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SAGARDOA ROUTE
Sagardoa Route is the strategic and tourist Agency of the Basque Country Cider House Association. We are a receptive travel agency of the Basque Country and our main axis is the Basque culture, the territory and its people. Our specialty is rural tourism and the culture of Basque cider, although we offer various activities throughout our territory.
Our starting point is the first sector, the one that works the land, apple orchards, livestock and maintains the cultural landscape of the Basque Country. Nature is our home, and therefore, we organize our routes in a sustainable way, maintaining the philosophy that makes us unique: to teach what we are.
One of the details that we like to take care of and maintain is meeting the people who work in these trades in person, being with them and learning more about their way of life, their history and their philosophy.
Gipuzkoa Cider House Association
"Gipuzkoa Cider House Association since 1977"
The Gipuzkoa Natural Cider Association (Cider Houses Association) was officially set up in 1977 and today is made up of 54 cider makers producing natural cider. Its main functions are to promote cider and to protect the interests of the members of the association. In recent years major steps have been taken to professionalize the industry and improve the quality of the product, and our aim is to continue to progress in this direction, strengthening traditional ways of working and exploring new ones.
The association is located in Astigarraga, where it has an office and a space for trainings, tastings, seminars and so on. The Cider Houses Association organises numerous events throughout the year, and has two essential aims: on the one hand, to improve the image of the product with regular consumers, and on the other, to publicize cider beyond the Basque Country, at different international trade fairs.
Work team
"We represent the Cider Sector of the Basque Country"
The Association is made up of professional cider houses. Each one with its own characteristics, all of them have one thing in common: they are natural cider producers. Today, we have 41 cider producers within our Association. The Association has a president and a board of directors of six associate members elected by vote every 4 years.
Among the staff we are Amaia, Olatz and Ana, workers of the Cider Houses Association of Gipuzkoa. Each one contributes from their experience and training the knowledge to implement the ideas, projects and lines of action of the Association. These actions are carried out by the hand of our board of directors, made up of 7 professionals from the sector. As an association, we are part of the federation and the regulatory council of the Euskal Sagardoa Denomination of Origin; and we consolidated the strategic and tourist agency of the cider sector: Sagardoa Route.
Olatz Mitxelena
Coordinator
Amaia Zubeldia
Product manager
Ana Larred
Secretary
Direct attention
to cider makers
General
advice
General
administration
Centralised
purchasing
Organisation
of events
Presence in
the media
Communication
strategies
Communication
supports
Travel
services
Product
commercialization
Tourist
services
Tourist
promotion
Sagardo Apurua
At Sagardo Apurua we recreate an old farmhouse cider brewery in the heart of Donostia/San Sebastián and bring its interior to life. The cider is carried across the river Urumea and then, with the aid of oxen, we take the seasonal farm produce and the new cider to the cider house. Let's do Sagardo Apurua, let's taste cider! It's a day packed with things to do for both adults and children, and it takes place in Donostia/San Sebastián, the capital of cider, over the long weekend at the start of December.
Basque Country Popular Cider Championship
En el Campeonato Popular degustamos y puntuamos las sidras de las sidrerías del País Vasco. Cuenta con 4 semifinales y la final, que se celebran en diferentes municipios de Euskal Herria. En las semifinales, se degustan todas las sidras participantes, repartidas por sorteo en los cuatro municipios. En la final, se degustan 12 sidras y se decide cuál es la ganadora del Campeonato Popular de Sidras del Año. Es una experiencia sin igual para todas aquellas personas amantes de la sidra, dado que esa es, precisamente, la única condición para participar.
Popular Cider Tasting in Donostia:
Tasting and show of all the products of the Gipuzkoa Natural Cider Association, held in the "Plaza de la Constitución" on the first Saturday in September. As well as tasting each cider maker's finest bottles, you can see the cider making process on the spot and there is also a chance to taste the first juice of the year. There is usually an information point in the square to tell you all about cider making, and anyone who wants to can enjoy a guided tasting of the special ciders brought along by the members of the association. September begins with Sagardo Eguna in Donostia/San Sebastián.
Popular Cider Tasting in Ordizia
Within the Euskal Jaiak schedule in Ordizia, cider plays a special part on the second Saturday in September. The agenda is filled out more each year, and as well as tasting the ciders of the Goierri area, you can also try those from other members of the Gipuzkoa Natural Cider Association, many of whom are there in the square in Ordizia, offering people some of their finest bottles. On this day, to go with the cider in the square, you can try some snacks specially made for the occasion by local establishments.
Txomin Parrilla
Our cider has always accompanied meals, and Lurlan, Basatxerri and the Gipuzkoa Natural Cider Association have turned this combination into a travelling event, with the aid of the HAZI foundation. Small Basque farmhouses or other formats host our events in many places around the Basque Country, accompanied by the delicious smell of roasted meat and cider. If you go along to any fair or event, PAY ATTENTION! Look for the "Txomin Parrilla" brand, in any of its formats, and enjoy the extensive list of local ciders and delicious pork.