Spring, when the new vintage is fresh, cidermakers all over the world are pulling their hard work out of barrels and tanks, constructing blends destined for a ready glass, somewhere. Working in this way, with the seasons, Spring becomes a time for deep reflection and joyful celebration, a time to take pride in a job well done and consider what the next harvest might hold. In Gijon, Asturias, cider makers from Sidra Trabanco, Sidra Muñiz, Sidra Peñón and Sidra Foncueva gather to taste the new vintage from their project La Sidra de Manzana Seleccionada, or "Selected Apple Cider." Manzana Seleccionada is centered around the traditional apple varieties of Asturias and seeks to establish quality standards for Sidra Natural from the orchard to the bottle. This past May, while traveling through Spain, we found ourselves watching the first bottles of the 2016 vintage popped, poured and wehappily drunk culíns of fresh Sidra along side them.
