If he is real, he’s been as busy as the bloke in the red suit this year. The store is literally packed tight with rosy stone fruits – plump baubles of Christmas goodness, all grown locally.

Henry Smith, of Castlemaine Fresh, said Uncle George’s apricots were “going crazy”. Not to mention his white and yellow peaches.

“People ask, who is he? Is he an uncle?” Henry said. “Yes, he’s a real person.

“And he’s like a brand name now.”

Uncle George grows much of the fruit for this locally owned, 35-year-old family business.

His Harcourt farm supplies the family shop with apples, pears, and the plethora of stone fruits now in full seasonal swing.

Henry says the fruit is left on the trees as long as possible before being picked and arrives on the shelves the next day. “We pick as ripe as we can and that’s where it gets its flavour from,” he said

The shop also sells family-made treats like dips, jams, biscuits and soups.

Queues were out the doors leading up to Christmas day, and Henry said the shop had become a popular stop-off for people travelling through to Melbourne.

Up the road at The Little Red Apple in Harcourt, Simon Frost and his family have likewise been championing the region’s rich fruit bowl for more than 20 years.

“All the products we sell are based around the Harcourt region and that was our ambition the whole way through, and that’s come to fruition,” he said.

Alongside locally grown fruit and vegetables you’ll find apple juice, cider, sparkling juice and apple cider vinegar, all proudly Harcourt-made.

Simon joined forces with local orchardists Bress and Henry of Harcourt a couple of years ago to produce the cider and sparkling apple juice under the label Harcourt Perry & Cider Makers.

“I really, really love our products because they’re natural and unprocessed and it’s a really exciting time to be in this industry because of the growth. That’s what keeps me going,” Simon said, in the face of the Mother Nature’s challenges.