Six hectares of apple trees transformed into cider and apple juice. For Maxime Haupais, it was first a hobby before becoming a profession. For several years, he has made a living at Domaine de l'Orogale in Montreuil-sur-Lozon, near Saint-Lô (Manche). He talks about the 2024 season.
“I have six hectares of apple trees. Tart apples for juice and more bittersweet apples for cider. But we can still make some mixtures. The year 2024 will be rather average but we should still be around 30 to 35 tonnes harvested between September and December. We pick up at the beginning of the week and rush at the end of the week so that everything is cleaned on Saturday.
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250 bottles of Christmas flip
With the voluntary help of my parents, we should make six or seven pressings in total. This season's harvest should give us around 5,000 liters of apple juice and 15,000 bottles of cider which I sell from my cellar and which can also be found in shops in Saint-Lô, Marigny and on the coast… Communities order me some too. My production is called Domaine de l'Orogale, named after a stream very close to the farm which has been in the family since 1926.
For the holidays, I also prepare 250 bottles of flip, a Manche specialty of Christmas mulled cider in which orange, cinnamon, cloves, sugar and calva are macerated. We will sell it at Christmas markets.
Today, the image of cider is anything but old-fashioned and negative. It's a drink that's on the rise. It can easily compete with good wines to accompany cheeses or meats. »
