Sagardotegi
Encyclopedia
A sagardotegi is a type of cider house
found in the Basque Country
. Modern sagardotegis can broadly be described as a cross between a steakhouse
and a cider house
.
Most Basque cider, like most cider varieties in Spain, is called "natural" because, unlike many other European varieties, it is still, instead of sparkling. It normally contains 4-6% alcohol and is served directly from the barrel in a sagardotegi.
-tegi which denotes a building where an activity takes place. The word thus translates as "cider house". In some Northern Basque
dialects cider is called sagarno or sagarano but that only reflects a different development of the Proto-Basque root *ardano "wine".
Although the word ardo today exclusively means "wine", the original meaning seems to have been "fermented drink". This is evidenced by the recorded form mahatsarno "wine"; mahats meaning "grape" so literally "fermented drink from grapes". Thus the original meaning of the related sagardo and garagardo "beer" must have been "fermented drink from apples" and "fermented drink from barley" (garagar "barley").
Collectively all Basque cider houses are referred to as sagardotegi but since the emergence of more restaurant-style sagardotegi, the traditional type where the grill and eating area are under the same roof as the press have been called dolare-sagardotegi/tolare-sagardotegi or "press-cider house".
In Spanish
a sagardotegi is called sidrería; cidrerie or chai à cidre in French
.
The intricate pressing machine was spread across both floor levels. It essentially consisted on a large cantilever
ed beam (dolare haga) which passed between the two central vertical support beams (dolare zutabeak) of the building. The fixed end was held in place by a wooden beam (dolare zutabeak) right beside the actual press. The far end of the beam sat around a tall wooden screw (ardatza) which ran between beams under the roof (gain hagak) and the ground floor of the building, ending in a capstan
-like turning mechanism. At the bottom end of the screw hung a stone weight (pisu harria) which rotated in a hole in the ground. By turning the screw at the ground floor level, the horizontal beam on the first floor would gradually be pulled downwards and, along with the gravitational pull, exert pressure on the apple press at the far end. The apple press itself consisted essentially out of a wooden base with a surrounding groove to catch the juices upon which the apple pomace
is placed and a wooden platform which pressed down on the apples. Today, modern machinery is used to press the apples.
Apples are collected from the end of September onwards until the middle of November using the kizkia, a tool that resembles a stick with a nail in it. They are then scratted (crushed) into pomace
in the matxaka but without cracking the seeds as this would add a bitter taste. The pulp (patsa) is then transferred a press and the must
(muztioa) collected (or caught on the ground floor in a vat (tina) in the medieval style sagardotegi), processed and stored in barrels (usually oak or chesnut) in the storage area to mature.
The barrels vary in size, the smalles are called barrikotea and hold up to 100l, the barrika holds between 100-600l, the bukoia between 600-1000l and the (k)upela or (k)upa more than 1000l.
The must undergoes two fermentations:
Must in the Basque Country typically contains
The finished cider typically has an alcohol content of 5-6%. The minimum is 4.5% according to Spanish Law
, less than 100 mg/l sulphur dioxide, less than 2.2g/l volatile acid and a CO2 pressure over 1.5atm (at 20C°).
The more recent traditions surrounding the sagardotegis hail back to the time when buyers interested in purchasing cider from a particular maker would bring along food for the tasting as it is considered best when taken with a meal. This soon evolved into gastronomical tradition with the sagardotegis becoming a cross between a grill and a cider house. In a traditional sagardotegi, three courses are taken:
The steaks today are usually provided by the sagardotegi but in some places the tradition of bringing along your own steak is still practised. Food is traditionally taken standing at tall tables but modern establishments often provide seating.
In the most traditional sagardotegi, each guest, after having paid in the region of 25 euro
s, receives a glass and at various intervals a txotx is called. At this, everyone who wishes for cider gets up and heads to the lower section of the sagardotegi where the barrels are located. The large barrels, which are stored horizontally, have a small tap in the lid at about head-height. This is opened by the innkeeper or the first guest to reach the barrel and a thin stream of cider exits, which the guests catch with their glasses as low down as possible to aerate the cider. People then return to their tables to continue with their meal and cider until the next txotx is called. Each guest may drink as much cider as they like.
