Goierri began its txotx season (the ritual of drinking cider straight from the cask) on Thursday 15 January with a guest from home. The forensic doctor Paco Etxeberria, a native of Beasain, called the first txotx at the Oiharte cider house in Zerain, where the district’s opening ceremony was held. The four Goierri cider houses, all within the Euskal Sagardoa Designation of Origin, started their season that same day: Urbitarte in Ataun, Begiristain in Legorreta, Tximista in Ordizia, and Oiharte itself.

An ambassador for Goierri cider

With this gesture the cider makers wished to honour Etxeberria “for his contribution to the history and memory of the Basque Country”, and they named him ambassador of Goierri cider for the whole year. As well as a forensic doctor, he is an anthropologist, speleologist and researcher; he holds the chair of Legal and Forensic Medicine at the University of the Basque Country and is deputy director of the Basque Institute of Criminology. Until 2018 he was president of the Aranzadi Science Society.

The event was also a chance to thank Goitur, which according to Sagardoa Route has been organising this launch for twelve years and received a special mention for bringing cider into the district’s tourism offer.

The harvest: 360,000 kilos of apples

Fifteen local apple growers have picked 360,000 kilos from the 65 hectares of apple orchards planted in Goierri, and from that fruit the four cider houses have made 125,000 litres of cider.

The climate sets Goierri apart from the rest of Gipuzkoa. Winters are colder and summers generally drier and warmer than in Beterri, which tends to give apples with more character and more intense ciders. Although most varieties are the same as in the rest of the province, a few grown in Goierri are almost exclusive to the district, such as Mokotea and Oru. The most widespread among Goierri growers, however, is Errezil.

The season doesn’t end with txotx. Begiristain and Oiharte offer guided tours as well as lunches and dinners, and Urbitarte, Tximista and Begiristain also open in summer and autumn. All four sell their cider on the premises and through Sagardoa Route’s online shop.

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