Spanish wine has a long history. As early as the ancient Roman era, there were traces of wine production in Spain. The warm sunshine of Spain infuses a ripe and pleasant quality into the wine, and the Spaniard’s love of life, culture and art has been deeply embedded in the Spanish winemaking tradition for many years. If you’re in Spain, wine is poetry.
El Gaitero winery produces the most famous cider in the world. Strategically located on the banks of the tidal estuary in Villaviciosa, the winery occupies a facility of over 40,000 square meters in La Espuncia, which also includes the company’s new offices, the home of the permanent collection of El Gaitero building and tasting room. So far, El Gaitero has a cider factory dating back more than a hundred years. It is known as one of the best examples of Asturias industrial heritage. Thousands of tourists who visit the factory every year have the opportunity to enjoy it here once. Take a unique tour and discover the secret of an essential taste of Asturias: El Gaitero cider.
The winery’s history, dedication and passion can be felt in every area of the La Espuncia factory. This can be experienced from the sorting and washing of the received apples in the Canigú receiving area, to the crushing chamber where the apples are crushed and the first juice is extracted, to the bottling and packaging of the wine.
Furthermore, the real heart of Valle Ballina y Fernández, the company that manages the El Gaitero winery, is its four factories, whose locations are divided into the Central Factory, the Provincial Factory, the American Factory and the New Stainless Steel Vat Factory. The El Gaitero Apple Factory was the first plant built more than 120 years ago. Its three floors accommodate 200 tanks of different capacities: 90,000 liters, 20,000 liters, 10,000 liters and 5,000 liters. Provincial and American mills also have a century-old presence, built in homage to the main Spanish and American importers of El Gaitero cider. Their names and coat of arms are engraved on all the jugs, which hold 60,000 or 70,000 liters of cider.
El Gaitero cider is fermented in these three origins before being transferred to the final stage before bottling: the new factory. The site houses nearly a hundred carbon steel vats, each holding up to 56,000 liters. Here the cider can be final filtered using a state-of-the-art cross-flow filter.