Simón San José Lozano, from Vallinaoscusa, in the parish of Pueyes, makes the best homemade cider in Villaviciosa. This was decided at midday yesterday by the jury in charge of awarding the prizes for the 17th edition of the Maliay contest, in which all participation records were broken with 95 amateur cider makers registered. Of these, twelve competed in the final in one of the great festive events of the local summer, thanks to the combination of tradition, good homemade cider and popular tasting.

Organised by the Association for the Promotion of Traditional Asturian Cider, in collaboration with the Villaviciosa Town Council, this competition is one of the oldest of its kind in Asturias. Only the one in Sariego is older.

After Simón San José, second place in the competition went to Portali Solares, from Llavanderu (Fuentes); third place went to Moisés Alonso Varas, from Santa Marina (Oles); fourth place went to Eloisa Torre González, from Bayones (El Bustiu), and fifth place went to Juan Pérez Millar, from Ternín (Valdebárcena).

The winner of the award received the trophy and diploma for the best cider in the municipality from the mayor of Villaviciosa, Alejandro Vega, as well as 400 euros, 2,500 corks and a voucher for a dinner for two people. Visibly happy, as it was the first time he had competed, Simón San José pointed out that the winning cider “was made in a traditional cider mill with a lot of tradition that already belonged to my grandparents Antonio and Alicia, and my father Jesús San José. With them I learned and became fond of making cider at home. They always took care to plant good apple trees and I think that counted on winning this award, so today I remember them,” explained the resident of Pueyes. “It had a very good appearance in the glass, color, and behaved very well when pouring and releasing the carbonation. In addition, the flavors were very well balanced, especially, for my taste, the bitterness,” he added shortly before collecting the award to the applause of the attendees.

The prize for the second-place finisher was a trophy, a diploma, one hundred euros and a dinner for two people; the third-place finisher received a trophy, a diploma, one hundred euros and a dinner for two people; and the fourth to twelfth-place finishers received a trophy, a diploma and a dinner for two people.

The award for the best cider pourer at the cider tasting booths went to Iván Prado, from Ribadesella. The quality of the wines was clearly demonstrated by the hundreds of people who attended the local square for the popular tasting of all the ciders participating in the competition. Thus, with the purchase of a commemorative glass of the competition, more than ten thousand glasses were poured with which the 95 ciders from the council’s producers entered in this prestigious competition could be tasted.

The top three in this homemade cider competition will go directly to the final of the regional championship, which will be held in Villaviciosa next October. Yesterday, the celebration in the Town Hall Square was brought to a close by the singer Águeda Riera with a performance of “Asturias, patria querida”, which was sung by the public.

Pre-selection

The preliminary phase of yesterday’s final was held last Thursday in the Villaviciosa market, when twelve ciders were selected, according to criteria of “colour, flavour and appearance in the glass”, explained Agustín Rodriguez, president of the organising association. “The tradition of making homemade cider is still very much alive among the residents of the villages of Villaviciosa and it is very important to appreciate that there is already a generational change. In addition, the participation was a record with 95 cider makers”, he stressed.

The Maliay council is the one with the highest number of homemade cider producers in Asturias. There are around 330 amateur cider makers, according to estimates from the sector itself. Of all the parishes, Bedriñana and Fuentes stand out in particular, with 24 and 23 producers, respectively. El Bustiu with 19 producers, Peón and Samartín de Vallés with 18, and Miravalles with 16. At the bottom, with fewer homemade cider mills, are Priesca, Nievares, La Llera, Castiello La Marina, Villaverde and Rales.