Belvoir and organics

The history of cordial production at Belvoir Fruit Farms has its origins in the kitchen of the founder Lord John Manners' wife Mary. Mary made the odd bottle of Elderflower cordial for her family, using flowers picked from the hedgerows around the farm. Friends and neighbours would beg steal or 'borrow' bottles until the popularity of the product saw him start to make a few cases of the Elderflower elixir in small hand-made batches and set out to sell them to friends and local shops. From these beginnings in 1984 the cordial was so popular that he had to start making larger amounts.

By the late-1980s Lord John was producing a range of cordials using soft fruits from the Farm’s 'Pick Your Own' fruit fields, pressed in an antique French wine press. In many ways the business was reviving an age old country tradition of producing cordials as a means of preserving fruit for those periods when it was out of season. The principles that drove the business were those of a commitment to the use of fresh fruit and the avoidance of anything artificial. These principles, which naturally led to the creation of very fine products, helped to grow the popularity of the fruit cordials amongst people who were interested in good food.

Organic Production followed from the planting of 90 acres of organic elderflowers in the spring of 1995. Nestling in the beautiful Vale of Belvoir, the elder bushes grow very well and produced the very first harvest of flowers in 1998. We launched Belvoir Organic Elderflower cordial, to great acclaim. This was then followed by other organic cordials and in 2001 we introduced a range of Organic Pressés including Elderflower, Ginger Beer and hand-made Lemonade. Organic drinks have been so popular that in 2007 we introduced Blood Orange & Mandarin Cordial and Pressé and in  2008 Pear & Apple cordial which is made from pressed organic fruit.

Our organic drinks are certified by the Organic Food Federation.