As this can be a somewhat messy affair, the barrels are often located behind a partition and with a lower floor level than the main eating area.
After the maturation of last year's cider, the cider season opens, with aficionados sampling different houses.
The earliest written records on cider making and drinking go back to the 11th and 12th century. The very first is a record of Sancho III of Navarre
sending an envoy
to the Monastery of Leire
in 1014 who mentions apples and cider-making. The other is the circa 1134 diary of the pilgrim Aymeric Picaud
included in the Codex Calixtinus
who mentions the Basques being notable for growing apples and drinking cider. The 16th century inquisitor
Pierre de Lancre
also refers to the Basque Country as "the land of the apple". It is known to have been used by Basque whalers and fishermen on their long-distance trips to Greenland
and Newfoundland in preference to water.
Historically almost all Basque farm-houses had an apple-orchard (sagasti) and numerous Basque surnames
and place-names are linked to the growing of apples or cider production. The earliest such reference is from 1291 where a place called Sagarro is listed in Navarrese documents. Surnames containing sagar appear in the written record from 1348 onwards: Sagastizabal "wide apple-orchard", Sagasti "apple-orchard", Bisagasti "two apple-orchards", Sagarbide "apple way", Sagastiberri "new apple-orchard", Sagastieder "beautiful apple-orchard", Sagastigoitia "upper apple-orchard" or Sagastigutxi "few apple-orchards". Later on, surnames related to the cider making process also appear such as Dolare "press", Dolaretxe "press house", Tolareberri "new press", Tolarezar "big press", Tolaretxipi "little press", Upabi "two barrels" or Upelategi "barrel building".
Traditionally gathering the apples was a communal activity. This ensured that people who did not own a press themselves would receive an amount of cider for their help in the harvest.
But with the increase of wine making in Álava
, the increase in the production of cereals (and the related production of beer) over the centuries led to a decline in cider consumption and the apple being regarded as food, rather than a raw material for making cider.
In the early parts of the 20th century the provincial governments supported the cider production and even subsidised the planting of apple orchards. The upheaval of the Spanish Civil War
and the ensuing years of hardship resulted in many orchards being abandoned and the production of cider plummeting. It was during this period that cider production virtually ground to a halt in all provinces except Gipuzkoa.
During the 1980s, the town of Usurbil
pioneered the Sagardo Eguna ("cider day") to promote the drinking of cider. The first Sagardo Eguna was held in 1981 and proved to be so successful that it has been a regular event since and many other towns have followed suit, celebrating their own Sagardo Eguna.
Most sagardotegi are located in the province of Guipúzcoa, in particular in the area around Hernani
and Astigarraga
but they can be found in all provinces of the Basque Country
. Traditional tolare-sagardotegis are found in (towns with more than one are marked in bold):
The towns of Astigarraga (20+, population 4242 in 2006), Hernani (10+), Urnieta (5+), Oiartzun (5) and Usurbil (5) have the highest concentrations.
When served in bottles, it is usual poured holding the bottle above head level, often using a special spout, to aerate the cider.
's dictionary alone, which was printed in 1905, lists more than 80 Basque varieties of apples. Depending on the desired character of the finished cider, different varieties and proportions of apple varieties are used. Some common varieties include:
Today, more than 90% of the cider produced in the Basque Country comes from Gipuzkoa and is produced by large, medium and small producers. Large producers, of which there are less than 10, account for about 60% of the total production and produce more than 300,000 litres each per year. The medium producers, of which there are between 10-20, account for about 20% of the production and produce between 140,000-300,000 litres each per year. Small producers, of which there are around 50, produce around 140,000 litres each per year and account for the remaining 20% of the share.
Around 10% of Basque cider is drunk in sagardotegis during the season, around 10% are used in the production of vinegar and the reminaing 80% are sold bottled.
