As a novelty, this year SISGA will be held coinciding with AGROPEC
Casa Paquet , the headquarters of the Xixón City Council’s Tourism Office , was the setting for the presentation of this international cider event, which is celebrating its fourteenth edition in what is the largest international cider event in Asturies and one of the most important in Europe.
The press conference was opened by Carme Pérez, from the Asturies XXI Foundation, organizer of the event, “A sign that Asturian culture is alive, evolving and living in the 21st century”
Next, the City Councillor for Citizenship, Guzmán Pendás, expressed his satisfaction at presenting this show: “It is a source of pride that Xixón is the birthplace of this event once again. Events like this place Xixón and Asturies as an international reference in cider”, encouraging those Asturians who are more “into the cider culture ” (referring to the consumption of traditional cider by pouring it) to make an exception and for one weekend open their minds to all the possible expressions of cider.
Asturies XXI Foundation, then took the floor and highlighted the large participation of cider mills from around the world , despite, as he indicated, the difficulty involved in travelling to Asturies, “isolated by land, sea and air”.
Although these products are new to many, Marcos Abel stressed that cider of this type has been produced in Asturias since the 19th century, being one of the first countries in the world – if not the first – to champagne cider and also producing cider spirits , carbonated ciders and other products that will be seen at this SISGA for a long time. “What happens is that the evolution of cider around the world in the last 20 years has brought the rest of the countries to the same place where we have been for a long time” he pointed out.
The president of the Foundation summarised the programme, accessible at sisga.info, a programme full of official events, tastings, talks and cider events that will try to bring the Asturian cider culture closer to the participants in SISGA. Important new features this year include the coincidence of the SISGA open test with the celebration of AGROPEC, at the Trade Fair grounds, and the creation of an event specifically dedicated to Asturian DOP products, through a joint pairing of Asturian ciders with Alimentos del Paraíso.
The main event for the general public will take place on Saturday at the FIDMA Congress Hall with the exhibition of products to the public where for only ten euros you will not only be able to try all these ciders but you will also have the privilege of being able to speak directly with cider makers from all over the world.
The programme will close with the Gala Brunch at the Llagar Finca El Duque, with the presentation of the SISGA Awards, which already have a very strong international reputation and which guarantee their impartiality through the peculiar system of having an international jury made up of the participating cider makers themselves .
Finally, Marcos Abel highlighted the important presence of international authorities from the councils associated with the European Cider Cities Network: “We are going to ensure that apples and cider become the link between the different councils that produce cider throughout Europe.”
For his part, Antonio Migoya, representative of the Caja Rural de Xixón Foundation , a collaborator of this event almost since its beginnings, highlighted the importance of cider on a global level “We are not aware that cider is the most drunk product in the world, what happens is that there are other ways of drinking cider” highlighting that these products are a natural evolution of cider and that we must continue working on it and highlighting the importance of cider makers from other countries as ambassadors, not only of Asturian cider, but of Asturias and its products.
The event ended with an invitation to those present to a glass of Riestra Brut Cider .
Cider Fair will take place from 26 to 29 September, with the Open Tasting Day on Saturday 28th taking place in the Congress Hall of the Asturias International Trade Fair from 12 to 15 h. and from 17 to 20 h.
