The Nava Cider Festival, Spain’s answer to the Oktoberfest starts today, and always promises to be a week of cider mayhem. Running until Sunday 10th July, the Nava Cider Festival has been a permanent fixture on Spain’s festival list since 1969, celebrating the drink, which has deeply rooted origins in the principality of Asturias, which forms a part of the region of Green Spain.
Thousands of visitors descend on the village of Nava for the cider festival (Festival de Sidra), which is situated close to the city of Gijon, on the Costa Verde. During the festival hundreds of microbrewers from all parts of Spain come to present their product in a bid to gain recognition and approval from industry and visitors.
Pouring Cider 'Escanciado' in Asturias
The region of Asturias has an abundance of apple groves and produces an especially high volume of apples, hence the production of natural cider. When cider is served in Asturias, it is poured in a special way – Escanciado – as the cider is natural and bottled with gas, when poured the bottle is held high above the head and poured vertically into the glass, which creates a natural aeration in the cider. It’s a great skill, not to be tried after a few pints of cider at the Nava Cider Festival!
There is heaps more to do than just drink the cider; there are also concerts, exhibitions, workshops and chats. But if drinking cider is what you most want to do, then make sure you are around on the Saturday. If you are at the festival on the penultimate day, Saturday, then the cider is free; the only stipulation is that you have to wear a green handkerchief around your neck!
On the last day, there is a cider pouring competition; your chance to let the experts show you how it’s really done.
When I commented to my great amiga Asturiana (friend from Asturias) that I was
Visitors enjoying the Nava Cider Festival
going to write about the Nava Cider Festival, she told me that she had suffered the worst hangover of her life after attending the festival as a teenager, so beware, go with caution and lots of aspirin!
For more information on the region, visit our Asturias travel guide and video section.
Image credits @FlickR: Nene Online / Ivan Villar / Javi Paredes
