"Txotx" opening, the Basque Natural Cider Season

The Basque cider season begins each year in mid-January with the Txotx opening, when the cry 'Gure sagardo berria!' — our new cider! — announces that the kupelas are ready to be tasted. What was once a ritual to select which cider would be bottled has become one of the most deeply rooted gastronomic traditions in the Basque Country.

The dynamic is communal and lively: whenever the person in charge opens a new barrel, they call out 'Txotx!', and the diners step up to serve themselves directly from the kupela in a continuous back-and-forth that fills the space with movement. The traditional cider house menu — bacalao omelette, bacalao with peppers, txuletón, cheese with quince and walnuts — accompanies the experience, and it is customary to eat standing up, though not all establishments follow this tradition.

The season runs through to April. Cider houses are concentrated mainly in Astigarraga, Hernani, Usurbil and Urnieta, and can also be found in other parts of Gipuzkoa, Bizkaia and Álava.