From 16 to 22 November, fifteen venues in Astigarraga, Donostia, Hernani, Hondarribia and Tolosa put cider on the bar and on the table for the third Cider Week Astea. Its organiser, Sagardoaren Lurraldea, presented the programme on Monday at Bodega Klandestina in Donostia, and this year's news is on the map: for the first time, two venues from the Bidasoa area have joined, both in Hondarribia.

There will be guided tastings, set menus paired with cider, bar pintxos with a glass alongside, aperitifs and a Michelin-starred restaurant. In the glass, local ciders, some with the Euskal Sagardoa PDO, and others from Brittany, Italy, Germany, Norway and Sweden.

The programme, venue by venue

Unless stated, each offer runs all week.

Astigarraga

  • Malum Rex: two set menus, one of them vegan, with ciders from Petritegi, Oiharte and Sweden's Brutes.
  • Ibai Lur: its Gourmet menu, with Basque ciders of different styles and makers.
  • Sagardoetxea (Friday 20, at 18:00): guided tasting of local and international ciders with pommelier Haritz Rodríguez, at the museum.

Donostia

  • Apar: Mooma, a Catalan ancestral sparkling cider, as an aperitif and Bizi-Goxo ice cider from Zapiain for dessert.
  • Bertakoteka: its hake pintxo with three Euskal Sagardoa PDO ciders: Zabala, Isastegi and Zapiain.
  • Bodega Klandestina: sale of the international ciders being poured during the week.
  • Iratze: pintxos with Basque and Breton ciders (Cidrerie du Léguer, Cidre Nicol, Zapiain, Astiazaran…), plus crêpes on Thursday 19 only.
  • Taupada: its Tautalo pintxo with Bi Hotz ice cider from Itxas Buru.
  • Gagootz (Thursday 19): slices of pizza with Floribunda's rosé cider from South Tyrol, made with red-fleshed apples.
  • Sua.Muka (Saturday 21 and Sunday 22): Sagarmut, Zapiain's cider vermouth, with a pintxo made for the occasion.

Hernani

  • Errioguarda Enea: tasting menu with Weidmann & Groh (Germany), Apal Sideri (Norway) and Floribunda (Italy).

Hondarribia

  • Higeralde Sagarlekua: its dishes with ciders from both sides of the Bidasoa: Bordatto (Lower Navarre), Zelaia (Hernani) and Egiazki (Labourd).
  • Tatapas Gastroteka (Friday 20): four-course menu with Weidmann & Groh, Apal Sideri, Floribunda and Egi-Luze (Errenteria).

Tolosa

  • Tolosaldea Jatetxea: tasting of local and international ciders, including Apal Sideri, Weidmann & Groh and Cidre Nicol, which can also be bought there.
  • Ama Tolosa (Friday 20 to Sunday 22): a menu of local produce with a selection of Basque ciders, at this Michelin-starred restaurant.

Each venue handles its own bookings. The programme is also on the Cider Week Astea page of our calendar.

For the years without Sagardo Forum

Cider Week Astea takes place in the years when there is no Sagardo Forum, the biennial international congress that brings experts and producers from around the world to Donostia and Astigarraga. “This week lets us keep interest in the sector alive and show the enormous versatility of our ciders,” said Leire Alkorta, manager of Sagardoaren Lurraldea, at the presentation. In her view, the event helps to show “that cider can also be enjoyed outside the txotx season and in many different ways”.

Azahara Domínguez, Gipuzkoa's provincial minister for Mobility, Tourism and Territorial Planning, stressed that cider is also “an important economic driver, generating activity, jobs and opportunities for Gipuzkoa”, and encouraged people to get there by public transport.