The University of Oviedo will bring researchers together on 4–5 November to examine Asturian cider through history, science and cultural heritage.
LA SIDRA.- The University of Oviedo will host the second Asturian Cider Culture Conference on 4–5 November 2026, bringing together research on cider history, art, industry, science and social traditions.
The event takes place in the Assembly Hall of the Library at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters in Oviedo, under the theme “History, Science, Heritage”. It follows UNESCO’s recognition of Asturian cider culture as intangible cultural heritage, a milestone involving the University’s Cider Chair and previously covered by LA SIDRA.
Wednesday 4 November: art, industry and young researchers
Participants will be welcomed from 9:00 am, followed by the institutional opening at 9:30 am with Francisco Martín Miguel, dean of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, and Ana Vanesa Gutiérrez González, regional minister for Culture, Language Policy and Sport.
At 10:00 am, Gretel Piquer Viniegra of the Evaristo Valle Museum Foundation will speak on the representation of apples and cider in Asturian visual art. This theme also connects with LA SIDRA’s coverage of painter Mariano Moré and his work “La Espicha”.
At 11:00 am, Jorge Muñiz Sánchez of the University of Oviedo will examine taverns known as “turbias”, temperance and employers’ discourse within the Sociedad Hullera Española in the early twentieth century. At 12:30 pm, a young researchers’ session will feature Carlos Otero Busta, Pedro Riesco Espinosa, José Manuel Fernández Prieto, Llúa Woodward Castro, Isabel Cortina Luis, Yaiza Guerrero Fernández and David González Palomares.
Thursday 5 November: health, production and the espicha
At 10:00 am, Sonia González Solares of the University of Oviedo will address cider and health. At 11:00 am, Manuel Rendueles de la Vega will discuss production processes and ways to improve Asturian cider quality, a topic related to traditional naturally sparkling cider production.
At 12:30 pm, Aída Zapico Linares will discuss the value of cider-making by-products and opportunities to make use of them.
The afternoon programme begins at 4:00 pm with Juan Díaz Álvarez on apples and cider in eighteenth-century Asturias. At 5:00 pm, Luis Benito García Álvarez will examine the espicha, Asturias’s traditional cider gathering, and its role in cider culture. The tradition remains active in community initiatives such as the Alto Nalón Association for Homemade Cider and Apples. The event closes at 6:00 pm with a representative of the Sidra de Asturias PDO.
Researching a living cultural tradition
The programme highlights how cider culture reaches beyond the drink itself: farming knowledge, artistic expression, food science, industry and social practices all form part of its heritage. The conference adds to outreach events such as the cider culture conference held in Llanes in June.
The conference takes place on 4–5 November 2026 at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters Library in Oviedo. The poster provides no registration or admission details.