In 1976 the total output was 2 million litres, rising steadily to 8 million litres in 1983. This was followed by a very volatile period until the output began to rise steadily again in the 1990s, breaching the 9 million litre mark at the turn of the century.
About half of the annual production is sold within Gipuzkoa, some 35% in the other 6 Basque provinces. The rest is sold within Spain
and abroad.
The vast majority of Basque cider is still but there is a small number of cider houses producing sparkling cider. Previously more of these existed but many closed in the 1980s. For example, of the 4 producers of sparkling cider in Usurbil
, only one remains.
s of Gipuzkoa: Se prohíbe también la introducción de sidra extranjera, a menos que esto se haga después de consumidas las de la provincia "the import of foreign cider is also prohibited unless that of the province has been consumed".
Currently, Basque cider makers are trying to attain some form of protected label such as the DOP (Denominación de Origen)
, IGP (Indicación Geográfica Protegida) or (EL) Eusko Label "Basque Label" as cider does not have any such label at the moment.
No specific Basque legislation exists surrounding cider but there is national Spanish legislation which states defines natural cider as la sidra elaborada siguiendo las prácticas tradicionales, sin adición de azúcares, que contiene gas carbónico de origen endógeno exclusivamente. Su graduación alcohólica adquirida será superior a 4'5 grados "cider produced following traditional methods without the addition of sugars, containing only endeogenous carbon gas. The alcohol content must exceed 4.5%". The other relevant pieces of legislation are Law 25/1970 and Decree 835/1972 which regulate address issues connected to the chemical composition of cider and cider production such as maximum sugar content, rules on production and prohibited methods (such as adding wine or alcohol).
A musical tradition closely related to cider production is the instrument called txalaparta
. The boards employed in the cider press were used as a percussion instrument by striking on them with cylindrical sticks after the cider making had finished to summon the neighbours to a celebration and to drink cider. A related but less known variant of the txalaparta is the kirikoketa
.
Popular belief held that cider was good for pregnant women. As one proverb goes: sagardoak umea ekarri, kerexiak eraman "cider brings the child, cherries take it away". This sentiment is mirrored in the Spanish proverb la sidra es buena, las cerezas malas "cider is good, cherries bad".
The singing of bertsos
, extemporized sung poetry, is also strongly linked to Basque cider, both being composed in sagardotegis or using cider, cider drinking or cider making as topics, such as this historic bertso from 1893:
Cider house
A cider house is an establishment, often little more than a room in a farmhouse or cottage, that sells alcoholic cider for consumption on the premises. Historically, some cider houses also sold cider "to go", for consumption off the premises.-History:...
found in the Basque Country
Basque Country (historical territory)
The Basque Country is the name given to the home of the Basque people in the western Pyrenees that spans the border between France and Spain on the Atlantic coast....
. Modern sagardotegis can broadly be described as a cross between a steakhouse
Steakhouse
A steakhouse is a restaurant that specializes in beef steaks. The same type of restaurant is also known as a chophouse.The steakhouse started in the USA in the late 19th century as a development of traditional inns and bars....
and a cider house
Cider house
A cider house is an establishment, often little more than a room in a farmhouse or cottage, that sells alcoholic cider for consumption on the premises. Historically, some cider houses also sold cider "to go", for consumption off the premises.-History:...
.
Most Basque cider, like most cider varieties in Spain, is called "natural" because, unlike many other European varieties, it is still, instead of sparkling. It normally contains 4-6% alcohol and is served directly from the barrel in a sagardotegi.
The name
The word sagardotegi is composed of three elements: sagar "apple" and ardo "wine", yielding sagardo or "cider" and the suffixSuffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs...
-tegi which denotes a building where an activity takes place. The word thus translates as "cider house". In some Northern Basque
Northern Basque Country
The French Basque Country or Northern Basque Country situated within the western part of the French department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques constitutes the north-eastern part of the Basque Country....
dialects cider is called sagarno or sagarano but that only reflects a different development of the Proto-Basque root *ardano "wine".
