juice & cider making

Vigo has many years experience meeting the needs of apple juice and cider makers. Many of our staff have hands-on experience of cider-making and the managing director of the company makes Bollhayes Cider, a consistent winner of prizes at the Royal Bath & West Show and the Devon County Show. We understand farm-based production and can offer qualified advice to all levels of producer. We can supply individual items of equipment or complete production lines with capacities from a few hundred bottles per day to thousands of bottles per hour. In essence, we offer more than just a list of products.

The initial process of making juice from apples is the same for cider as it is for apple juice. Cider is fermented juice and juice for sale in an unfermented state is pasteurised to prevent fermentation. Many cider-makers sell apple juice and many apple juice makers make some cider.

Considerations of scale

When planning a juice or cider-making business we recommend that you consider the overall scale of production – i.e. the volume of juice or cider to be made in a season, divide that by the number of days that you are prepared to work and thus determine the daily production capacity required. Vigo can offer advice on capacity and we will usually recommend equipment with a stated hourly or typical daily production level and an indication of the labour requirement. This allows our customers to make an informed decision about the equipment they will need. In most processes there will be a clear choice between less expensive, slower, more labour-intensive machines and more expensive automated machines with a lower labour requirement. Most systems are flexible and modular, allowing progressive upgrading as demand increases and finances allow. Please contact us to discuss your requirements.