SELF-STYLED ‘ciderologist’ Gabe Cook, from Dymock, is appearing on BBC1’s Countryfile on Sunday (October 30) at 6.15pm, as presenters Matt Baker and Anita Rani concentrate on Herefordshire.

Gabe, who has made a life’s work of studying and communicating the virtues of cider, has already appeared a number of times on Channel Four’s Sunday Brunch programme.

This Sunday, Matt Baker looks at the county’s historic perry-making traditions and helps out with the pear harvest. He starts at Weston’s, the cider and perry makers at Much Marcle, before meeting Gabe at nearby 12th-century Hellens Manor.

Gabe said: “This is where some of the rarest and oldest pear trees in the world can be found. I suggested to Matt that perry should be considered to be our native ‘wine of the West’, a delicate and refined drink steeped in our local culture. We gathered some pears and Matt headed off to make perry the old-fashioned way – on a stone grinding wheel with lots of elbow grease.

“It was great to appear on Countryfile. Matt Baker was genuinely interested in the rich history of perry making, as well as enjoying the taste. The great thing, of course, is that there are a number of craft cider and perry makers in Herefordshire still upholding these fabulous traditions.”