious sunshine we’ve been getting here in Herefordshire.  Yesterday was Blackcurrant Day, 15th July, when this anti-oxidant filled, superfoods fruit is celebrated. The weather has actually been a little too hot, but how amazing that rain finally arrived on Blackcurrant Day!

We harvest around 400 million blackcurrants at White Heron. Unsurprisingly, we don’t actually count them: it’s a question of maths – decimal places to be precise. We know how many we harvest because a blackcurrant weighs one gram on average. So how many blackcurrants are there in a tonne?   The huge majority of our blackcurrants are destined to be Ribena berries, and these are very special.   

Have you ever thought about how British Cassis is made?  We reserve our very finest of blackcurrants for this delicious drink.  We ferment them with champagne yeast and add a small amount of sugar and vodka – and that’s all! It’s a super clean drink with no nasties. Perfect to combine with our own White Heron Estate Sparkling Wine to make a British Royale (our take on the Kir Royale). Cin cin!