Introduction to The Farm

As stated previously, our farm estate is located in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer.

The orchards are less than 1km from the sea and this has an effect on how the trees behave. When close to the sea, the trees blossom one to two weeks later than trees of the same variety that are further inland. In the same way, the fruit takes longer to ripen in coastal areas.

Temperatures too are generally lower in such areas and this increases the total acidity in the fruit.

The origins of our fruit

The different apples grown on our farm range from early to late season varieties and their origins are diverse: with 17ha of orchards there are 32 varieties of cider apples and 2 varieties of pears, some of which come from our friends in Brittany (Douce Mouen, Douce Couet).

The others are mostly varieties from Normandy (Binet Rouge, Rouge Duret, Bedan…). Among them there are varieties specifically from the local area, Bessin, such as Gros Bois de Bayeux, Gagnevin, and Feuillard.

The most famous of them is “Marin Onfroy” and I am particularly fond of this variety.**
This apple was brought from Biscay (Spanish Basque Country) by the Lord of Saint Laurent-sur-Mer at the turn of the 16th century. This nobleman was called Marin Onfroy and he grew this variety on his estates.

Apples fall into four categories of flavour:

• Sweet
• Bittersweet
• Sharp
• Bitter sharp

And five maturity periods:

• Very early season: September
• Early season: October
• Mid-season: November
• Late season: December
• Very late season: January

** « Le pommier à cidre » de G Warcollier. Et « Propriétés Médicales et Hygiéniques du cidre » Docteur Denis Dumont.