Apples from 'perfect harvest' rot on the ground as demand for cider slumps

In what should be a vintage year because of ideal growing conditions, farmers are forced to abandon fruit where it falls Coronavirus - latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageOn a sloping hill just south of Dartmoor, boughs are laden with brightly coloured Devon crimson, pig's snout, tale sweet and slack-ma-girdle. Gabriel David wanders through his five-acre orchard and acknowledges this exceptional yield of heritage cider apples: "It should be an absolutely vintage year," he says."After such amazing sunny weather in lockdown, the apple blossom was perfect. The bees were everywhere: it was a stunning spring. Then it rained at just the right time so our cider apples are bigger, with a higher sugar content, resulting in a greater complexity of flavours." Continue reading...