Paynter’s Cider began the old-fashioned way - in an orchard, with a few too many apples and a stubborn belief that proper cider starts with proper fruit. No shortcuts, no sugar bombs, no fake fizz. Just real cider apples, grown for the job, pressed slow and fermented even slower.

We planted our first cider apple trees back in 2006, which makes us ancient by New Zealand standards and just getting started by global ones. Since then, we’ve been experimenting, fermenting, and occasionally spilling things - all in the pursuit of making damn good cider.

The apples we use aren’t your everyday eating fruit. They’re the bitter, knobbly, tannic kind - the ones most people wouldn’t dream of biting into, but that turn into magic with a bit of time and patience.

We don’t make lolly water. We make cider for grown-ups. Cider with character. Cider that tastes like it came from somewhere.

Some of our flavours are bold. Some are subtle. Some were born out of cyclones, and some just came from a good idea and a decent crop. But all of them are made with care, curiosity, and a little bit of old-world mischief.

So if you're after something real - welcome. You're in good company.