Sabiles Sidrs

The "Sabile Cider" company is nearly in the heart of Sabile.  Each autumn, farmers in Kurzeme provide apples that they have grown in their orchards so that the plant can squeeze the juice and then ferment it to cider.  The plant is a  public meeting place.  During the summer, it and the Sabile local government organise concerts and cultural events there.

Baiba and Aldis Circenis from Rīga began their story in Sabile more than 20 years ago, when they purchased a nearby "oasis of calm" between linden and oak trees.  They celebrate Latvian holidays, offer lessons about farm work, and after thinking about what to do with their enormous harvest of apples, produced the first Sabile cider after many experiments.  The idea of this involves the neat garden with old and tall apple trees.  The couple also studied the enjoyment and manufacturing traditions of cider in the ancient superpowers of cider, England and France.

Visitors can take a tour of the factory and learn about how cider is produced there.  The lady of the house will talk about how she changed her career and became a cider master.  Visitors can taste the cider and purchase some to take along at the Sabile Cider House, which is right next to the plant.

PROGRAMME:

• Arrival at the "Sabile Cider" plant and a meeting with one of its representatives;
• Information about the history of the world of cider, facts, stories and the history of the plant, also focusing on cider production technologies in Latvia and elsewhere in the world;
• A tour of the factory to see the equipment and learn about the production of cider from an apple to the cork of a cider bottle;
• A visit to the "Sabile Cider House," which is approximately 300 metres from the factory, to learn about the output of the plant and to enjoy tastings in a cosy and liberated atmosphere.  There will be conversations about cider and its diversity, Sabile, the culture of drinking cider, and foods which go well with it;
• A chance to purchase Sabile cider.