2025 Cider House Season Assessment

Bookings for guided tours at cider cellars have increased by 28%, online table reservations by 37%, and online cider sales by 9%.

Guided tours and meals were the most popular experience among local customers, while tourists prefer to book with transportation.

The Basque Cider Route today presented its guided tours of cider cellars and the efforts the Basque cider industry is making to ensure its customers can enjoy many other options at the cider houses, beyond the well-known Txotx. Today's presentation is the result of the offering developed by the primary sector, a tour model based on a local, high quality product. The tours always begin at the apple orchard and follow the entire cider-making process while tasting all the products made by the cellar; local and foreign customers have embraced this new opportunity.

The primary sector has decided to open its doors to its home with the development of the Cider Tourism Plan: putting apples and cider back at the center. These two are key ingredients for the successful development of the industry. Therefore, guided tours always begin at the apple orchard. Today, we were fortunate enough to see the orchard in full bloom, covered in a blanket of white. After emphasizing the importance of the native apple and tasting the juice made from it, we delved into the production process. During the tour, we also had the opportunity to visit the various cellars, discover the development of cider, and taste various products, both in bottles and directly from the barrels. During these visits, it is always the producing family who first welcomes guests, as they are the main protagonists.

We would like to emphasize that the cider industry has developed its offerings based on respect for the primary sector: whether during the guided tour or in the criteria followed when tasting cider at the txotx, the main objective of the cider industry is to highlight the value of local apple varieties and cider. Therefore, during the visit, the various locally produced products take on great importance: Euskal Sagardoa cider (designation of origin), apple juice, gastronomic ciders, canned ciders, hop ciders, ice ciders... the most special ciders from each cider house are offered to the customer to taste during the visit.

There are currently 12 cider houses offering guided tours:

1. Aburuza (Aduna)
2. Altzueta (Hernani)
3. Astarbe (Astigarraga)
4. Bereziartua (Astigarraga)
5. Gaztañaga (Andoain)
6. Iparragirre (Hernani)
7. Lizeaga (Donostia)
8. Mizpiradi (Andoain)
9. Oiharte (Zerain)
10. Ola (Irun)
11. Petritegi (Astigarraga)
12. Saizar (Usurbil)

Although the sector offers a wide range of experiences, we would like to highlight four options:

1. GUIDED TASTING AND LUNCH

The 30-minute guided tastings are perfect for groups. These are primarily a tour based on tasting different products, followed by a traditional meal at the cidery. More information.

2. GUIDED TOUR AND LUNCH

The guided tour lasts about an hour and allows you to explore every corner of the house, from the apple orchard to the cellars, while tasting different ciders made by the family. This is followed by a traditional lunch at the cider house. More information.

3. APPLE JUICE WORKSHOP

This is a workshop designed for families. It takes place during apple season and lasts about two hours. Apples are picked, crushed, and pressed, and then the whole family has the opportunity to taste the freshly made juice. More information.

4. RURAL SPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP

Perfect for groups and entreprises. Various games and challenges based on Basque rural sports are held to build group cohesion. It lasts about two hours. More information.

2025 Cider House Season Assessment

Weekdays and Weekends: Customer Trends

The 2025 cider house season has been positively reviewed by cider makers: the pleasant and relaxed atmosphere has stood out in this year's cider houses. This year's season also maintains its trend since the pandemic. Most requests were for Saturday and Friday lunchtimes. The sector highlights that cider houses opened on Sunday lunchtimes have also been very busy.

Txotx Season Age Group Regarding Meals

Regarding the age group, our cider houses have been predominantly visited by people between 40 and 60 years old, although there has been a notable increase in customers between 18 and 35 years old on Saturday nights. Cider lovers who gather throughout the week with the desire to taste cider are also particularly important in our community, although the trend has slowed. This year, the trend in terms of the number of people has continued. Regarding the management of reservations, more and more customers are taking advantage of the online booking option, and more and more cider houses have incorporated this option into their websites. Consequently, online demand for table reservations has increased by 37%.

The cider sector, a generator of employment

The cider sector generates approximately 690 jobs throughout the year, both during the txotx season and in other activities related to the cider cellar. This year, together with Lanbide, we developed a tool that allows cider makers to receive their employees' CVs directly. This has been a major step toward facilitating the recruitment of workers.

Year-round offerings based on the season

The cider sector develops and communicates its gastronomic and cultural offerings so that customers who visit throughout the season have a well-rounded experience. The sector has already developed the Strategic Plan for Cider Houses and the Cider Cellar Tourism Plan. These are the pillars on which it focuses year after year to complete its offering and present a series of proposals to an increasingly diverse customer base. All of them are organized around a high-quality local product. Looking ahead to the season, there has been a 28% increase in the booking of guided tastings, tours, and other experiences.

During the txotx season, it was primarily Basque and Spanish customers who most enjoyed guided tours of cider cellars. However, for the rest of the year, the 2024 data shows the following:

• France: 25%
• Spain: 20%
• USA: 18%
• Local: 12%
• UK & Ireland: 11%
• Others: 14%

This season,in the  cider cellars, we have seen information about the online cider shops. These information points have served, among other things, to increase online cider sales by 9%, and the Euskal Sagardoa Designation of Origin has been the most purchased product. This is important because people often have difficulty to take cider back home. Therefore, we wanted to focus our communication strategy on cider makers reminding their customers that they can buy and have cider delivered to their homes with just one click.

Sagarraren Txokoa, a proposal for schools

During the apple blossom season and during the apple harvest, we organize various activities for children and young students in apple orchards near their schools. It is an activity aimed at schools.

Cider Houses' Summer Proposal: Terraces, Seasonal Products, and the Importance of the Hospitality Industry

The Basque Cider Route is the cider industry's tool for developing its digital, cultural and tourism strategy. The Route organizes guided tastings of the Euskal Sagardoa  DO cider, visits to cider cellars, sports and cultural activities, and has a packed agenda for the summer.

During the summer, 50% of cider houses remain open with a wide range of offerings. Seasonal products and bottled cider take center stage. The elegant and friendly terraces also help you enjoy the summer season and the Basque Country in a different way. The complete list of cider houses open during the summer can be found at this link.