Each year from Spring to Summer the Yarra Valley celebrates a very special festival of the cherry.
Spring sees hordes of tourists descend on the region for the Cherry Blossom Festival with blooms that most foreign countries would be envious of.
The summer season sees those new and returning tourists from the Blossom Festival on site to literally pick the fruits from the blossoms at the Cherry-Picking Festival.
Thousands flock to the region each year, particularly leading into Christmas, to take an active role on the farm to plate journey of the
humble cherry.
CherryHill Orchards is an established cherry grower based in the Yarra Valley, Victoria showcasing Australia’s cherries to the world during this upcoming spring and
summer seasons.
You can find CherryHill cherries in Australia’s major supermarkets and fresh fruit grocers every Aussie summer.
Cherry-picking at CherryHill Orchards has become a family favourite tradition each summer, as thousands flock to the orchard to hand-pick their own fresh Christmas cherries straight from the tree, making CherryHill a highly rated Trip-Advisor destination within the Yarra Valley.
This year, CherryHill is set to launch a brand-new retail store and tasting bar at their Coldstream Orchard. Guest can taste and purchase cherry inspired beverages, including CherryHill’s brand new Crafty Cherry Vodka, with each bottle containing up to 1000 ‘beautiful on the inside’ cherries.
This product and others within their food and beverage range supports CherryHill’s philosophy of reducing food waste and positively contributing to the entire growing cycle on their orchards.
At CherryHIll Orchards every cherry is handpicked, hydro-cooled, and transported to a cool room in refrigerated vehicles. The cherries are packed and dispatched within 48 hours.
The company takes the selection and distribution of their fruit seriously, relying on the cold chain to support the quality of produce, particularly refrigerated transport.
Given the sector CherryHill Orchards works within, the company requires reliable refrigerated transport to ensure product makes it to its destination while mitigating the risks associated with cold chain failures.
Because every cherry is handpicked, hydro-cooled, and transported in refrigerated vehicles the company places a great deal on the supply chain which takes the product to the consumer and the quality they see.
Recently they’ve been working with refrigerated logistics specialist, Scully RSV.
“It’s a new relationship with Scully and it was due to the availability and specs of their vehicles which was the main reason we reached out. Being locally based was another big advantage,” said Stephen Riseborough, director of marketing, CherryHill Orchards.
“We rent a truck from them which had all the correct spec which we needed for the job. It is great equipment and continues to serve our needs well.”
Riseborough said reliability and peace of mind in the company’s cold chain had many advantages down the supply chain, from the manufacture to the transport of product to customers across the country.
Scully RSV also has one of the largest dedicated refrigerated vehicle fleets within Australia.
“Our geographical reach and scale of our fleet provides customers with a solution when and where they need it,” said a Scully RSV spokesperson.
“We not only manufacture the rigids we hire and sell, but we also offer service and repair solutions. “Customers have the advantage of accessing short term hire for seasonal demands with
relative ease.”
For CherryHill Orchards, the long-term hire option remains the best for
the company.
““We are a grower, packer, and shipper of fresh cherries and we have multiple orchards and centrally pack in the Yarra Valley for supermarkets, independent retailers, export and our own consumer direct,” said Riseborough.
Heading into the summer season and peak deliveries of cherries for families at Christmas, CherryHill Orchards the supply chain remains critical to get their product to those who need in the
best condition.
CherryHill Orchards has been growing cherries for eight decades after patriarch of the family, George Riseborough, planted his first cherry tree in the Yarra Valley.
And in all that time the company has remained a proudly family run one, driven by passion and a love for the regions where they grow there more than 30 varieties of cherries.
Among the varieties grown by CherryHill are Royal Dawn, Regina, Nordwunder, Sylvia, and Sweet Georgia. All of which can be found by consumers during the cherry season, from November to February.
The locations for the orchards are carefully selected to get the most out of the fertile soil of Australia’s southern regions. As of 2023, CherryHill Orchards has multiple locations including the Yarra Valley, the Victorian high country, the Goulburn Valley, and the Murray Valley.
For those who can’t make it to the orchard, CherryHill also offers a direct-to-door delivery service in the lead-up to Christmas for select Melbourne postcodes.