Meet the Family
Meet the Family
We are Dan, Pat, Laura and Rosie: three siblings and a niece who have embarked on a slightly barmy adventure to use our lovely family orchard to its fullest potential, creating ciders and hedgerow wines from the apples and fruit growing on it.
Laura
Laura has a degree in Mathematics, loves wildlife and nature, she works with her partner Lee in the
plastic recycling Industry. She is passionate about the orchard and making the best of all it offers, fruit, willow, herbs, plants and wildlife. Family and her pets are top of her list of important things
with the environment and sustainability a close second. She endeavours to leave the smallest footprint on this planet.
Cider making and apples are becoming an obsession, grafting different varieties, orchards and traditional methods are (almost) occupying too much space in her head.
Laura enjoys reading, walking her dogs, being with her parrot Rocky and her hens, tending her orchard and intends to spend the maximum time possible on her interests; the latest one being willow weaving.
She does not enjoy housework or shopping and intends to spend the minimum time possible doing either.
Dan
Dan loves the natural world, plants, birds and animals; and a perfect day would be
spent walking in the countryside, enjoying a picnic, and finishing off at
a country pub for a
well-deserved pint or two. However, most of his working life seems to have been spent in-doors. He has worked as a domestic in a Mental Hospital, a tackler
well-deserved pint or two. However, most of his working life seems to have been spent in-doors. He has worked as a domestic in a Mental Hospital, a tackler
and card-cutter in a textile mill, and has worked for the last twenty years as a software engineer.
He enjoys cooking, gardening and reading. His main interests are history, philosophy and
understanding how things work. He can't really explain why this has led him to setting up a company with his siblings and niece making cider, cordials and country wines. Perhaps it
understanding how things work. He can't really explain why this has led him to setting up a company with his siblings and niece making cider, cordials and country wines. Perhaps it
is finally a way to combine a love for nature with a desire to make something in
the real world. If nothing else there might be something decent to drink at the end of the day.
Pat
Patrick is a senior lecturer at a Russell Group university. He has a First Class degree in Applied Chemistry and was awarded his PhD in Engineering Materials from Cambridge University in 2000. He has worked and lived in the Netherlands and Germany, returning to England in 2007.
As an engineering researcher he joined Sibling Winery to provide his project management skills. He's the organiser-in-chief. Working in the orchard is a chance to create a heritage that is environmentally friendly as well as spending time with his family.
Patrick relaxes by listening to a wide range of music, writing fantasy fiction, reading history books and biographies, and playing poker. He also enjoys baking, with bread being a speciality. He combines much of his hobbies by organising poker nights, which are becoming something of a family tradition, where we play poker late into the night, eating fresh-baked food, drinking excellent wines and ciders, and listening to fine music.
Rosie
Rosie is Laura’s daughter, and is here to make sure that after all that hard work brewing, our ciders and wines look the part, and that people want to drink them!
When she’s not designing our packaging and managing this account, she can be found behind her trusty sewing machine creating pieces for her fashion label which offers training opportunities for young aspiring fashion designers, or running a youth programme for an arts charity which is her full time job!
Our training
Food Hygiene rated 5
Master class in Cider and Perry Production
from the Cider and Perry Academy - Laura and Dan
RHS Horticulture trained
– Dan
Orchard Management Training
from Andy Howard from Heritage Fruit Trees – Laura and Dan
It's not just us though!
It's not just us though!
Even though there’s only four of us on paper, we’re well and truly a family business. Grandmas, granddads, kids, fiancées and friends all muck in and help. When we were chatting about our ambitions for this business, we decided we’re not really into world domination. If we as a family can make and sell really tasty cider and wines from the land we have, then we’re happy.
