Last month, a group of cider makers, apple growers, restaurateurs, chefs, culinary educator, and journalists traveled to España verde to immerse themselves in the long tradition of cider making and drinking in that part of the world in order to initiate collaborations that will foster a vibrant cider culture at home in New York. This trip was the third international exchange organized by Glynwood as part of our Cider Project, and was achieved in partnership with Angry Orchard and the New York Cider Association. The snapshots that follow give you a sense of what the group discovered, and how they were inspired.

Cider culture begins in the orchard, and in Spain it is clear that the old exists alongside the new that is just breaking into bloom. The group learned about the traditional methods Asturian families have used for generations to harvest their home orchards, and met orchardists utilizing state of the art methods to produce fruit of the highest quality with traceability to single plots of trees.

The juice from the bittersharp apples grown across the region is transformed into cider by master cider makers like Samuel Trabanco, whose family has produced and sold cider for at least five generations.