Haygrove Evolution Winery - Contract Winemaking & Cider in Herefordshire
Haygrove Evolution is a contract winery and cidery nestled in the rolling countryside of Herefordshire, on the Welsh borders. What began as an extension of parent company Haygrove Ltd's soft-fruit growing business has matured into one of the UK's most respected contract production facilities, offering tailored winemaking and cider-making services to growers across the country and beyond. With more than a decade of experience, SALSA audit accreditation, and full Sustainable Wines of Great Britain (SWGB) membership, Haygrove Evolution combines technical precision with a personable, small-team ethos.
A winery built on collaboration
Unlike many visitor-focused vineyards, Haygrove Evolution's core business is contract production. The team works with grape growers, apple producers and perry makers to transform raw fruit into finished, bottled, labelled and market-ready products. Whether a customer has 1,000 litres or 100,000 litres to process, the same care and personalised approach is applied, regardless of contract size.
The story began in 2012 with vine planting at the Haygrove home site. Today the estate harvests over 25 acres of vineyard across six distinct grape varieties, and the winery built on the back of that production has a working capacity in excess of 275,000 litres. That scale, combined with the technical knowledge gained through producing their own brands, allows the team to advise customers at every stage, from pre-harvest planning right through to dispatch.
Accreditation and sustainability
Haygrove Evolution operates under a SALSA audit-accredited winemaking and cider-making service, and is a fully accredited member of Sustainable Wines of Great Britain (SWGB). Following a decade of emissions reductions, in 2020 the business invested in carbon offsets to become carbon neutral, cancelling all remaining Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. The winery was designed with responsible energy and water use in mind, and packaging choices are made with sustainability as a guiding principle. SWGB accreditation also allows Haygrove Evolution to extend contract services to fellow SWGB-accredited vineyards, authorising those customers to use the official SWGB marque on their labels.
Contract winemaking services
The contract winemaking journey at Haygrove Evolution is built around three pillars: communication, creation and trust. The team can produce a bespoke wine from a customer's own grapes, or alternatively process grapes grown on the 25-acre estate to suit specific volume and style requirements. Red, white, sparkling or alternative styles are all within scope.
The winemaking process follows a clear sequence:
- Initial consultation. Customers visit the winery to meet Head Winemaker Laurence Cocking and agree an individual production protocol.
- Destemming and crushing. Post-harvest, grapes are destemmed (if required) and/or crushed on arrival.
- Pressing. Two pneumatic presses handle from one to over 70 tonnes of fruit.
- Laboratory analysis. Juice is tested for acids and sugars before fermentation.
- Fermentation. Juice is sent to vat and closely monitored over roughly a month.
- Filtration. The wine is filtered using RDV, cross-flow, cartridge and plate filtration methods.
- Tasting and adjustment. Customers are invited back to taste and tailor the wine to their preferred style.
- Sparkling production. Sparkling wines are made using the traditional method, with a semi-automatic disgorging line and a gyro pallet for riddling.
- Bottling and maturation. Bottling, labelling (if required) and storage in fully insulated premises before dispatch.
The flexibility of having both still and sparkling capability under one roof means a customer can move from grape to glass with a single trusted partner.
Contract cider and perry making
Cider is where the Haygrove Evolution story truly began, with the founding of the Once Upon A Tree brand in 2015. Built on recognition for craft cider and perry excellence, the operation later expanded into contract production, offering a tailored service to both large and small-scale cider and perry producers across the UK and abroad.
Volumes range from 500 litres to 100,000 litres, with the same craftsmanship and attention to detail applied at either end of the scale. The contract cider process mirrors the winemaking flow:
- Consultation and planning. Timescales and target product styles are agreed in advance.
- Fruit reception and pressing. Apples and perry pears are pressed at optimum ripeness using two pneumatic presses, with a standalone pressing service available.
- Laboratory analysis. Juice is tested for quality before fermentation.
- Fermentation. Juice is fermented in vat under close monitoring.
- Tasting. Customers are invited in to taste and direct the style.
- Blending, filtration, bottling and labelling. The cider is blended to specification, filtered, bottled, labelled and stored in an insulated, bonded facility before dispatch.
Co-fermentations, ice-ciders and wild ferments are all part of the conversation, and the team welcomes discussions about distinctive products and unusual styles.
The Once Upon A Tree craft cider range
While the contract side of the business is the headline, Haygrove Evolution also produces and sells its own small-batch craft cider under the Once Upon A Tree label, made from traditional cider apple varieties grown in Herefordshire orchards and blended with modern cidermaking techniques. All ciders in the range are gently sparkling, bottled at 5% ABV and sold by the case of twelve through the online shop. Each case is priced at £20.94, inclusive of VAT and postage.
