October 12, 2026
Wilding Cider and Rawlins Family Cider have joined forces on a quarterly cider box that showcases their own bottles alongside a rotating selection from other Somerset producers.
A subscription option launches October 18.
For a small cider maker, filling a subscription club with enough different releases is a big ask. Wilding Cider’s Sam Leach and Rawlins Family Cider’s Simon Rawlins had both considered the format, but kept running into the same problem.
“Sam and myself have talked about subscription boxes before but always said trying to do 24 different bottles as a small maker is a big ask,” Rawlins told eCiderNews. “We like the format, but it just wasn’t achievable.”
The answer was to do it together. The idea took shape after the Somerset Cider Fair, when Rawlins was traveling home with a friend and the conversation turned to whether they could create something together. Rawlins took the idea to Leach, and the Rawlins x Wilding Somerset Subscription Box was born.
Rather than filling the box with only their own cider, the collaboration is designed to put other Somerset cider and perry makers in front of drinkers.
“There are some amazing makers in Somerset which just aren’t talked about enough,” Rawlins said. “We’re hoping working together will get as many different ciders in front of as many different people as possible.”
A showcase for cider’s English heartland
Somerset is often described as cider’s English heartland, but Rawlins says that reputation doesn’t tell the whole story.
“Somerset has always been well known for cider making, but a lot of the makers are very small and keep quiet about what they do,” he said. “We want to try and offer some of these drinks alongside well-known makers to show what Somerset has to offer.”
He also pointed to the cooperative spirit of the region’s cider community.
“Somerset makers all seem to be very good at helping each other out and working together to help where they can,” Rawlins said. “So a platform to showcase these great makers’ work, we hope, will benefit everyone.”
Beccy Leach of Wilding Cider echoed that sense of community. “We are so lucky to be making cider amongst some really great people and fantastic producers in Somerset,” she told eCiderNews. “It’s a pleasure to bring everyone together in an attempt to share some of the county’s quality cider and perry with the rest of the world.”
Credit: Tessa Bunney
A new box is planned every three months, with selections drawn from Somerset makers whose values in making align with Wilding’s and Rawlins’. Rawlins said they favor the 750ml format and want to leave room for limited runs, the last bottles from a batch, new releases and competition winners.
What’s in the first box
The inaugural box brings together five Somerset ciders:
- Rawlins Cider Chisel Jersey 2024: a multi-award-winning, single-variety, sparkling keeved cider
- Stockley Cider Leigh 2022: a single-village blend, medium, still cider made using the Rural Method
- Wilding Major/Minor 2023: a dry, still, multi-orchard cider
- Wilding Burlands 2023: a medium-dry, sparkling, single-orchard Rural Method cider
- Wild West Frontier Press 2024: an off-dry, sparkling, Rural Method cider
A sixth item takes the box beyond bottles. Each release will include a “wild card,” and for the first it is The Folklore of Trees by author and illustrator Aidan Meighan.
Rawlins said the wild card reflects the creativity they see as part of cider making.
“Making cider the way we do is a very creative process, and bringing some of that creativity into the box in different ways we thought would be interesting,” he said. “Always good to keep our options open and surprise people with a new great option every time.”
Future wild cards could include art, spirits, canned drinks or other selections.
Looking ahead
By pooling their efforts, Wilding and Rawlins can offer the variety of a subscription without either producer having to continually expand its own portfolio, while creating another route for smaller Somerset makers to reach drinkers.
The ambition is for the box to grow beyond its two founders.
“We’d love to see this as a real showcase of the best cider coming out of Somerset,” Rawlins said, “that makers want to be a part of and drinkers want to get hold of.”
The first box is available now as a one-off purchase through Rawlins Family Cider for £90, including shipping. Future boxes are planned every three months, with a subscription option launching October 18.
Order the Rawlins x Wilding Somerset Subscription Box:
Rawlins Family Cider — Somerset Subscription Box
Why it matters to Ciderville
Small cider makers everywhere face the problem Rawlins describes: drinkers like the variety of a subscription, but a small producer can’t make two dozen different releases. Wilding and Rawlins have found a way around it that doesn’t require anyone to scale up.
For drinkers, the box is a way into makers they might not otherwise find. Many Somerset producers are very small, so in the box, they sit beside better-known names, with each quarterly release offering another chance to discover someone new.
For Somerset, the model broadens a reputation often built around a handful of familiar names. Bringing limited runs, new releases and competition winners from different producers together makes the case that the region’s cider culture is both deeper and more varied than its best-known cideries suggest. And rather than competing for the same shelf space, the makers are using collaboration to create something none of them could as easily offer alone.
The ambition is for the box to grow beyond its two founders.
“We’d love to see this as a real showcase of the best cider coming out of Somerset,” Rawlins said, “that makers want to be a part of and drinkers want to get hold of.”
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