Cherry Picking - Orange 2014

After all the fun of last year, we headed back to Cargo Road Wines at the very start of the cherry picking season in Orange so we could stock up before any more climatic issues could hit the region and potentially ruin the crop.

Due to all the hot weather we have been having, the season was a good couple of weeks ahead of last years, and the cherry trees were bearing up well despite the really heavy rains that came through during the week.

Fingers crossed we can still get cherries at Christmas! We had sort of planned to take all the visiting family members cherry picking over the festive period so we might need to re-think that one.

The cherries at Cargo Road Wines are huge and delicious, we had great fun picking with a few friends.

If you have never picked before, don't worry as it is very easy and James Sweetapple, the owner is happy to give you a lesson before you start. The most important thing is not letting any cherries fall on the ground, you want them in the bag or mouth only!

The darker the cherries - the sweeter the fruit, the trees are covered in cherries so you don't have to look very hard to quickly fill your bag.

Mr L'Orange did not feel my quality control was particularly good in comparison with his superior picking abilities.

Boxed and ready to eat

Friendly cherry dog on hand to help

The cherries cost a very reasonable $7 per kilo for extremely good fruit, plus you get to eat a few whilst you work so all in all a great deal.

You can now also buy fresh honey at Cargo Road Wines who have their own honey bee hives so you can see exactly where your honey is coming from.

After cherry picking we headed to the cellar door for a nice coffee and hot chocolate with friends. Definitely a lovely start to a Sunday and looking forward to more picking before Christmas!

Tis the season to be jolly & eat cherries

You know it is getting close to Christmas in Australia when the big fat deep red cherries appear. Households everyone scramble to get a box at the best price and you see bowls of glorious shiny cherries everywhere you go.

Coming from the UK where a ripe cherry was a rare delicacy, I have to say I love the fact Antipodeans get all the best fruit just before Christmas, all we got growing up were mandarins and nuts!

Living in Orange we are lucky enough to have an abundance of orchards and berry farms, full of fantastic fresh produce ready to be picked. I've been wanting to get into some 'pick your own' action for ages but it has never happened until recently... 

I persuaded Mr L'Orange that picking our own fruit would be fun, we could eat plenty as we picked and we could get a coffee afterwards & perhaps even a wine tasting (a bribe never fails). 

The sexy cherry picking 'look'

We turned up at Cargo Road Wines nice and early (well, 10.30am is pretty good for us!) as the weather has been really hot here recently and who wants to be up a tree in the blazing midday sun? James Sweetapple, the owner gave us a brief overview on how to pick cherries and the best ones to go for. They even provide handy ladders for those hard to reach, super big cherries.

A cherried up James Sweetapple

To my surprise it is very easy to pick cherries and didn't take long to get a kilo of premium grade  cherries for $8 a kilo which is outstanding value. The cherries are really good this year, so load up while there are still plenty to choose from.

The whole experience was totally idyllic as families picked cherries together, a pet lamb wandered around, the friendly winery dog kept an eye on everyone and we ate cherries until we felt a bit ill. Then it was time for a coffee and relax on the verandah which has amazing views over the region before a wine tasting and home. 

Busy picking cherries

What a Sunday morning, I highly recommend it to everyone wanting to escape the Christmas frenzy and do something relaxing instead. Who is keen for this Sunday?