Due to customer demand, Masaveu Bodegas has increased production of Valverán 20 Manzanas ice cider by 36% in the 2022 vintage. This cider is produced at a mill in Sariego, Asturias and shall go on sale in March 2024.
As a result, the winemaking group hopes to respond to the increase in demand of this cider made with the apple trees that grow on this estate, the largest orchard in Asturias with 40 hectares, and even in Spain, in terms of native Asturian varietals.
This success amongst consumers and the subsequent increase in production come hand in hand with acknowledgement in several international contests, such as the prestigious prize recently awarded in the International World Cider Awardswhich has chosen this Spanish ice cider, Valverán 20 Manzanas, as the Best Speciality Cider amongst ciders from several countries such as Canada, United Kingdom, France, England and Ireland. This was the only Spanish cider to receive the Gold medal.
“This award is like the Oscars for ciders and the chosen ones are considered the best in the world. It is an honour and an enormous satisfaction that Spain is up there thanks to our ice cider Valverán 20 Manzanas. It is always positive to be acknowledged for the work and effort involved in a project created with so much passion, determination and the certainty of offering a high-quality premium product”, explains José Masaveu, General Manager of Masaveu Bodegas.
The increase in production is partly thanks to the construction of an industrial warehouse covering a surface of 329 square metres on the boundaries of the estate. This space receives an electrical energy supply from photovoltaic solar panels, and also has a rainwater collection system for use in tasks carried out on the estate.
Meticulous elaboration process
Valverán was founded in 1998, but it wasn’t until 2007 that this ice cider was born, the Masaveu Family were pioneers in the elaboration of ice ciders on the Iberian Peninsula. The name Valverán 20 manzanas comes from the quantity of apples required to produce each 37.5 cl. bottle, given that it contains the concentrated juice of at least 20 apples.
This drink involves a complex elaboration process, beginning with picking the native Asturian apples by hand, which are then washed and inspected one by one. Ater that they are crushed and pressed and the juice is decanted into stainless steel tanks using cold application.
Once clarified, it is then frozen at minus 20 degrees. After the process of separating the ice from the must, the essence is fermented for 10 months at 10ºC and, it then remains in stainless steel tanks on its lees for eight months.
This is a slow elaboration process which requires time and patience, in fact, two years go by from when the apples are picked until the ice cider goes on sale.
The estate currently covers 40 hectares registered as organic, situated in the Protected Designation of Origin Cider from Asturias, on the El Rebollar Estate in Sariego (Asturias), with 20,000 apple trees growing different varietals to make this distinguished ice cider full of nuances.
This fresh and surprising drink pairs perfectly with foie, cheeses and not very sweet desserts.
Masaveu Bodegas
The Masaveu family first invested in the wine sector in 1974, when they purchased the Murua winery, however the family’s first vineyards date back to the middle of the 19th century, in Castellar del Vallés, where the family originates from and where Federico Masaveu Rivell began a journey to be continued one century later by his descendants.
Since then, Masaveu Bodegas has grown to become a benchmark, for the quality in the production of its wines in different DO’s and for the environmental philosophy that they demonstrate and the maximum respect for the land, in which it has its own vineyard plantations, thanks to which manage to transmit, in each bottle, the unique personality of each terroir. This being the common denominator in each and every project initiated by Bodegas Masaveu in different parts of the country: Fillaboa (DO Rias Baixas), Leda (Wine from the Land of Castilla y León) Murua (DOCa Rioja) Pagos de Aráiz (DO Navarra), and Valverán (Asturias).
