Bizkaia’s new cider is already flowing from the kupela (cask) to the glass. The province’s cider makers opened their season on Tuesday 20 January at the Uxarte cider house in Amorebieta-Etxano, housed in a farmhouse with more than four centuries of history. It is not a new venue for the event: the previous year’s launch of Bizkaia cider was also held here.

The star of the day was the 2026 ambassador, Fernando González, chef at La Revelía, the restaurant he runs in the same town, which has just been awarded a Michelin star. Jose Antonio Zamalloa, president of the Bizkaia association of cider producers and makers, presented him with the Sagardo Laguna, the award that makes him the representative of the province’s cider. When announcing his appointment, the association highlighted his commitment to “local produce, zero food miles, closeness and respect for the land”.

González takes over from the singer Izaro. Before them, the title has been held by, among others, the bertsolari (improvising verse singer) Onintza Enbeita, the mountaineer Alex Txikon, the aizkolari (competitive wood-chopper) Aitzol Atutxa, the actress Itziar Lazkano and the chefs Aitor Elizegi and Julen Baz.

A harvest the sector is celebrating

The 2025 apple crop has yielded 98,500 litres of natural cider in Bizkaia, made by six of the province’s cider makers exclusively from local apples. It is around 6.2% alcohol, and the makers describe it as fresh and balanced with a fruity aroma. The association ranks it among the best of recent years, for both quantity and quality, and attributes this to fruit that arrived perfectly ripe and in good health, which made for a balanced fermentation. There will be ciders at different stages of development, which will change over the months.

Zamalloa stressed that it is a cider designed for the whole year: “it has to be good to drink in winter and in summer too”, he said, and he promised enthusiasts “a top-quality product”. Alongside the natural cider, the txotx (the ritual of drinking cider straight from the cask) offered a taste of two products with which the sector hopes to break new ground: ice cider, at 11%, and a high-strength natural cider.

Institutional support

The event was attended by producers, suppliers and representatives of the institutions: the Provincial Council of Bizkaia’s director general of Agriculture, Andoni Agirrebeitia; the Basque Government’s director of Food Quality and Promotion, Nora Beltrán de Otalora; and the mayor of Amorebieta-Etxano, Ainhoa Salterain.

Beltrán de Otalora took the opportunity to champion the Euskal Sagardoa brand, of which Bizkaia cider is part. In her view, the designation “not only guarantees the authenticity and quality of our cider” but also recognises the work and tradition of the producers, and the Basque Government wants to strengthen its presence in local and international markets.

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