Ancestral cider and Asturian ice cider, cider with Irish nettle, cider with endangered apples from the Alps or cider trucks touring Portugal, some of the surprises of the first day of the International Hall of Gala Ciders, which divided its activities between Xixón and Nava.
Today the international jury, that will award the SISGA Awards, will meet, the novelties of the European program CIDEREU will be revealed and ciders from Madeira, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Portugal will be presented, among other activities.
LA SIDRA.- Yesterday was held the opening ceremony of the 14th SISGA, in which the event was presented by Marcos A. Fdz. President of the Asturies XXI Foundation, organizer of the event with the collaboration of the Fundación Caja Rural de Xixón, the magazine LA SIDRA and the City Council of Xixón.
Marcos Abel defined the SISGA as “a very original event that is not limited to the exhibition and sale of the product but aims to dignify the cider, the recognition of its quality and the ability of cider to be present at all times and situations, from a meeting between friends to a restaurant of the highest quality”. This event, he emphasized, pursues the internationalization of cider and the interrelation among the participants, so that “knowledge and experiences are shared, both oenological, business and gastronomic, and through understanding between the participant, synergies are achieved“. In that sense he pointed the importance of the creation of the European Cider Cities Network (RECS) and the social and political commitment it implies.
Finally he reviewed the program for the coming days, highlighting the Open Tasting on Saturday and the importance of the SISGA Awards, for which today meets the international jury, the only one known in which each participant brings a member, ensuring its fairness.
The Inaugural Tasting was in charge of Jiri Procházka, cider maker from Cider Sekt, Czech Republic, who presented his product, telling the history of his cider mill and the situation of cider in his country.
In the afternoon, the SISGA moved to Nava, where after the official reception by the mayor of the town and the director of the Museum, the conferences and guided tastings took place throughout the afternoon, until the final espicha (cider event) which took place at the Llagar de Sorribes.
Eamon Lucey, from Stonewell Cider, Ireland, Sidra Riestra, from Asturies, and Gianluca Telloli, from the cider mill Maley, in Valle d’Aosta, Italy, presented their products at the tastings. Arcadio Vázquez, Dr. in Chemistry, in addition to presenting Ramos del Valle, surprised everyone with a cider that he described as ancestral due to its production method, based on exclusive yeasts of Asturian cider and without any type of oenological intervention. There was also space for business innovation, by Maria José Valente, from the Celtic Cider House Endovélico, in Oporto, who presented her Cider Truck project.
We remind that today Friday will be an important and intense day, since throughout the day will meet the international jury that will award the SISGA Awards and there will be several activities related to the world of cider that we detail below:
. 10:00 h. Guided visit to Llagar de Cabueñes and its orchards -traditional and vertical axis- by its cider maker Diego Agüera, with cider tasting.
10:00 h. Conference presentation of Cider Cities and the European program CIDEREU by the president of the Asturies XXI Foundation, Marcos A. Fernández, with the intervention of the international institutional representatives present. Finca El Duque Restaurant
Visit to the Botanical Garden of Xixón.
Xixón City Hall. Reception Hall
13:30 h.- Reception at Xixón City Hall by local authorities for the institutional representatives of city councils from Czech Republic, Italy, Portugal, France and Spain participating in the Cider Cities and CIDEREU project.
AFTERNOON
Asturias Exhibition Congress Palace of the Luis Adaro Exhibition Center. Xixón
16:00 h. Reception by representatives of the Xixón Chamber of Commerce and guided visit to AGROPEC (Agricultural, Livestock, Forestry and Fishing Industries and Countryside Fair).
17:00 h. Presentation / Tasting Alimentos del Paraíso. Workshop on Harmonizations of international cider with Alimentos del Paraíso, given by the expert Lluis Nel Estrada with the intervention of the representatives of the participating cider mills.
I Intervention: ‘IGP Madeira Ciders’ by Victor Maciel Vieira. Secretary/treasurer of the Madeira Cider Producers Assoc. and tasting of ‘Sidra do Massa’.
II Intervention: Jaanihanso Cider. Estonia, by Alvar Roosima.
III Intervention: Mr. Plume Cider. Latvia, by Maris Plūme.
IV Intervention: Sodo Sidrine. Lithuania, by Donatas Genys
V Presentation: Cider Alfa. Portugal, by Duarte Moura.
Caja Rural de Xixón Foundation Conference Room
21:00 h. Inauguration of the exhibition Concursu Internacional de Semeyes LA SIDRA, with intervention of the president of Asemeyando Association, Luis José Vigil-Escalera ‘Lujó Semeyes’.
21:30 h. Tasting of Asturian brut ciders and gastronomic proposal by Miscelanea Gastro.
To close this day, we will take the international representatives to know first hand the cider culture with a tour around the cider houses of Xixón
Press contact: Llucía F. Marqués – 684644711
More information at: https://sisga.info/as/
