Cider in Basque Country!
The Basque region of Northern Spain has a long tradition of cider making. Some historians claim it is the oldest cider making region in Europe, with evidence of orchards and cider dating back over 1000 years. As cider makers, we were excited to be able to stay at a cidery-owned hotel nestled at the base of part of the cidery's orchard. Petritegi has been making cider at this spot since 1526, and has maintained traditional Basque cider-making practices. They are in the town of Astigarraga, the seat of Basque cider-making, and home to around 70 nearby cideries, or sagardoas as they are called in Basque.
Petritegi Cafe is a newer and non-traditional addition to the cidery's offerings, where you can enjoy delicious regional food along with a large selection of Petritegi's bottled ciders. We enjoyed a delicious plate of grilled Sardines along with a few bottles on our first night. Basque ciders are generally still, bottled without carbonation, so to bring the cider to life, a long pour is required, and just about two fingers worth in your glass. Pour and drink it down - there are no glasses full of cider sitting around! 
In Basque, orchards and cideries grow a number of apples unique to the region. With names like Goikoetxe, Urtebi Txiti, Txalaka, and Gezamiña, these and many other distinct apples contribute to a very uniquely Basque Cider. Alai, pictured here, is an unusual single-varietal Cider made with an apple called Txalaka. It is a Cider "created to celebrate happiness." A young dry, tannc cider, and light bodied with refreshing lemony notes. We found it a real treat to drink a few different single-varietals, a seemingly unique offering, with limited availability.
Our Basque tour guide at Petritegi was a blast. She gave us a tour of the entire facility, from the original cider house, to the orchards, pressing facility, and the barrel rooms, with plenty of sampling throughout. In Basque, apples are left to fully ripen on the tree, and are only harvested once they fall to the ground. They are gathered by hand, apple by apple, using a type of pointed picking pole, that pierces the apple to be lifted and knocked off into the basket.
Just one of the barrel rooms at Petritegi. These 20,000 liter tanks (about 5,300 gallons) are made of Chestnut and used for fermentation - and serving! Here, apples are harvested and pressed into October. The juice spends a day in cold tanks in order to drop out solids, and is then fermented in barrels like these for about three months. Then it's Txoxt season, roughly mid-Winter to early-Spring, when everyone fills cellars and cideries like this to eat and drink with friends and family.
Cider drinking in Basque is truly a community and communal experience that takes place in what can best be described as Cider Halls. Everyone shares seats at large tables, eats and drinks together, stranger or friend, and the evening is an event. Cideries typically open from 8-11pm, and for a fee of around $30 includes what seems like an unending parade of food, along with all-you-can-drink Cider from the barrels. 
Food is a major part of the Basque Cider experience. Baguettes are on the table and refreshed as needed, and courses start coming out almost as soon as you sit down. Everything starts with a plump and delicious Sausage to get you going, then the infamous Cod Omelette appears (pictured), a plate of Salted Cod (basically Peppers, Onions, and Cod), a giant piece of wood-fire-grilled Steak (pictured), and then a desert of Walnuts, Quince Jam, Apples, and Cheese (pictured). It seems this has become the traditional food of the cideries, and from what we were told, was done roughly the same across the region. 
Txotx! Recall that this experience lasts for 2-3 hours, and Cider is the key component that makes it all work. There is no table service for your Cider, instead, when you're ready for a drink, you get up and go over to one of the casks and pour some for yourself - and the others that might be thirsty too! Here, my partner Jillian is tapping the barrel for some thirsty visitors. Traditionally, when someone taps a barrel, they are to yell "Txotx!!" to alert others to come get some for themselves. People end up hanging around the barrels for a few pours at time - each pour is only a couple of fingers worth of Cider - and chatting with new friends and old. Plus, each Barrel is like a different variant, so people are looking for their favorite Barrel to drink from. These traditional ciders are unique in themselves, still and sour/tart on the palate.
At Alorrenea, another Cidery in Astagarraga, there were not one, but two mens choirs eating, drinking, and singing! We were treated to a number of lovely songs, sung by this group of about 30 men. The conductor's mother worked here, and late in the evening, they gathered around her and sang a special song. We were told that these groups are regulars at this and other Cideries, and they certainly make the experience that much more unique. 
The awesome Apple sign at Petritegi, reminding us to Come Back Soon! Our five days in Astigarraga were exceedingly fun! From the unique Ciders, the delicious food, the beautiful land and sea that is the Basque Country, and the culture that has developed over centuries around Cider, it is a trip we will not soon forget! Txotx!!
Comments