Somerset’s oldest cider makers, Sheppy’s Cider, has scooped six Gold Awards at the 2022 Taste of the West Awards.

The accolades are designed to promote and support the South West food and drink industry, and have grown to become the most prestigious awards programme in the South West.

Among the winning ciders is Sheppy’s newest innovation, Vintage Cloudy, which is a light blend of Sheppy’s traditional Somerset cider with a touch of pure cloudy apple juice which results in a characterful, fruity and full-bodied dry to medium cider.

Also in the winning line-up and taking home gold awards is the Sheppy’s 200, the Classic Draught Cider, Cider with Raspberry and Sheppy’s Craft Perry, all of which received extremely high praise from the Taste of West judges.

The winning products were chosen by the judges to complement last year’s awards, which saw Sheppy’s take home awards for six other ciders in its range, meaning the brand now holds Taste of the West Awards for 12 of its products, as well as a gold award for its House of Cider Farm Shop.

The House of Cider which opened in 2017 is a community hub within Taunton and has previously been described as “one of the best farm shops” by a Taste of the West Awards judge, who further added that “It sums up Somerset and is a brilliant showcase for Taunton. It is worth a visit just to taste their ciders.”

Speaking of the 2022 award win, Sheppy’s managing director, David Sheppy, said: “Winning another string of accolades at the Taste of the West awards is a major milestone for us.

“Our passion for producing premium quality cider using the same traditional methods that have been used for generations is what sets us apart and it’s a proud moment to have this recognised by some of the most discerning judges in the industry another year running.”