Although the word ardo today exclusively means "wine", the original meaning seems to have been "fermented drink". This is evidenced by the recorded form mahatsarno "wine"; mahats meaning "grape" so literally "fermented drink from grapes". Thus the original meaning of the related sagardo and garagardo "beer" must have been "fermented drink from apples" and "fermented drink from barley" (garagar "barley").
Collectively all Basque cider houses are referred to as sagardotegi but since the emergence of more restaurant-style sagardotegi, the traditional type where the grill and eating area are under the same roof as the press have been called dolare-sagardotegi/tolare-sagardotegi or "press-cider house".
In Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
a sagardotegi is called sidrería; cidrerie or chai à cidre in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
.
Making Basque cider
The archetypal sagardotegi in the 16th century would typically resemble a low, two storey farm-building with a tiled roof. The three main parts of such a sagardotegi were the pressing area, the storage area and the kitchen.The intricate pressing machine was spread across both floor levels. It essentially consisted on a large cantilever
Cantilever
A cantilever is a beam anchored at only one end. The beam carries the load to the support where it is resisted by moment and shear stress. Cantilever construction allows for overhanging structures without external bracing. Cantilevers can also be constructed with trusses or slabs.This is in...
ed beam (dolare haga) which passed between the two central vertical support beams (dolare zutabeak) of the building. The fixed end was held in place by a wooden beam (dolare zutabeak) right beside the actual press. The far end of the beam sat around a tall wooden screw (ardatza) which ran between beams under the roof (gain hagak) and the ground floor of the building, ending in a capstan
Capstan (nautical)
A capstan is a vertical-axled rotating machine developed for use on sailing ships to apply force to ropes, cables, and hawsers. The principle is similar to that of the windlass, which has a horizontal axle.- History :...
-like turning mechanism. At the bottom end of the screw hung a stone weight (pisu harria) which rotated in a hole in the ground. By turning the screw at the ground floor level, the horizontal beam on the first floor would gradually be pulled downwards and, along with the gravitational pull, exert pressure on the apple press at the far end. The apple press itself consisted essentially out of a wooden base with a surrounding groove to catch the juices upon which the apple pomace
Pomace
Pomace , or marc , is the solid remains of grapes, olives, or other fruit after pressing for juice or oil. It contains the skins, pulp, seeds, and stems of the fruit....
is placed and a wooden platform which pressed down on the apples. Today, modern machinery is used to press the apples.
Apples are collected from the end of September onwards until the middle of November using the kizkia, a tool that resembles a stick with a nail in it. They are then scratted (crushed) into pomace
Pomace
Pomace , or marc , is the solid remains of grapes, olives, or other fruit after pressing for juice or oil. It contains the skins, pulp, seeds, and stems of the fruit....
in the matxaka but without cracking the seeds as this would add a bitter taste. The pulp (patsa) is then transferred a press and the must
Must
Must is freshly pressed fruit juice that contains the skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit. The solid portion of the must is called pomace; it typically makes up 7%–23% of the total weight of the must. Making must is the first step in winemaking...
(muztioa) collected (or caught on the ground floor in a vat (tina) in the medieval style sagardotegi), processed and stored in barrels (usually oak or chesnut) in the storage area to mature.
The barrels vary in size, the smalles are called barrikotea and hold up to 100l, the barrika holds between 100-600l, the bukoia between 600-1000l and the (k)upela or (k)upa more than 1000l.
The must undergoes two fermentations:
- the first or alcoholic fermentation, an aerobic process where the natural sugar is converted to alcohol. This lasts, depending on the circumstances, between 10 days and 1.5 months.
- the second fermantation where the malic acidMalic acidMalic acid is an organic compound with the formula HO2CCH2CHOHCO2H. It is a dicarboxylic acid which is made by all living organisms, contributes to the pleasantly sour taste of fruits, and is used as a food additive. Malic acid has two stereoisomeric forms , though only the L-isomer exists...
is converted to lactic acidLactic acidLactic acid, also known as milk acid, is a chemical compound that plays a role in various biochemical processes and was first isolated in 1780 by the Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele. Lactic acid is a carboxylic acid with the chemical formula C3H6O3...
