Txakoli — The Basque Country's Electric White

Txakoli has been produced on the Basque coast since the Middle Ages, documented in records from the 13th century. The collapse of Basque wine production in the 20th century (due to phylloxera, industrialisation, and competition from Rioja) led to near-extinction by the 1980s, with fewer than 50 hectares remaining. Quality-focused producers led a revival from the 1990s that has expanded production to over 1,200 hectares.

Txakoli (Txakolina in Basque, Chacolí in Spanish) is the Basque Country's indigenous sparkling-ish white wine — a dry, lightly effervescent, extremely low alcohol (9–11% ABV), bone-dry white wine of laser acidity and marine salinity, produced from the Hondarrabi Zuri (white) and Hondarrabi Beltza (red) grapes in three Basque appellations: Getariako Txakolina DO (the most mineral, from the town of Getaria on the Cantabrian coast), Bizkaiko Txakolina DO (from Vizcaya), and Arabako Txakolina DO (the newest, from inland Álava). Txakoli is one of the world's most regionalistic wines — produced and consumed almost entirely within the Basque Country, where it accompanies the pintxos (Basque tapas) culture of the region's legendary bar scene. Its characteristic service — poured from height (from the bottle held above the head to the glass at waist level) — aerates the wine and creates a fine foam that enhances the CO2, releasing the wine's aromatics. The Basque wine tradition and pintxos culture were inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2021.

FOOD PAIRING: Txakoli is inseparable from pintxos culture and Basque seafood from the Provenance 1000 recipes: Pintxos (any Basque bar snack — the quintessential pairing), Anchovies from Getaria (Basque anchovies in olive oil — the most famous pintxos pairing), Kokotxas al Pil-Pil (hake cheeks in garlic emulsion), Fresh Oysters, Grilled Whole Fish (besugo/sea bream is the traditional Basque Christmas fish), Txipirones en su Tinta (squid in its ink).