thumb|200px|Txakoli vines in the Getaria region
thumb|200px|Txakoli vines near [[Erandio]]
thumb|200px|Serving Txakoli in [[San Sebastián]]
thumb|200px|The three txakoli-producing regions in the [[Basque Country (greater region)|Basque Country:<br>
]]
thumb|200px|A bottle of Getaria txakoli
Txakoli or chacolí (pronounced ) is a slightly sparkling, very dry white wine with high acidity and low alcohol content produced in the Spanish Basque Country, Cantabria and northern Burgos in Spain. Further afield, Chile is also a minor producer.
It is normally served as an aperitif and drunk within one year of bottling as it cannot be stored for longer. The most common, white, variety has a pale green color, but there are red and rosé varieties. When served, it is normally poured into tall glasses from a height, often as an accompaniment to pintxos. It typically has between 9.5 and 11.5 ABV.
The 18th century Palace of Mendibile in Leioa near Bilbao today houses a museum dedicated to txakoli, the Museo del Txakoli, explaining the history of txakoli and with a large collection of machinery used for making it.
Name
This wine is called txakolin (pronounced ) in Basque, txakolina meaning "the txakolin". The term is attested from the middle of the 18th century onwards, occasionally also as a personal name. Traditionally the general form has been txakolin, although xakolin has been documented in Iparralde. Txakoli, considered a misspelling by the Euskaltzaindia, is attested from 1985 onwards. The first reference to the name of this wine in Spanish was vino chacolín in a document from the Basque Country in 1520. The wine is occasionally called chacoli in French.
Most authors assume a Basque origin but the origin of the word is ultimately unknown, except for the ending -in which frequently occurs in liquids (cf ozpin "vinegar", pitipin or txuzpin "watered wines"), Others opt for a French origin as it initially appeared as a term to identify French wines in villages of eastern Gipuzkoa. However, since some varieties of txakoli in the Basque Country managed to achieve denominación de origen certification from 1989 onwards, its quality, spread and appeal have increased.
Varieties
Txakoli is traditionally fermented in foudres (very old, large oak barrels) but most txakoli produced today is fermented in stainless steel vats. There are three DO certified varieties.
Most txakoli is grown in the Atlantic regions of the Basque Country, areas with high rainfall (between 1000 mm and 1600 mm of annual rainfall on average) and average temperatures between 7.5 °C and 18.7 °C, occasionally suffering from frost.
Txakoli from Getaria
Getariako Txakolina in Basque, Chacolí de Guetaria in Spanish. This variety comes from a small region in Gipuzkoa around the towns of Getaria, Zarautz and Aia and is of a very pale yellow to green color. This was the first variety of txakoli to receive the DO certification in 1989.
The most commonly used grape for this txakoli is Hondarribi Zuria ("white Hondarribia") but other grapes are also permitted: Bordeleza Zuria (Folle Blanche), Izkiriota Ttipia (Petit Manseng), Izkiriota (Gros Manseng) and Courbu. In Cantabria there are two wine geographical indications (one step below the DO) created in 2004 and 2005: Liébana wine and Costa de Cantabria wine. The Cantabrian region where the wine was called chacolí is included in the Costa de Cantabria wine GI. Chacolí is still produced in Cantabria, but on a very limited scale.
Chacolí from Burgos
It is also still produced in the Valle de Mena in the province of Burgos, included in the Castilla y León wine GI created in 2005, where efforts are being made to receive DO certification.
Chacolí from Chile
link=https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo:Chacol%C3%AD_en_Fonda_de_Rancagua_-_Imagen_02.JPG|thumb|200x200px|Chilean chacolí with orange slices
In Chile, a wine called chacolí has been made for centuries: «The permanence until today of two alcoholic beverages of Spanish origin, one called Pajarete, produced in the valley of the Huasco River and the valley of the Elqui River and, the other, chacolí, A genuine product of the Copiapó Valley and the Choapa Valley, it is a historical testimony of the adaptation and reproduction of certain European products to recreate the daily life of their cultural and telluric origins.»
In the town of Doñihue in the Cachapoal Valley, the "Fiesta del Chacolí" is celebrated annually.
References
External links
- Alavan Txakoli Board
- Biscayan Txakoli Board
- Getaria Txakoli Board
- To know and enjoy more txakoli