The Basque Country is home to 83 cider houses in very different situations. Most of them, around 60, are in Gipuzkoa. Proximity to the sea explains this concentration, as the boom in commercial cider production in the 15th and 16th centuries was tied to the history of the whaling ships, which filled their holds with the drink to avoid drinking foul water on long voyages.
Cider culture
The survival of the Basque cider that saved the whalers: a family ecosystem that looks after the land
The tradition of cider in the Basque Country goes back a long way and has little to do with the cod and steak menu it now depends on. This low-alcohol drink, which was fermented for family consumption and boomed thanks to whaling, now faces new challenges
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