Kaixo, Txomin Etxaniz eta Getaria!
*Kaixo means hello, and eta means and in Euskera (Basque Language).
One of my friends from college has deep roots in the Spanish wine industry. When I told him that I was going to Spain and stopping couple days at San Sebastián, the coastal city in Basque Country located in north of Spain, he insisted that I should visit Txomin Etxaniz winery in Getaria. I didn’t know anything about the Basque Country, let alone the wine region called Getaria. Since I was visiting my friends, I wasn’t sure if it’d be worth my time to take a side trip, but my friend was very adamant that I must. Once Paula (a friend I was staying with in San Sebastián) and I figured we could easily take a bus to Getaria from San Sebastián, I decided to go for my friend’s sake. Little did I know, he was doing me a huge favor.
After a 40-minutes bus ride, we got off at Getaria. I was amazed. Getaria was overwhelmingly stunning. Beautiful beaches with sailboats on one side, and mountains on the other. Coming from New York, I was shocked to see people looking so tranquil and satisfied, slowly strolling around the beach without any hurry whatsoever. However, I couldn’t imagine where the vineyard could be. There were mountains, the ocean, and restaurants cooking whole fish on grills, but we couldn’t spot any vineyards. Despite limited cell phone service, we had just enough juice to locate the winery, and our GPS led to the mountains.
By the time we got to the bottom of the mountains, we weren’t so sure if the technology was working correctly. The mountains didn’t have much of a beaten path. We kept asking ourselves, where are we and where is the vineyard? After walking the dirt road and questioning our decisions for about 20 minutes, we couldn’t believe the gorgeous painting done by nature in front of our eyes. The vineyards were planted against the slope, and harmonized with nature. It was like seeing an Impressionist painting come alive. Behind the giant trees, there were rows and rows of vines were laid out with yellow flowers. It was just breathtaking. With the gorgeous views right in front of our eyes, we hiked fast as we could for our wine tour appointment.
Once again, the wine tour was in Spanish. Tour in English is available, but this is what I get for making the last minute appointment. Getariako Txakolina is a Spanish DO, and they are known for Txakoli, which is effervescent white wine made from Hondarrabi Zuri. Txakoli is impossible to avoid in Basque Country because every bar in Basque Country throws a show whenever they pour Txakoli. The proper way of pouring Txakoli is about 2 ft away from the glass, which helps to revive bubbles. When we were touring the winery, we could see how Txomin Etxaniz was very interested in experiments. They were experimenting with sparkling wine with Méthode Champenoise. They were also producing Txakoli rosé, specifically for rosé crazy American market. Black grape, Hondarribi Beltza, production is very rare in Getaria, but rosé demand in the States is driving sales. Txomin Etxaniz has a small production of dessert wines, which were perfectly sweet with sparkly acidity to balance the sweetness.
After the tour, I ended up grabbing two bottles of Txakoli and a bottle of dessert wine. Apparently, it’s not too hard to find rosé Txakoli in the States, so I dismissed purchasing the rosé. The tour of Txomin Etxaniz was by far the most mystical wine tour I’ve been on. The winery was just like a scene in a fairy-tale, and the city, Getaria, was mind-blowing. I’d love to go back soon to taste Txakoli and freshly caught fish in the Basque Country.