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Featured Wineries
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 Talai BerriThese fantastic wines are made in Zarautz, a small fishing village, about 25 km west of San Sebastian in the heart of one of the three main wine producing areas (Zarautz, Aia, and Getaria) of the D.O. Getariako Txakolina. Built in 1992, the Talai Berri bodega is situated on a steep, sunny slope "Talaimendi" that overlooks the town and bay of Zarautz. Wines are made by Bixente Eizagirre and his daughter, Itziar, who represents the fifth generation to make Txakoli. Currently, Talai Berri has 12 hectares of vines planted with an annual production of about 6,000 cases. The vast majority of their wines are sold locally and we are fortunate to have a few cases for the United States. What is Txakoli? Txakoli is a traditional white Basque wine created by a blend of two autochthonous varietals: Hondarribi Zuri (white) and Hondarribi Beltza (red). Historically, Txakoli has had a bad reputation for being a garage style wine that only the Basques would dare to drink. However, with the advent of stainless steel and modern winemaking techniques, the wines have improved greatly and are now gaining an international following. The Hondarribi Zuri varietal represents about 90% of the planted vines and is the base for most wines. The fruit grows in small, compact clusters and gives the wine its pleasant acidity. As the coast is often damp and does not receive an excessive amount of sun, the fruit tends to be slightly piquant and green as opposed to full and ripe. The red varietal, Hondarribi Beltza, thought to be related to Cabernet Franc, produces less fruit and is more delicate than the white varietal. How is Talai Berri Txakoli made? The Talai Berri fruit comes from 12 hectares of vineyards that contain both red and white grapes growing alongside one another. As the red grapes reach maturity first, oftentimes several passes must be made to get the fruit at their maximum ripeness. All grapes are picked by hand and placed in 20-kilo crates and delivered to the crusher-stemmer. (White and red grapes are harvested separately.) A low-pressure press is used to extract the "mosto" or must. Once pressed, the must is passed to stainless steel fermentation tanks where native yeast is added to begin the fermentation process. Fermentation is watched around the clock to control the temperature and is usually completed around 16-17° Centigrade. What gives white Txakoli its unique signature and sparkle occurs in the last stage of the fermentation process. When must ferments, the sugar is consumed by yeast and produces alcohol and CO2. Usually, CO2 is allowed to escape from the fermentation tanks; however, in the case of Txakoli, before all of the sugar has converted to alcohol, the stainless steel tanks are sealed off and thereby trapping some of the naturally produced CO2 in the wine. This produces the lovely effervescence or sparkle in the wine. Finally, before bottling, the fermented wine is cold stabilized at -4º C for 12 days. This wine is kept near freezing in the stainless steel tanks and is bottled as needed. The cold temperature helps maintain the vibrancy of the wine.  |