Spanish Basque inspired pacific northwest cidery ‘Son of Man’ is welcoming folks back to their tasting room in Oregon’s beautiful Columbia River Gorge for Txotx! on Saturday’s March 5th and 12th. Txotx (pronounced Choch) is the classic method of serving these wild spontaneously fermented ciders directly from barrels like a zwickel, where the drinker must catch that spritzy, dry and tart Basque-style cider into their glass. For the release of their 2021 Sagardo, Son of Man is hosting two days of live barrel tappings and grilling up a special food menu.

Basque style cider is similar to a farmhouse ale/saison or natural wine champagne, often tart and earthy, with some funkiness, sweet apple flavors but a dry and tannic finish. This is a style rarely seen outside of Europe, but in Oregon we have our own specialty maker devoted to it. Unlike the more common semi-sweet and often made with fruit in addition to apples that are popular in the US these days, Son of Man’s flagship style ‘Sagardo’ is hand pressed from cider apples and fermented only using the wild yeasts found on the apple skins. It takes atleast 6 months of fermentation and aging in oak, which means every annual release is like a wine vintage.

Son of Man Sagardo has a balance of tropical fruit flavors, prickly acidity and funk, making it the ideal bottle for the dinner table. The pour top cork adds theater to the meal, allowing you to long pour from higher heights. Sagardo is fermented spontaneously in a mix of stainless steel and American oak foeders. Alcohol 6.00%

The 2021 batch of Sagardo is nearly ready and will be packaged into 750ml corked green bottles soon. But before that happens we have the rare opportunity to Txotx! with Son of Man at their Cascade Locks, OR facility.

MENU (food not included in ticket price)

30oz Dry Aged Ribeye

Grilled Branzino
charred citrus

Grilled Cabbage Salad
preserved lemon vinaigrette and Garrotxa cheese

Braised White Bean
melted leeks, breadcrumbs, and pipparas

Little T Baguette

Tickets for either March 5th or March 12th Txotx! available here.