Txakolí 101

The word Txakolí conjures a scene from a Basque café: a stream of cool fizzy wine poured by an apron clad waiter from great height into a tumbler. Pronounced cha-koh-LEE, the wine defines the Basque experience. In the region, eating and drinking locally is a way of life, but in the last 15-20 years, Txakolí has gained huge popularity outside its native home.

The Basque Country in Northwest Spain, known locally as Euskadi or País Vasco, has its own ancient language and culture, and is located on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, bordered by France to the East and the important wine regions of La Rioja and Navarra to the South.

What characterizes Txakolí wines?

Txakolí wines are typically quaffable, young, and low in alcohol (9.5-11.5%). Refreshing, high in acid, and (often) slightly effervescent, the wines tend to be citrus-y, sometimes pineapple-y, with fantastic minerality and herbal tones from the scrubby coast. Made from the native grape varieties hondarrabi zuri (white), hondarrabi beltza (black), and izkiriota, Txakolí are mostly white–many rosés exist, but most are exported to the US, and reds, though delicious, are scarce.

Varying soils and micro-climates exist in this coastal, damp, and mountainous region–the breezy salinity captured in the wine makes it a very friendly match with local pintxos, which often feature anchovies and tuna pulled from those waters, and chile peppers and tomatoes grown in the same soil.

The 3 Txakolí Denominaciónes de Origen

The three DO’s (Denominación de Origen) of Txakolí are fairly new, the oldest, Getariako Txakolina, which surrounds the fishing village of Getaria and produces the most traditional, spritzy wines, was established in 1989. DO Bizkaiko Txakolina encompasses the coastal area around Bilbao, and is home to many still versions of Txakolí, while the Álava (DO Arabako Txakolina) is in the hills further inland.

To Jon Andoni Rementeria, sommelier and co-owner at Remenetxe Restaurant in the heart of the Bizkaia DO, it makes sense to pair rodaballo (turbot) from the nearby fishing town of Bermeo and local tomatoes with the local wine. He offers multiple styles of Txakolí to pair with the rustic Basque cuisine served at his asador. “It is our culture, our soil, our people, our neighbors, they are very integrated with the vineyards,” he says. The region has many “small producers, very good local wines…with all of the foods we serve from this area it makes sense to serve the wine from here as well.”

Txakolí Production and Styles

Txakolí steel tanks — Txakoli winemaking

The Basque Country’s rugged beauty, unique culture, and world class culinary scene lure visitors from around the globe and have helped make Txakolí famous. That popularity has led to industrialization of Txakolí production including the introduction of CO2 to carbonate the liquid. There are small bodegas (farmhouses, really–the word txakolí comes from a Basque word for ‘homemade’) that have been making wine for local consumption for centuries, but modern production stems from the 1960’s when the Basque government began to subsidize the industry and larger producers started using steel tanks and nitrogen to prevent oxidation and promote the tingle of CO2.

Álvaro de la Viña, co-founder of Selections de la Viña, an importer of Txakolí and other minimal intervention wines from the Iberian Peninsula says “There’s a small part of the Txakolí region, of the three sub regions, that are doing things the old way–fermenting wine spontaneously with native yeasts, and bottling with a little residual sugar. So, the wine continues to ferment in the bottle, creating a little bit of a spritz. …This is a natural process. I think you’re starting to see a trend back towards the natural method of bottling with a little bit of CO2. To see some of these smaller producers really holding their ground, I think is super important to preserve the authenticity of the region.”

Many young winemakers are using more international techniques in viticulture and viniculture to create more complex wines, some of which are aged on lees or blended with other native grape varieties, are aged in oak, or created from cuvées from a single vineyard. A few producers have sought organic certifications. Many of these stylistically diverse still wines can be found on the list of the high-end Michelin-starred restaurants of the region.