In the mood for Txakoli

5/6/22 -

So far, this Spring has felt like Winter with a dash of Summer and a lot of rain. At this point, we are likely to wake up one day and discover that it's the middle of Summer. Though it seems we will have a few classic pleasant Spring days, with a warm, reassuring sun during the day and  "hoodie weather" at night, we should soon be preparing for hot weather and the thirst quenching wines that accompany it!

The first of a few simalarly themed refreshing wine emails, today's is focused solely on one of Spain's major contributions to the category, Txakolina. Some are here, some are on the way from Spain, so consider this a chance to plan ahead and square away some precious crisp white resources to tide you over during the Summer months.

Txakoli is traditionally made as a white wine with a hint of effervescence.  There are three sub-zones for Txakoli: Getariako, Bizkaiko, and Arabako; all have stylistic differences.  Getarikoa will show the more traditional Txakoli syles of wet stone and citrus with more CO2 presence; Bizkaiko are slightly more full-bodied and sometimes even tropical, and wines from Arabako tend to have less CO2 and have more petrol and smoke from the Tufa soil underneath.  The Basque serve these wines along side their local version of tapas (Pintxos), with a variety of salt cod dishes, or as an aperitif.  They are are strikingly textured, with bracingly tart citrus and mineral flavors.  The old-timers of the region think: the more tart the better.  These wines are the ultimate summertime picnic wines and are rivaled only by Muscadet in the perfection of their match with shellfish and seafood.

Some of the wines on offer are arriving in the next week or two, so we will have everything ready to ship and deliver by the end of May.