Two entrepreneurs have found their home and opportunity in Central Otago’s Teviot Valley. 

Jodi Gillam-Taylor and Jered Tate, of Jerry’s Cherries, originally moved down from Auckland in 2015, where Jodi (30) worked in insurance and Jered (35) managed tyre stores. 

Jered’s dream, Jodi says, was to snowboard all winter and fruit pick in summer. 

“Jerry (Jered) had wanted to move down and has always had a greenhouse. He’s also a great snowboarder, so it was his dream.”

While that worked for a moment, the two quickly found themselves enjoying the lifestyle block they were living on. 

Then, a near-death experience prompted Jered to take a leap of faith. 

“It (the experience) prompted Jered to go all-in on his dreams,” Jodi says. 

“He’d been growing things in the garden and homebrewing and stuff for years.”

That led the couple to purchase 28 hectares of orchards just outside of Roxburgh, which includes peaches, plums, nectarines and apples. 

While much of the produce itself is sent to market as table fruit, they noticed the “less than perfect” fruit was being wasted. 

The homebrewing started as a hobby, but the couple have now launched their own range of alcoholic beverages, ranging from hard cider to schnapps and gin, all made from the “less than perfect” fruit. 

The Covid-19 pandemic spurred the couple to go from homebrewing beverages during lockdown, to wondering if a business opportunity existed. 

Their brand, Up A Tree Distillery, is only stocked locally so far, with the Cider hitting 7.4% ABV, it isn’t for the faint hearted.

Jodi Gillam-Taylor and Jered Tate’s Up A Tree Distillery gin.

Their gin and schnapps are not available for sale as of yet, pending licences. 

The changes surrounding the pandemic has forced their business to change, while some stock has been slimmed down and fruit prices have fluctuated, they say the innovation and searching for opportunities adds an edge to their business. 

Looking ahead, Jodi and Jered say they are optimistic for summer but uncertainty exists around Covid-19 and labour shortages. 

She says while the tourist numbers may have dropped a little since the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been more domestic tourism and stronger local support for businesses. 

“Tourists were a good part of the businesses before Covid, but we have had to adapt.

“That means slimming down some product lines, or focusing elsewhere. 

“It’s all about changing and adapting, and that’s business. Change isn’t bad, in fact it can be a good thing.” 

Jodi says the main concern of her business is finding enough staff to get through the workload, with less fruit pickers and orchard workers on the labour market in general. 

“Our hope is to get most of the fruit off the trees this summer and get through the season,” she says. 

“The staff and the market are those two concerns, both influenced by Covid.” 

“The concern is Covid-19 rolling through and the government’s restrictive measures,” Jered adds. 

“Domestically, stronger restrictions means small businesses, small markets, get shut down and that puts pressure on orchards. Then there’s export fruit and the unforeseen scenarios internationally. 

“The huge amounts of unknowns around those Covid-19 scenarios just put negative pressure on potential returns.”