The Cider House
It is a family cider house. In the Arratzain country house the cider has been made for centuries. Documents have been found from 15th century in which the Arratzain country house is mentioned. Today, natural cider is still being made, but with modern technology, although the grape must is still made in wooden kupelas (barrels).
There are 3 hectares of land dedicated to apple production. The apple trees are native, ideal for making cider. The apple trees look down on us from the top of the mountain. The treatment that we make of apple trees has always been very respectful with nature, because we believe that is the best way to do it. We bet on the quality certification with a cider made 100% with native and ecological apples, with varieties such as: txalaka, goikoetxe, moko, urtebitxiki, urtebihandi, errezil, txorri sagarra …
Because the differences in relation to organic farming were very small, we decided to register in the Council of Agriculture and Ecological Food of Euskadi in 2009. In this way, we gave meaning to that “natural” management that we have always claimed.
Our cider is obtained as a result of the mixture from different types of apples. The cider is balanced, not especially acidic, with a strong apple flavour and great colour. We perform regular controls of musts and ciders, and in addition to all this, since it is organic it is therefore controlled and certified by ENEEK.
Organic agro-food production is regulated by a common European regulation that establishes the production and processing requirements for food, as well as the requirements for inspection, certification and labelling.
Our cider can be tasted directly from the kupela, there is even the option of watching and participating in the process of making cider. The best time to carry out this activity is usually in October, extending to part of the month of November.
The cider house menu consists of:
Pork sausage in cider
Cod omelette
Cod with peppers
Chops
Cheese, quince and walnuts.
Roof tiles and wafers (pastries) from Tolosa.