SUMMER SIPPING WITH BELVOIR FARM

What makes Belvoir Farm drinks so special?

“Refreshingly real and reassuringly delicious, there’s artistry in our still cordials and lightly sparkling soft drinks. Each are made using simple ingredients, carefully selected – including our own organic elderflower – with natural fruits, hand-picked flowers, fresh juices and spices. We’re true to nature and let the ingredients do the talking.

We choose natural, over artificial, every time. There are no artificial preservatives, flavourings, colourings or sweeteners in our premium soft drinks. That’s our promise. Ours is a light touch, using traditional methods and working with nature’s flavours to craft proper, premium soft drinks that taste delicious.”

Where did it all begin?

What do you grow here on the farm?

“We are known for our 60 acres of organic elderflower plantations, and every year we call upon the local community to help us pick as many elderflowers as possible from our fields and from wild hedgerows.

Observing the Countryside Code, they hit the hedgerows and our own organic plantation with gusto. Within 24 hours of harvesting, the flower heads are poured into a vat and hand-stirred gently – and so begins our decades old tradition of making Belvoir Farm’s much-loved elderflower cordial, from Mary Manner’s original recipe. As a soft drink, a recipe ingredient or a delicious splash to cocktails and mocktails, it stands the test of time!

With harvest gathered in, our manager Keith gets busy giving back to the land with gentle tilling, aeration and organic fertilising of the plantation, being sure to protect the established nature corridors around it – for wildflowers, butterflies, pollinators and fallow deer. It’s all part of doing the right thing by the land and the wider eco-system, as nature’s cycle begins again.”

Lastly, let’s set the record straight…How do you pronounce Belvoir?

“Despite its spelling, Belvoir is correctly pronounced “beever”.

Ready for a quick history lesson? Here we go… When the castle was built, it was named “Bel voir”, French for “beautiful view”. Following the Norman Conquest in 1066, the ruling classes changed and Norman French was introduced. New settlements such as Belvoir, Beaulieu (“bewley”) and Alnwich (“anick”) were established, but their names became anglicised as only the nobility spoke and understood medieval French. Either way, whether you prefer to call our drinks “bel voir” or “beever”, our main concern is that you enjoy them.”