Val de Boides, Pomarina and Solaya were the award-winning brands in the categories of best natural cider, best filtered cider and best sparkling cider, respectively; In addition, Pilar Coque was named Harvester of the Year.
The House of the Hevia in Villaviciosa was the setting in which the awards ceremony for the best ciders assigned to the Protected Designation of Origin took place. An act that was maintained despite the limitations generated by COVID-19. It is worth mentioning that in previous editions, this award ceremony was part of the so-called ‘Asturies Cider Hall’, a meeting that brought together different activities such as tasting, harmonization, guided tastings and even musical or magic shows.
This year the winners were: Val de Boides del Llagar Castañón in Villaviciosa as Best Traditional Natural Cider. Pomarina de Valle, Ballina and Fernández also from Villaviciosa, as Best Filtered Natural Cider. And Solaya, from Llagar de Quelo in Tiñana, as Best Sparkling Natural Cider.
“This award is truly for the best Asturies cider, because it is made with 100% apple from this land. With Val de Boides I am obtaining many awards and I am very proud of the work of the entire llagar team. We see that our cider is always at a very good level and that it is maintained. This shows that we are on the right track and that we maintain quality ”, Julián Castañón told this media.
For his part, Tano Collada, a winemaker from Valle, Ballina and Fernández, explained about Pomarina that it is a “fresh and easy to drink” cider. “It is a product that has almost all the characteristics that a pouring can have, but it can be served by the glass without having to pour it,” he said.
Alberto Fanjul, from Quelo, explained de Solaya: “We try to do things well and this award has given us great joy. It is a natural, fresh cider, with fruity notes that make it rounder. Its bubble is very fine. It is an artisan cider, it is made by second fermentation in the bottle following the champanoise method, so it takes work, work and work ”.
Finally, Pila Coque said she was very honored to have been recognized as the best harvester of the year. “Work in the field, whether it be on the block or whatever, is very hard. If we have support, we get ahead and if not, it is very difficult. But we are very tenacious, we put a lot of effort, a lot of enthusiasm and that is why we get to achieve great things ”, he said.