. This reduces the sourness of the cider and makes it fit for consumption. This fermentation takes between 2–4 months.
Must in the Basque Country typically contains
| Water | Acids | Sugars | Pectins | Tannins | Traces of |
| 75-90% | 0.1-1.0% | 9-18% | 0.05-2.0% | 0.02-0.6% | Proteins, vitamins, minerals, enzymes etc. |
The finished cider typically has an alcohol content of 5-6%. The minimum is 4.5% according to Spanish Law
Law of Spain
The Law of Spain is the term used to describe the legislation which is in force in the Kingdom of Spain, which is understood to mean Spanish territory, Spanish waters, consulates and embassies, and ships flying the Spanish flag in international waters. It is also applicable to the Spanish armed...
, less than 100 mg/l sulphur dioxide, less than 2.2g/l volatile acid and a CO2 pressure over 1.5atm (at 20C°).
The sagardotegi tradition
- starter: a codCodCod is the common name for genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name for various other fishes. Cod is a popular food with a mild flavor, low fat content and a dense, flaky white flesh. Cod livers are processed to make cod liver oil, an important source of...
omeletteOmeletteIn cuisine, an omelette or omelet is a dish made from beaten eggs quickly cooked with butter or oil in a frying pan, sometimes folded around a filling such as cheese, vegetables, meat , or some combination of the above...
or cod with peppers - main: a steak
- dessert: cheese (often Idiazabal cheeseIdiazabal cheeseIdiazabal is a pressed cheese made from unpasteurized sheep milk, usually from Latxa and Carranzana sheep in the Basque Country and Navarre, Spain. It has a somewhat smokey flavor, but is usually un-smoked....
), quinceQuinceThe quince , or Cydonia oblonga, is the sole member of the genus Cydonia and native to warm-temperate southwest Asia in the Caucasus region...
and nuts
The steaks today are usually provided by the sagardotegi but in some places the tradition of bringing along your own steak is still practised. Food is traditionally taken standing at tall tables but modern establishments often provide seating.
In the most traditional sagardotegi, each guest, after having paid in the region of 25 euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
s, receives a glass and at various intervals a txotx is called. At this, everyone who wishes for cider gets up and heads to the lower section of the sagardotegi where the barrels are located. The large barrels, which are stored horizontally, have a small tap in the lid at about head-height. This is opened by the innkeeper or the first guest to reach the barrel and a thin stream of cider exits, which the guests catch with their glasses as low down as possible to aerate the cider. People then return to their tables to continue with their meal and cider until the next txotx is called. Each guest may drink as much cider as they like.
As this can be a somewhat messy affair, the barrels are often located behind a partition and with a lower floor level than the main eating area.
After the maturation of last year's cider, the cider season opens, with aficionados sampling different houses.
The history of Basque cider
Sancho III of Navarre
Sancho III Garcés , called the Great , succeeded as a minor to the Kingdom of Navarre in 1004, and through conquest and political maneuvering increased his power, until at the time of his death in 1035 he controlled the majority of Christian Iberia, bearing the title of rex Hispaniarum...
sending an envoy
Envoy (title)
In diplomacy, an Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary is, under the terms of the Congress of Vienna of 1815, a diplomat of the second class, ranking between an Ambassador and a Minister Resident....
to the Monastery of Leire
Monastery of Leyre
The Monastery of San Salvador of Leyre is a religious complex at the south of the Sierra of Leyre, in northern Navarre, Spain, standing out as one of the most important historical monasteries of Spain. The oldest records of the site date from 842, when Íñigo Arista, held as first king of Pamplona,...
in 1014 who mentions apples and cider-making. The other is the circa 1134 diary of the pilgrim Aymeric Picaud
Aymeric Picaud
Aymeric Picaud was a 12th century French scholar, monk and pilgrim from Parthenay-le-Vieux in Poitou. He is most widely known today as being the author of the Codex Calixtinus, an illuminated manuscript giving background information for pilgrims travelling the Way of St. James...
