Whisky, gin, craft beers and even Irn Bru may claim most of the headlines when it comes to drinks made in Scotland.

However, for the last three decades, Ron and Judith Gillies have been quietly making berry wine, or country wine, at Cairn O’Mohr in rural Perthshire.

Ron and Judith started the winery in 1987 with a few tools and a teach yourself wine making manual.

Thirty years later, they employ fifteen people and supply supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Asda.

Wild fruits

As well as ingredients from their own orchards, they buy in soft fruit from surrounding farms and they also forage for wild fruits, flowers and leaves.

Now, no-one is claiming that the wine producers of Bordeaux are looking over their shoulders and chewing their nails with worry at developments at Cairn O’Mohr.

However, just as the recent Scottish gin explosion has reawakened interest in using Scottish botanicals, Ron and Judith’s wines chime with the growing interest in local sourcing and foraging plus an increasing awareness of and pride in Scotland’s natural larder.

Using local produce is a fundamental part of the wine making process for Cairn O’Mohr wine. As Ron puts it, ‘I believe in Scottish food and Scottish berries are part of that’.

According to the Gillies, there is a solid core of customers who are fans of their country wines while new customers have to overcome an innate conservatism before they will try something new. As the Gillies celebrate 30 years in business, they are obviously overcoming that conservatism.

Local produce

Owners, Ron and Judith Gillies said:

‘We can’t believe we have made it to such a significant milestone. From humble beginnings making a few bottles of wine a year, we have turned our home wine making into a flourishing business. As our processes and orders have grown bigger so has our winery in Errol. Now we have a shop, café, run tours for visitors and supply trade and retail customers across the UK.

‘Being a part of the local community and using local produce is very important to us. Every part of the wine making process happens on site, from making the wine to bottling and distributing.’

Celtic artwork

Cairn O’Mohr are drawing attention to their wines at the moment because they have just redesigned the labels for their core range of seven wines. The bright, colourful labels feature a peacock with a distinct Celtic twist.

The new labels can be seen on their core range of Strawberry, Raspberry, Bramble, Elderberry, Spring Oak Leaf, Autumn Oak Leaf and Gooseberry & Elderflower wines.

While a well chilled glass of strawberry or raspberry wine would make a refreshing summer cooler, a bottle of the bramble wine would go a long way towards warming the heart’s cockles on a cold night.

And, as Ron notes, these fruit wines are ‘a great way of getting your berries in the winter’.