Txakoli

In an effort to shed some light on how I study for WSET Diploma Course’s D3 exam, Le Club des Vins is running a series of posts covering wine regions. Today’s topic: Txakoli

📍 Location

It’s the generic name for three DOs for Txakoli and they are located in the north of Spain near the Atlantic coast. Txakoli means ‘village wine’ in Basque. There are three villages producing Txakoli: Getariako (near the ocean), Arabako (further inland) and Bizkaiko (in between the two, around Bilbao).

In a nutshell

  • Spain
  • Wet! Lots of rain
  • Clay over limestone
  • Hondarrabi Zuri

☁️ Climate

It’s wet here. Average rainfall can reach up to 1600 mm (more than double the amount of The Netherlands) in Getariako. Most vineyards are located in sheltered locations with a south / southeastern aspect. 

🌋 Soils

Mostly clay over limestone.⠀

Source: Winefolly.com

🍇 Grapes & styles

Txakoli is made of the local grape called Hondarrabi Zuri. The alcohol level has to be between 9.5% and 11.5% making Txakoli the PERFECT SUMMER WINE ☀️ and I’m the biggest fan. What the three DOs have in common, is the sharp acidity in their wines and a little fizz, because the wine are usually bottled on their lees, resulting in a gentle secondary fermentation. ⠀

💡 Something you didn’t know (did you?)

There’s also tiny amount of rosé and red txakoli made of the native grape Hondarrabi Beltza (which is believed to be related to cabernet franc). 👉🏼 Please share your fav producers of Txakoli in the comments 🤩⠀⠀⠀

Your turn now 

I always put a new region on instagram first. If you have any additions or comments on a region, please do share. You can drop a comment on instagram or on the website – see below. Your help is much appreciated!

Sources

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