included in the Codex Calixtinus
Codex Calixtinus
The Codex Calixtinus is a 12th-century illuminated manuscript formerly attributed to Pope Callixtus II, though now believed to have been arranged by the French scholar Aymeric Picaud. The principal author is actually given as 'Scriptor I'....
who mentions the Basques being notable for growing apples and drinking cider. The 16th century inquisitor
Inquisitor
An inquisitor was an official in an Inquisition, an organisation or program intended to eliminate heresy and other things frowned on by the Roman Catholic Church...
Pierre de Lancre
Pierre de Lancre
Pierre de Rosteguy de Lancre or Pierre de l'Ancre, Lord of De Lancre , was the French judge of Bordeaux who conducted a massive witch-hunt in Labourd in 1609...
also refers to the Basque Country as "the land of the apple". It is known to have been used by Basque whalers and fishermen on their long-distance trips to Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
and Newfoundland in preference to water.
Historically almost all Basque farm-houses had an apple-orchard (sagasti) and numerous Basque surnames
Basque surnames
Basque surnames on the whole are easily identifiable, reasonably well documented and follow a small number of set patterns. The vast majority of all Basque surnames are not patronymic , or based on personal features but refer to the family's etxea, the historically all important family home.When a...
and place-names are linked to the growing of apples or cider production. The earliest such reference is from 1291 where a place called Sagarro is listed in Navarrese documents. Surnames containing sagar appear in the written record from 1348 onwards: Sagastizabal "wide apple-orchard", Sagasti "apple-orchard", Bisagasti "two apple-orchards", Sagarbide "apple way", Sagastiberri "new apple-orchard", Sagastieder "beautiful apple-orchard", Sagastigoitia "upper apple-orchard" or Sagastigutxi "few apple-orchards". Later on, surnames related to the cider making process also appear such as Dolare "press", Dolaretxe "press house", Tolareberri "new press", Tolarezar "big press", Tolaretxipi "little press", Upabi "two barrels" or Upelategi "barrel building".
Traditionally gathering the apples was a communal activity. This ensured that people who did not own a press themselves would receive an amount of cider for their help in the harvest.
Rioja (wine)
Rioja is a wine, with Denominación de Origen Calificada named after La Rioja, in Spain. Rioja is made from grapes grown not only in the Autonomous Community of La Rioja, but also in parts of Navarre and the Basque province of Álava. Rioja is further subdivided into three zones: Rioja Alta, Rioja...
, the increase in the production of cereals (and the related production of beer) over the centuries led to a decline in cider consumption and the apple being regarded as food, rather than a raw material for making cider.
In the early parts of the 20th century the provincial governments supported the cider production and even subsidised the planting of apple orchards. The upheaval of the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
and the ensuing years of hardship resulted in many orchards being abandoned and the production of cider plummeting. It was during this period that cider production virtually ground to a halt in all provinces except Gipuzkoa.
During the 1980s, the town of Usurbil
Usurbil
Usurbil is a town and region located in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, in the North of Spain.It lies in an area well known for its sagardotegiak and the area adjacent to the river for its eels....
pioneered the Sagardo Eguna ("cider day") to promote the drinking of cider. The first Sagardo Eguna was held in 1981 and proved to be so successful that it has been a regular event since and many other towns have followed suit, celebrating their own Sagardo Eguna.
Geographical spread
Hernani, Spain
Hernani is a town and municipality located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Country, Spain. It is located at Latitude: 43° 16' 0N , Longitude: 1° 58' 0W. Hernani has an altitude of 200 ft .-External links:* and Basque.* Basque, , and ....
and Astigarraga
Astigarraga
Astigarraga is a town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country, in northern Spain. It's famous for its hard cider and the cider houses-External links:* Information available in Spanish and Basque....
but they can be found in all provinces of the Basque Country
Basque Country (historical territory)
The Basque Country is the name given to the home of the Basque people in the western Pyrenees that spans the border between France and Spain on the Atlantic coast....
