Thirty-six years orcharding experience was not enough to prepare Wilgro Orchard owners Ralph and Judy Wilson for the devastating bushfires which tore through their area.
Situated either side of Batlow Road, approximately four kilometres outside the Snowy Valley township itself, Wilgro Orchard was heavily impacted by the January fires and, according the Ralph, only the excellent efforts of the Rural Fire Service prevented the damage from being much worse.
"The RFS did a great job saving our house and stopping most of the fire from crossing the road into the apples there," he said.
"Luckily our shed, equipment and roadside stall, all on that side of the road, escaped any damage too.
"The spray shed and the bin shed and their contents were destroyed.
"The cider and vinegar shed survived but the contents inside were burnt.
"We had to dump 5000 litres of good cider which was already made as well as 7000 litres of vinegar."
Other infrastructure was also impacted.
"Much of the netting we use to keep birds out melted from the heat," Ralph said.
"All our fences were destroyed and they have been a priority to fix as we were constantly having visits from the neighbour's stock in the orchard.
"Overall, the fires have had a massive impact on our business."
Wilgro Orchard is on 43 hectares, a lot of which is too steep or wet for growing.
It consists of 10 hectares of apples and two hectares of cherries.
"When we bought the orchard, it was pretty old," Ralph said.
"After travelling overseas and seeing how the orchards were managed there, we decided to replace the old with a more intensive style of orcharding using dwarven root stocks and trellising.
"Eating apples we grow include Royal Gala, Alvina Gala, Honeycrisp, Red Fuji, Greenstar, Kanzi, Granny Smith, Pink Lady, and Sundowner.
"We promote our cherries to grow to big which proves popular with customers."
Wilgro also grows raspberries, loganberries and cultivated blackberries which are mainly used for jams.
To add variety to his ciders, Ralph also grows quinces, stone fruits and pears.
Ralph said they will not plant new trees to replace those destroyed in the fires but will look to consolidate and get more from the trees that remain.
"It can take around 10 years for an apple tree to get to full production and at my age, it just doesn't make sense to re-plant," he said.
"We will look at maximising our harvests with the remaining trees through good pruning and management."
A growing concern at Wilgro
For just over four years now, Ralph Wilson has been producing cider from his Batlow orchard, Wilgro.
In that time it has steadily grown into an important contributor to the overall business.
That took a hit recently due to all Ralph's cider making equipment receiving damage courtesy of the January bushfires.
He has since had to relocate where he makes his cider, but production continues despite the setback.
"When I first started making cider, I was only using eating apples," Ralph said.
"I have since started growing specific cider apples to use and we are gradually reducing the amount of eating apples we are using.
"I have travelled to England and Europe and nearly all ciders over there are made from cider apples.
"We grow more than 10 different cider apple varieties in our orchard.
"Last year we were using about a 20-80 cider to eating apple mix.
"We hope to get closer to 40-50 percent cider apples this year as the trees mature.
"The trees are still young and you don't get that intense flavour from them.
"Most apples, including cider, are bi-annual and we have to manage them to make sure we get a crop each year - so far we have the balance right."
Roadside stall adds value to orchard
While Ralph Wilson sets about filling Wilgro Orchard's roadside stall, his wife Judy runs it.
The stall is a valuable money spinner for the orchard and has become a destination for people who are looking for fresh produce and a place to stop and have a cuppa.
Ralph sells some of the many fruits grown at the orchard through the stall as well as apple juice, cider and vinegar.
Judy also makes cakes and slices to sell with the coffee and jams from the fruit.
The cider and vinegar both come in a variety of flavours.
The cider, branded Batlow Road Cider, comes in apple, quince, cherry, hopped and iced. The vineger is just as varied with raspberry, quince, apricot and pear.
The stall also stocks products from other producers in the area including hazelnuts, honey and ciders.
"The stall has been a godsend," Ralph said.
"The wider community are showing their support by purchasing from stalls instead of supermarkets."
