Sophie and Mark McGill both have wine industry backgrounds and in 2008 they set-up Abel because they struggled to find anything on the market that actually tasted like the fruit it was made from. New Zealand, especially in Nelson, is renowned for its apple and pear orchards so they chose to start making the best cider from this fabulous fruit. So focused on their vision, it took Sophie and Mark 7 years to perfect their cider, releasing their first commercial vintage in 2015. Mark says: 'Our mission is to get cider out of the beer fridge and drunk as an alternative to wine.'