Wine tourism in D.O. Txacoli de Vizcaya
Bizkaia is a Historical Territory included in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country. It is therefore located in the north of the Iberian Peninsula on the coast of the Cantabrian Sea. It is an area with strong industrial and urban development in which agriculture has managed to survive thanks to the effort of a collective of farmers and livestock breeders who have worked with perseverance to preserve the traditional crops and to have their quality recognised.
One of those peculiar and traditional products was and is wine, popularly known as “TXAKOLI”. It is at the beginning of the eighties when a group of winemakers gathers around the Association of Txakoli Producers of Bizkaia (BIALTXA) and, with the support of the Basque Administration (Basque Government and Provincial Council of Bizkaia), sets out to recover this exquisite and peculiar wine. As a result of this work and collaboration, in 1994 the Denomination of Origin “Chacolí de Bizkaia – Bizkaiko Txakolina” is born.
A unique area for unique wines
The vineyard is present throughout the whole geography of Bizkaia. Plantations can be found both in areas very close to the coastline and in the inland valleys, or on the slopes of medium-altitude mountains, below 400 m.
In all cases we will find them in well-oriented situations, with good exposure to the midday sun, on mid-slope, well drained and aired.
Within Bizkaia there are counties where the vineyard surface and the number of wineries are appreciably higher than the average. We are talking mainly about the counties of Uribe and Urdaibai.
The land and the climate
A rich variety of areas and locations that give peculiar characteristics to the txakolis produced, although within the same common line established by the Denomination of Origin.
Zones
The Txakoli of Bizkaia-Bizkaiko Txakolina is characterised by the very peculiarities of the Territory. Its cultivation on mid-slope holdings, sheltered from the north winds and seeking maximum sunshine, with an average altitude of 50 to 200 m above sea level, generally small and difficult to mechanise, make it a product made with care and dedication and with a distinctive quality.
Microclimates
The climate is of the Atlantic type, humid and mild. Although it is an area with less luminosity due to the clouds and condensation, the vineyard receives greater sunshine thanks to being on plots with a special orientation.
At the beginning of autumn, the first Atlantic storms approach the Iberian Peninsula, generating winds of a south-westerly component. Humid and mild, known as ábrego winds. On the northern Cantabrian slope, these winds generate a dry and warm climate due to the Föehn effect, creating the ideal conditions to achieve an optimal ripening, prior to the harvest.
Main grape varieties:
- Hondarrabi Zuri: It is the main coastal variety of the Basque Country that distinguishes txakoli from the rest of the world's wines. Aromatic and gustatory.
- Hondarrabi Zuri Zerratia: It is characterised by its more closed bunch. It provides floral and vegetal aromas with slight notes of bitterness.
- Hondarrabi Beltza: For red txakoli. Original and exclusive to our vineyard. It produces aromatic wines with very intense fruity sensations.
