“A cherry is not just a cherry,” says Chiltern orchardist Bill Hotson. “There’s a different variety of cherry to suit everyone’s different tastes.” Bill and his wife Lois have been farming the juicy red fruit on their 170-hectare farm south of Chiltern, just off the Hume Freeway 300 kilometres north-east of Melbourne, since 1982.
When Bill and Lois first planted them, they sold almost their entire crop to wholesale markets in Melbourne and Sydney. Four decades on, almost 60 per cent of sales are made in the farm gate store. Many of those customers travel some distance to buy cherries directly from the Hotsons. Most of the remaining cherries are sold to independent grocers.
From the beginning of the season in early November until the last cherry is picked and sold on Christmas Eve, Bill and Lois keep their customers up to date with the ripeness of the 18 different varieties via social media. “Some varieties have a season of just 10 days,” says Bill. “But all are different.” His favourite is the Merchant, a heart-shaped cherry with golden-red flesh. It’s neither the biggest nor the firmest cherry, but “it’s so flavourful,” he says.
Some European-born customers like the Chelan cherry, which is big, red, and very tangy. Others prefer the plummy late-season Lapin, while others go for the sweet crunch and full-bodied flavour of the New Dawn.
Hotson’s produces some of the first cherries in the state because Chiltern is slightly warmer than other traditional cherry-growing areas. “We have frosty winters, warm summers and free-draining granitic soil and farm in a way that increases soil carbon and fertility,” says Bill. “Our cherries have to look good, but it’s more important they taste wonderful!”