. Traditional tolare-sagardotegis are found in (towns with more than one are marked in bold):
- ÁlavaÁlavaÁlava is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Álava. Its capital city is Vitoria-Gasteiz which is also the capital of the autonomous community...
: AmurrioAmurrioAmurrio is a town and municipality located in the province of Álava, in the Basque Country, northern Spain.-External links:* Information available in Spanish...
, Aramaio - BiscayBiscayBiscay is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Biscay. Its capital city is Bilbao...
: AjangizAjangizAjangiz is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain.-External links:*...
, BerriatuaBerriatuaBerriatua is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, in the north of Spain. Neighbors are Ondarroa and the Bay of Biscay to the North, Markina-Xemein to the South, Mutriku to the East, Amoroto and Mendeja to the West....
, BilbaoBilbaoBilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
, Dima, GatikaGatikaGatika is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain. As of 2009, it has 1,559 inhabitants.Probably its most famous monument is Butrón castle.-External links:*...
, Gernika, GizaburuagaGizaburuagaGizaburuaga is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain.-External links:*...
, IurretaIurretaIurreta is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain. Iurreta is home to Basque radio and television broadcaster Euskal Telebista....
, LezamaLezamaLezama is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain. It is home to the training headquarters of the football team Athletic Bilbao, and is accessible by bus - BizkaiBus - from Bilbao.-External links:*...
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The towns of Astigarraga (20+, population 4242 in 2006), Hernani (10+), Urnieta (5+), Oiartzun (5) and Usurbil (5) have the highest concentrations.
The Basque cider season
Officially the Basque cider season starts on the 19th of January and lasts till April/May. However, in bottled form it is available all year round. The recommendation is to consume bottled cider within one year from the date of bottling.When served in bottles, it is usual poured holding the bottle above head level, often using a special spout, to aerate the cider.
Basque apple cultivars
Many varieties exist and are used for making cider. AzkueResurrección María de Azkue
Resurrección María de Azkue was an influential Basque priest, musician, poet, writer, sailor and academic. He made several made several major contributions to the study of the Basque language and was the first head of the Euskaltzaindia, the Academy of the Basque Language...
's dictionary alone, which was printed in 1905, lists more than 80 Basque varieties of apples. Depending on the desired character of the finished cider, different varieties and proportions of apple varieties are used. Some common varieties include:
- Errezila, sharp and sweet (mottled green), the most common Basque apple variety
- Geza miña, sharp; also called sagar zuria and esnaola sagarra (green)
- Goikoetxea, sharp (red)
- Mokoa, sharp (red)
- Mozoloa sweet and fresh (green)
- Patzuloa, sweet and fresh (light green)
- Txalaka sour and sweet (bright green)
- Ugarte, sour (red)
- Urdin sagarra, sharp (apple red on top and green underneath)
- Urtebi txikia, sharp (yellow-green)
Production and sales
More cider than wine used to be consumed in the cider producing areas in previous centuries.Today, more than 90% of the cider produced in the Basque Country comes from Gipuzkoa and is produced by large, medium and small producers. Large producers, of which there are less than 10, account for about 60% of the total production and produce more than 300,000 litres each per year. The medium producers, of which there are between 10-20, account for about 20% of the production and produce between 140,000-300,000 litres each per year. Small producers, of which there are around 50, produce around 140,000 litres each per year and account for the remaining 20% of the share.
Around 10% of Basque cider is drunk in sagardotegis during the season, around 10% are used in the production of vinegar and the reminaing 80% are sold bottled.
In 1976 the total output was 2 million litres, rising steadily to 8 million litres in 1983. This was followed by a very volatile period until the output began to rise steadily again in the 1990s, breaching the 9 million litre mark at the turn of the century.
| 1976 | 1977 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.0 | 3.5 | 8.0 | 5.0 | 7.5 | 5.5 | 4.2 | 6.6 | 6.5 | 6.9 | 6.3 | 7.0 | 7.1 | 8.3 | 8.4 | 8.5 | 8.8 | 9.1 | 9.1 | 9.5 |
About half of the annual production is sold within Gipuzkoa, some 35% in the other 6 Basque provinces. The rest is sold within Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and abroad.
