The winery
Discover our infrastructure
The Winery
El Gaitero It originates in one of the most traditional centuries-old Asturian wineries, where visitors can take a unique tour to delve into the secrets of the flavor of Asturias, cider.
From the "canigú"—the area where the apples are received for initial sorting and washing—and the Press Room—where the apples are crushed and their first juices extracted—to the bottling and packaging line—automated with cutting-edge technology—history and emotion are palpable in every corner of La Espuncia. And the heart of Valle Ballina y Fernández beats in its five wineries: the Central Winery, the Provincial Winery, the American Winery, the winery with the metal tanks, and the winery with the new stainless steel tanks.
OUR FACILITIES IN
The Espuncia
Historic wineries
The Central Cellar was the first to be built over 120 years ago and has approximately 200 barrels distributed across three floors, with varying capacities: 90.000, 20.000, 10.000, and 5.000 liters. The Provincial and American Countries Cellars, also with over a century of history, were built as a tribute to the main cider importers. El Gaitero, both in Spain and in America, and their names and coats of arms were inscribed on all the barrels, with a capacity for 60.000 and 70.000 liters of cider.
These three cellars are used less nowadays, primarily for R&D and storage. The metal cellar is where most of the cider ferments; it consists of nearly a hundred carbon steel tanks lined with food-grade resin, each with a capacity of 56.000 liters. It is also in this cellar that the cider undergoes a final filtration process, using state-of-the-art tangential flow filters.
Innovation and tradition
The new winery, with its stainless steel tanks, is where the ciders with the Sidra de Asturias Designation of Origin are produced. It includes temperature-controlled and pressurized fermentation tanks for the secondary fermentations.
In these three cellars, the cider ferments, before moving to a final location before bottling: the new cellar with nearly one hundred carbon steel tanks, each with a capacity of 56.000 liters. It is here that the cider undergoes a final filtration process using state-of-the-art tangential filters.
In addition, La Espuncia, with its 40.000 square meters, houses the warehouses, laboratory, confectionery production area, the company's new offices, and the Permanent Collection building. El Gaitero and a tasting room where the thousands of visitors who come to the winery each year taste the best ciders of El Gaitero.