Polgoon raspberry Aval

Giving your mum a bottle of cider for mother’s day might seem like being a bit of a skinflint but this award-winning product from Cornwall is something entirely different.

I rediscovered it on a recent trip to Cornwall when I visited the cidery and vineyard and met Polgoon’s owners Kim and John (below).

It’s really a sparkling apple wine* flavoured with fresh raspberry juice to make an absolutely delicious fresh-tasting (7% ABV) alternative to rosé champagne and sparkling wines. You could drink it on its own but I quite fancy it with something like Eton Mess or a milk chocolate and raspberry cake like this one. Served chilled in a champagne flute.

It costs £14 direct from Polgoon which is ironically not much cheaper than champagne - and in fact some supermarket champagnes will undoubtedly be cheaper - but it is a unique product.

You can also buy it from wine merchants and good delis around Cornwall. Contact them for other stockists.

Polgoon also makes a range of English wines of which I was particularly impressed by the 2014s which should be bottled in the next month or so. The 2013 Seyval Blanc and Bacchus which is already available is very pretty too.

*Aval is the old Cornish name for apple.