Medium Cider
The flagship expression is a deep-golden, easy-drinking medium cider with aromas of apple pie and caramel. Ripe sweet apple on the palate balances against sweet tannins and gentle acidity. A case of 12 is priced at £20.94 from the Medium Cider product page.
Raspberry & Blackcurrant
A gently sparkling sweet cider that pairs traditional cider apple with warming aromas of ripe summer berries and caramel. Raspberry and blackcurrant fruit lift the rich, ripe apple base, supported by soft tannins and a fruity finish. A case of 12 is priced at £20.94 via the Raspberry & Blackcurrant product page.
Apple and Elderflower
A lighter, more refreshing style in which rich, ripe apple and soft tannins are complemented by subtle citrus and elderflower notes. The case of twelve is priced at £20.94 and can be ordered from the Apple and Elderflower product page.
Mixed Case Cider
The mixed case combines two bottles each of the Medium, Raspberry & Blackcurrant and Apple & Elderflower expressions into a single £20.94 case of twelve, ordered through the Mixed Case product page.
Quality grapevines for UK growers
Beyond winemaking, Haygrove Evolution is also a vine supplier, drawing on the experience of parent company Haygrove Ltd, an international soft-fruit grower with more than 450 hectares of production across five countries. Vines are treated with the same care as the rest of the group's crops.
The business is 'PEACH' registered, transitioning to IPAFFS (Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System), enabling import of high-quality vines from EU and non-EU countries. The vine purchasing service is tailored for the UK climate, with a focus on early clones of challenging-to-ripen varieties. Choices are guided by site-specific factors including aspect, sea level, slope and soil type. Bespoke orders are accepted from a minimum of 50 vines per variety, with grafting available onto preferred rootstocks (common options include SO4, 125AA and 5BB).
White varieties stocked
The white variety list includes Chardonnay, Bacchus, Solaris, Madeleine Angevine 7672 (the Barrington Brock clone), Seyval Blanc, Reichensteiner, Siegerrebe, Ortega, Phoenix, Kerner, Orion and Schönburger.
Black varieties stocked
Red and black-fruited options include Pinot Noir, Pinot Noir Early (Frühburgunder), Pinot Meunier, Cabernet Cortis, Rondo, Regent, Dornfelder and Triomphe.
Laboratory services
The on-site laboratory underpins both the winemaking and cidermaking work, providing a suite of quality-control analyses on grapes, juices, wines and ciders. Services include dissolved oxygen, free and total SO₂, pH and total acidity, carbodoseur CO₂ measurement, NTU turbidity, ABV, residual sugar, malolactic fermentation tracking via malic and lactic acid, acetic acid, and YAN (Yeast Assimilable Nitrogen). Growers and producers seeking routine or one-off testing can arrange analysis through the laboratory services.
The people behind the winery
Haygrove Evolution operates with the flexibility of a small team. Four key individuals drive the day-to-day operation:
Laurence Cocking, Head Winemaker
Laurence joined Haygrove Evolution having previously worked in both wine and fine cider making. His single goal is to produce the very best of British wines, both still and sparkling. He takes a hands-on approach with each customer, working to understand their objectives and craft wines that achieve their desired style.
Hristo Yakovski, Production Manager
Known within the team as 'Itso', Hristo has been with Haygrove Evolution since 2017. He is an integral part of the wine and cider making team, developing deep technical knowledge in both disciplines and providing a hands-on production service.
Tracy Cale, Office Manager
Tracy is the customer-facing pillar of the office, managing communication, relationships and administration. She acts as the logistical point of contact for grape buyers and ensures the office runs smoothly.
Martin Yakovski, Production and Yard Assistant
Martin joined in 2019 and works across every aspect of the wine and cider making process, providing vital support to keep the winery functioning successfully.
Sustainability and community
The Haygrove group operates under a Triple Bottom Line philosophy of 'People, Planet and Profit'. Alongside carbon-neutral status and SWGB accreditation, the parent group runs the Haygrove Community Gardens Charity, which uses horticulture to support people with a range of physical and mental health challenges while also engaging school children and conserving biodiversity. The first UK project was established in 2013 in Ross-on-Wye, where more than 50 regular users benefit from therapeutic horticulture and over 500 children visit each year to learn about growing, healthy food and nature.
Contact details
Haygrove Evolution operates primarily for contract production and trade customers rather than drop-in visitors. The office can be reached by phone on 01531 637119 (or +44 (0)1531 637119 from outside the UK) or by email at info@haygrove-evolution.com. Ciders from the Once Upon A Tree range can be ordered online in cases of twelve, with each variety priced at £20.94 inclusive of postage and VAT.