The cider itself has between 5-6% alcohol content and has quite a sharp, albeit often fruity taste. The Basque oral tradition of verse improvisation also developed on cider-producing farms after a few glasses.Īfter a decline during the Franco era, in part due to the advent of industrialisation and the move away from rural settlements towards the towns and cities, cider production and cider consumption are now very much on the increase, so much so that Basque cider producers normally have to bring apples from Galicia, Normandy and in recent years from the Czech Republic to blend with locally-grown varieties. The perfect way to end one of the car tours in my Landscapes of the Basque Countryguide or, for example, after a walk along the rugged coast to the port of Pasaia San Pedro, is to spend a raucous evening at a rustic Basque sagardotegia (in the singular form – the “k” is added in the Basque language, Euskara, to form the plural).īasque cider making goes back centuries, and in days gone by pretty much every farmstead would have its own apple press and produce cider for the immediate family, friends and neighbours. The highest concentration of sagardotegiak (cider houses) is to be found just south of the city around the town of Astigarraga. The beautiful Basque coastal city of San Sebastián (or Donostia, as all the locals call it, in Basque) is rightly famous as a Mecca for foodies, boasting 7 Michelin-star restaurants, three of which have been awarded the coveted 3 stars – not bad for a city with a population of under 200,000.Īpart from the legendary pintxos (the often highly-elaborate Basque variant of the Spanish tapa), which are works of art in themselves, between mid-January and mid/late April is cider season.
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