In the middle of the cider season in Euskadi, conversations normally revolve around the size of the txuletón or the liters of cider that are served shouting txotx. Wide glasses and fine glass rule here, but meanwhile in the world of Basque cider, small producers – and also some large ones – enliven the market with more complex ciders, with a more gastronomic profile, the kind that you want to serve in a glass. A sacrilege for some, a logical step for others. But, beyond the container chosen to drink from, what is clear is that Basque cider has started its own revolution.
“It is not a traditional Basque cider, but it is a Basque cider. It is made in the Basque Country and the apples are Basque,” ??they point out from Bizio, the project launched in 2021 by Maore Ruiz, Omar Escarrá and Julia Laich. Just as it happened at the time with the so-called new Basque cuisine, the balance between tradition, origin and innovation is a key element in this movement.
“Cider will experience a revolution just as wine, beer, or vermouth have experienced,” adds Josu Ozaita from Errebelde, another small producer of ciders that they themselves call naked. “They are sincere ciders, with minimal human intervention,” he points out. A discourse similar to that of natural wines with which this new generation of ciders seems to have many ties.
Ozaita speaks in the future. The truth is that, for now, it is easier to find Bizio or Errebelde ciders in restaurants than in a store or, much less, on a traditional cider house menu. But for years now there has been talk in many places about this cider revolution, which also seems to be taking hold in the Basque Country.
Bizio arises from the friendship of two students from the Basque Culinay Center and Errebelde (rebel in Basque) from seven hectares of apple trees that their grandfather planted more than 30 years ago in Zizurkil (Gipuzkoa) and which ended up being the basis of this project. In both cases, there was no relationship with the world of cider, which, in a way, ended up being an advantage.
The knowledge of management, cooking and fermentation marked the style of Bizio, a name that adds to the word bizi (life in Basque) one or the bubble that this cider with natural fermentation, type pet nat, incorporates.
“We have been able to play with everything, bringing small revolutions: giving importance to the old apple trees, playing and giving value to the apples, breaking the designs and stories that existed,” says Josu Ozaita.
The apple is once again placed at the center of the equation. It seems obvious in a drink made with this fruit, but it is no secret that the big cider producers bring apples from here and there. In these cases, the local product is non-negotiable.
“Our goal is to give value to the local, and we believe that this is achieved by using products from the region and grown responsibly with the territory and the people who work it,” they point out from Bizio, which has some single-varietal cider in its range. (Garaia) reineta apple, collected in different parts of the Basque Country.
In the case of Errebelde, the apple is its own. And the way of working it is very different from usual. “There are apples that are ripe at the beginning of September, but others are still very green. We usually make different ciders according to the times of each one. We are controlling, tasting and waiting for the best moment for each one, to collect them and separate them by variety, in order to know the exact amount that goes into each barrel,” Ozaita details.
The result is three ciders with different profiles. Rebelde is made with half a dozen varieties and is committed to the total nudity that its creators claimed. A fresh cider, pleasant to drink and where the apple and the landscape speak. Hildakoak Dantzan goes one step further, with only three varieties of apple and with the passage through the barrel, leaving a light touch of wood to turn it into a structured cider that begs to sit at the table and eat.
Completes the Um Blen Be range. A sparkling cider made with the ancestral method (bottle fermentation), like Pako cider, Bizio’s most popular reference. In this last case, furthermore, it is a cider to which blackberries are added (also collected in the Basque Country), which in addition to color provides a different flavor, but without falling into sweet notes and maintaining the freshness that is wait for this drink.
The design of the bottles is another key piece in the discourse of these ciders that move away from tradition, not only in the content and discourse, but also in the presentation. Compared to the classic elongated green cider bottle, transparent bottles in which you can see the cider and very attractive names and labels.
And what do the classic producers think of this movement and the new ciders? Although in the world of wine mentioning natural ones or talking about craft beers continues to generate debates, it seems that in this sector it is assumed more naturally. Bizio is produced in the Zelaia cider factory, for example, and Errebelde assures that the majority of producers have understood that they have come to contribute something to the world of cider and reach other audiences.
But, possibly, the best proof of this incipient change is to see how the big companies in the sector are also trying different things. Beyond the Gorenak seal for superior quality natural ciders that some wineries use or the Eusko Label designation of others for those made with native apples, Zapiain and Saizar – two of the most popular brands – have already made a move.
Jon Zapiain not only defends this trend, but also joins in with projects such as his Joanes de Zapiain cider, which is presented as a plot cider and which makes clear a certain aging potential for a drink that is traditionally consumed throughout the year. Saizar’s new Red Bay, in a can and with a design that is more reminiscent of a craft beer than what was until now popular in the world of cider, also seems to confirm that something is changing.
They are ciders designed to be drunk in a different way, Zapiain acknowledges. So for now they are not part of the classic menu offered in their cider house. Neither Bizio or Errebelde are present in this area and, of course, they remember that in their case it is not necessary to pour (the famous txotx) and better in a glass.
“We like to drink from a glass. It is not posturing, but the glass accompanies you when it comes to smelling the essences of the apple. And for us, who live the entire process, from the apple to the drink, it seems like a way to respect the cider,” defends Josu Ozaita.
In fact, some traditional cider houses have been recommending consumption by the glass for years now, say those responsible for Bizio. They sign up for this modality, not only for organoleptic reasons, but also “to give the cider as much entity as the wine.”
“We do not believe that at Bizio we make ciders of another level, nor that txotx is one step below: on the contrary. It is important that traditions such as txotx are maintained and also that cider houses make an effort to communicate that their cider is no longer what it was before, that it is not just a drink restricted to going to eat txuleta and cod omelette and to drink a lot during few months a year”, summary.
