Sagardoa is a Basque word that literally means apple wine. The first written mentions date back to the 11th century. It had special importance in the 16th century, in the Basque naval expeditions that traveled to Newfoundland, Iceland and Norway to fish for cod and hunt for whales.
The name Zapiain has been linked to the production of sagardoa since at least the 16th century, in full splendor of the production of Basque cider. The first record of the relationship of the Zapiain family with the production of cider is a document dated June 3, 1542 – a manuscript for the sale of an 87-foot plot of apple trees located in Astigarraga.
In the 20th century Basque cider was going through a moment of decline, when Roxario Zapiain abandoned other tasks on the farm to dedicate exclusively to the making of Sagardoa. In the 1960s he built two cellars with chestnut wood barrels in which we still make cider today.
Starting in the 1980s, the new generations of the Zapiain family joined the cider house, modernizing the facilities with stainless steel tanks and the installation of temperature control. At that time, Miguel Zapiain, the first winemaker in the Basque cider sector, joined the team.
Since then, Zapiain has focused on the search for excellence in its products.
We currently import four products from Zapiain; 3 Ciders and one Ice Cider.
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