Sagardoetxea, Museum of the Basque Cider.

Get to know the culture of Basque cider in Sagardoetxea, a dynamic and fun museum that shows the world of apples in the Basque Country.

The Basque Cider Museum, Sagardoetxea, shows us in a fun, dynamic and didactic way the reality of cider in the Basque Country. This museum breaks with the ideas linked to the concept of “museum”, thanks to two environments that invite visitors to interact with the elements of the center.

Sagardoetxea, Museum of Basque cider

Do you want to know the history, culture and traditions of the apple and the Basque cider? Get to know Sagardoetxea.

Sagardoetxea has 4 totally different areas: the museum, the apple orchard, the tasting center and the store.

Museum: Located next to the apple orchard, the museum is a space dedicated to the exhibition of photographs, sagardogile utensils (cider maker in Basque), audiovisuals and information panels that show the history of cider in the Basque Country. A museum that together with the words of our guide, was very interesting.

Sagardoetxea Museum

Manzanal: The space occupied by this apple orchard is an open space, a natural space in which to experience the traditions of the apple in first person, touching, feeling, learning ….. This space, linked in its totality with nature, allows us to enjoy different activities depending on the seasons of the year:

Winter: Seed sowing.

Spring: Pollination.

Summer: Observation of apple ripening.

Autumn: Process of elaboration of the apple must.

kizki, utensil for apple picking in Sagardoetxea

In the apple orchard we will find almost all the apple varieties that are worked in the Basque Country, we will learn about grafting and the reason for its use, the apple harvesting methods and finally the elaboration of our beloved cider.

Thanks to this space, we can say that Sagardoetxea is a changing museum, a living space, a museum to which we can return and enjoy different sensations.

Tasting center: In this space we will perform the tasting of different juices derived from apples: apple must, apple liqueurs and of course, the so appreciated cider of the Basque Country in the traditional style, the Txotx! In the interpretation center, they also teach us everything related to the Txotx! ritual, how to hold the glass to get a good “tximparta” (that explosion of bubbles so typical of our cider), how to interpret the colors and aromas of the cider and much more that we will not reveal so as not to break the magic of the unknown.

Sagardoetxea tasting-tasting session

Store: In the store we have the opportunity to choose from the following among a wide variety of ciders and apple products to take home as a souvenir of our visit to Astigarraga, the cider capital of the Basque Country. We also have the opportunity to buy souvenirs of other kinds, as well as information about the world of cider in the Basque Country.

Sagardoetxea Store

Each of these 4 sections brings to Sagardoetxea, a different approach to the world of the apple, find the one that best suits you and tell us about it!

Individual: In this type of visit we have the option to visit the entire museum at our own pace or take a guided tour. Although the whole tour of the museum is perfectly signposted with information panels, there are things that written words can not spread as clearly as the spoken ones, so we recommend the guided tour, enjoying the passion with which Ainhize, Sagardoetxea’s guide, explains and reproduces the practices and traditions around the apple.

Groups: Groups take on special prominence at Sagardoetxea. The children of the group (and the not so children), enjoy picking apples with the kizki, crushing the apples with tampers and pressing them in the tolarea, practical experiences difficult to forget. In addition, Sagardoetxea has flexible schedules and visits, adapting to the needs of the group.

Groups in Sagardoetxea, Museum of the Basque Cider

Schools: The Basque Cider Museum has developed a plan of guided visits adapted to the different age groups of schoolchildren. This plan includes practical activities and a dossier addressed to those in charge of the school.

Children in Sagardoetxea

Euskaltegis: The euskaltegis are centers specialized in the teaching of our language, the Basque. Sagardoetxea, has included in its visits a tour in which visitors will learn about the culture of Basque cider while learning Basque, a perfect combination.

Euskaltegis in Sagardoetxea

Culture, tradition and history: Sagardoetxea shows us the impact of the Basque cider houses (Sagardotegiak) in our culture, tradition and history. The cider houses are authentic temples of the Basque cider, thanks to which, we have managed to keep alive the apple culture in the Basque Country.

Sagardoetxea Experiences, Museum of the Basque Cider

The museum of the Basque cider, shows us among many other things the origin of many of the instruments of Euskal Herria, which like the Basque sports, have their origin in the baserris (Basque Country farmhouses).

Dynamic and fun: Sagardoetxea is a place where learning is fun. The interaction mechanisms prepared throughout the tour make the time fly by during our stay at the Basque Cider Museum.

Manzanal Sagardoetxea

Location: Located in the capital of the Basque cider, Astigarraga, it allows us to enjoy a perfect plan to know all the details about the Basque cider: Visit the Museum of the Basque cider and enjoy a good Basque cider house.

Price: The price of the Basque Cider Museum maintains a very good value for money, excellent. Pay attention to the prices…

Attention: Each and every one of the people who make up the Museum of Basque Cider, served us perfectly, making our stay in Sagardoetxea was a pleasant surprise.

Facilities: The separation of the contents by spaces provides a simple but tangible connotation of differentiation, making the ideas about the Basque Cider Museum clear and concise.

Sagardoetxea, Astigarraga

TurismoVasco Tiketa: Sagardoetxea, Basque cider museum, has earned our exclusive tourist accreditation “TurismoVasco Tiketa” for highlighting the daily life of our cider makers, supporting and promoting the culture of apples and Basque cider.

Tourism AccreditationVasco Tiketa

As you can see, the Basque Cider Museum was a pleasant surprise, we did not expect a museum so open and with so many interactions with the visitor.

After our visit to the Basque cider museum during the apple picking and cider making season, we are sure that we will definitely repeat this experience at another time of the year. What time of the year do you plan to visit Sagardoetxea, Museum of Basque Cider? We look forward to hearing your opinions!

We update our Sagardoetxea article to tell you about our experience in their workshop held in Ardoaraba, a workshop in which visitors were once again the protagonists, interacting with the apples and enjoying the whole process to obtain the precious must.

Sagardoetxea not only disseminates the culture of Basque cider in its museum located in the Gipuzkoan town of Astigarraga, it is also present in the most important food and wine fairs and events in the Basque Country. On the occasion of the celebration of Ardoaraba, we had the opportunity to enjoy the Sagardoetxea workshop, where in addition to the whole process until obtaining the must, we were lucky enough to have a tasting with 3 different varieties of natural cider from the Basque Country.

The workshop consisted of 3 activities linked to the apple and therefore to the cider of our land:

Knowing the varieties of apples and tasting them: Different types of apples passed through our hands, apples of different size, color and flavor but all of them essential to find that perfect balance pursued by the natural cider makers of the Basque Country.

Apples

Apple picking: The children were in charge of picking the apples using the kizki, a traditional way of picking apples in our mountains.

Apple picking with Kizki

Apple crushing: An action that requires strength and skill to crush the apple correctly. On this occasion, it was adults who went out to perform this process and… they had a blast!

Apple crushing

Pressing of the apples: Given the time of year, the Sagardoetxea team was not confident of obtaining a large amount of juice from the crushed apples, but luckily more than one jar of must was obtained and tasted by all present.

Obtaining the must

Tasting of Basque cider, the sweetness and acidity of the broth marked our tasting of 3 great varieties of natural cider from the Basque Country, a game of flavors that pleased those present.

Sagardoetxea’s must and sago

We make a special mention to the wink that from Sagardoetxea they made to the origin of some of the Basque instruments like the txalaparta or the kirikoketa born both from the process of the elaboration of the Basque cider. Basque culture and enology united by Ainhize and Jose Mari from the Sagardoetxea museum, undoubtedly one of the best workshops in Ardoaraba.

Kirikoketa