The vast majority of Basque cider is still but there is a small number of cider houses producing sparkling cider. Previously more of these existed but many closed in the 1980s. For example, of the 4 producers of sparkling cider in Usurbil
Usurbil
Usurbil is a town and region located in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, in the North of Spain.It lies in an area well known for its sagardotegiak and the area adjacent to the river for its eels....
, only one remains.
Legislation
Curiously, cider is mentioned in the medieval fueroFuero
Fuero , Furs , Foro and Foru is a Spanish legal term and concept.The word comes from Latin forum, an open space used as market, tribunal and meeting place...
s of Gipuzkoa: Se prohíbe también la introducción de sidra extranjera, a menos que esto se haga después de consumidas las de la provincia "the import of foreign cider is also prohibited unless that of the province has been consumed".
Currently, Basque cider makers are trying to attain some form of protected label such as the DOP (Denominación de Origen)
Denominación de Origen
Denominación de Origen is part of a regulatory classification system primarily for Spanish wines but also for other foodstuffs like honey, meats and condiments. In wines it parallels the hierarchical system of France and Italy although Rioja and Sherry preceded the full system...
, IGP (Indicación Geográfica Protegida) or (EL) Eusko Label "Basque Label" as cider does not have any such label at the moment.
No specific Basque legislation exists surrounding cider but there is national Spanish legislation which states defines natural cider as la sidra elaborada siguiendo las prácticas tradicionales, sin adición de azúcares, que contiene gas carbónico de origen endógeno exclusivamente. Su graduación alcohólica adquirida será superior a 4'5 grados "cider produced following traditional methods without the addition of sugars, containing only endeogenous carbon gas. The alcohol content must exceed 4.5%". The other relevant pieces of legislation are Law 25/1970 and Decree 835/1972 which regulate address issues connected to the chemical composition of cider and cider production such as maximum sugar content, rules on production and prohibited methods (such as adding wine or alcohol).
Linked traditions
Txalaparta
The txalaparta is a specialized Basque music device of wood or stone, similar to Romanian toacă. In Basque, zalaparta means "racket", while in the nearby areas of Navarre "txalaparta" has been attested as meaning the trot of the horse, a sense closely related to the sound of the...
. The boards employed in the cider press were used as a percussion instrument by striking on them with cylindrical sticks after the cider making had finished to summon the neighbours to a celebration and to drink cider. A related but less known variant of the txalaparta is the kirikoketa
Kirikoketa
The kirikoketa is a specialized Basque music wooden device akin to the txalaparta and closely related to working activities. It is classified as an idiophone...
.
Popular belief held that cider was good for pregnant women. As one proverb goes: sagardoak umea ekarri, kerexiak eraman "cider brings the child, cherries take it away". This sentiment is mirrored in the Spanish proverb la sidra es buena, las cerezas malas "cider is good, cherries bad".
The singing of bertsos
Bertsolaritza
Bertsolaritza or bertsolarism is the art of singing extemporary composed songs in Basque according to various melodies and rhyming patterns...
, extemporized sung poetry, is also strongly linked to Basque cider, both being composed in sagardotegis or using cider, cider drinking or cider making as topics, such as this historic bertso from 1893:
| Basque (dialectal orthography) Basque dialects Basque dialects are linguistic varieties which differ in pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar from each other and from Standard Basque. Between 6 and 9 Basque dialects have been historically distinguished:*Biscayan*Gipuzkoan... |
English |
|---|---|
| Lenago jendia zeguen oso tristura aundiyan orain jaietan kanta ditzagun lasai sagardoteriyan |
Previously people were highly dispirited but now let us sing on the fairs at ease in the sagardotegi |
External links
- Natural Cider Association of Gipuzkoa
- Sagardoa.com (in Basque and Spanish)