MATTHEW SOMERVILLE, Special to The Standard
with additions from Colleen Green The Standard
SCUGOG: Matthew Somerville and Andrew Paul of Two Blokes Cider are excited to announce the opening of their cidery, at the Somerville farm in Seagrave, on Saturday, June 19th, 2021. As the first cidery in Scugog, this opening is an exciting addition to the local community.
Matt and Andy are driven by a desire to breathe new life into the family farm, contribute to the emerging agritourism sector in North Durham, and bring awareness to craft cider in Ontario.
Their passion for the family farm extends past their property line. They are actively looking for ways to support and educate other young adults to embrace agriculture as a positive career choice.
Two Blokes have created a cider called Open Hand. It is a chai cider. A hundred percent of the profits generated from the sales of Open Hand will go to the not-for-profit Kheti Virasat Mission. The mission is based in the Punjab province of India which is focused on regenerative agriculture, women empowerment and restoring their natural food forest.
Located in a former drive-shed at the family farm, the structure has been completely renovated into a bright, airy and modern cidery. The cozy, tasting room and retail space offers sample flights or single glasses of their featured ciders, most of which are available exclusively at the farm. Seating is limited indoors, but a large outdoor space can welcome up to 40 guests.
Guests may also bring their own picnic blanket, to enjoy a cider on while soaking in the farm experience.
The orchard is the cornerstone of this unique destination. Planted in 2015, the trees are unique to cider making with little-known varieties, such as Kingston Black, Yarlington Mill, Porters Perfection and Muscat de Dieppe.
Currently, the Two Blokes offer six different ciders ranging from traditional pub styles to limited release seasonal and cask-aged varieties. With the opening of the new cider house, the Two Blokes will be launching a series of limited releases, with an emphasis on seasonality and local ingredients.
Two Blokes Cider is located ten minutes north of Port Perry, at 21300 Simcoe Street in Seagrave.
Their Bottle Shop and Tasting Room are open Sunday to Thursday, from 12 noon to 6 p.m. and Friday to Saturday, from noon to 8 p.m. Farmgate pick-ups are available outside of business hours. Check them out on their website, at www.twoblokes.ca. For more information, contact Matthew Somerville by phone, at 416-834-4004, or by email, at matthew@twoblokes.ca.