Time for cidermaking

Talking about cider means talking about Asturias, that is how the video from “España Directo” begins.

LA SIDRA.- It is time for picking apples and in Channel 1 TV programme “España Directo” a video which sums up the process of picking and cidermaking is presented by Samuel Trabanco, manager of the cidermill with the same name.

Jose Antonio has spent more than 70 years in his apple orchad and shows sus how to identify the apple varieties used for making good cider. At the age of 79 he has been in the orchad since he was twelve and, in his opinión, the more apple varieties, the better the cider.

Today it is time for Xuanina, Verdialona, rippen at a later stage, and Regona, the tartest of all, which produces a juice of a very pale colour. For three months, every single day, they pick the up to 70 tonnes of apples expected for this year.

After picking them up, he heads for Trabanco Cidermill, which has been making cider since 1925, where Samuel supervises the whole process. A cold rain keeps the apples at an ideal temperature to be pressed, between 7º and 8º.

The secret is a slow pressing, which lasts for about three days and allows the juice to come up very fine and filtered. Finally, the juice ferments for four or five months to become cider.

Identity, tradition, culture and respect for nature. Asturias would not be understood as it is without cider.