real amateur here with a wine question

Hi - let me apologize for the ignorance which will undoubtedly come through in this question.

I'm a very limited wine drinker - not limited in amount, but limited in variety. I just don't seem to like that many types. I used to drink Pinot Grigio as a rule, but have recently gotten into txakolina. I've had some I enjoyed more than others, and I saw some postings about it so I'm hoping to get some help here.

I'm looking to buy some in bulk (since that's how I drink it), but don't want to end up with the one I didn't like as much. The answer to your obvious question is: No - I didn't write down the name of the one I loved when I was at the Spanish restaurant. Yes - next time I will.

The one I liked best was not as sweet, and had a decent amount of fizz. Are they consistent enough that someone might be able to tell me what kind to get based on that?

Thanks for any insight -
Dana

Hi Dana, and welcome to the posting group of regulars here. I have never had a txakolina or even heard of it, so I can't advise you. I can say that to broaden your experience you should look into stores in your area that put on regular tastings. Also Read a lot of stuff here and buy and try what you can afford. There are still a lot of wine out there in the $10 and under category.

This is a really good question, because I'll bet may of us (myself included) have never tried Txakolina. At least I learned tonight that it is a white wine from the Basque region of Spain. Just for grins, I performed a search on http://www.wine-searcher.com and came up with a number of hits. Give it a try and see if any of those names strikes a bell. If not, then see if any of the sellers are in your vicinity, and give them a call.

Good luck and welcome.

-- Clark

Welcome Dana. This is what I like about this forum. New discoveries. New opportunities to learn. I like many others, I guess, had never heard of Txakolina before, but a little googling helped and I found the the wines from this region in Spain's Basque Country are made from Hondarribi Zuri (mostly) and Hondarribi Beltza grapes while other varieties grown include Mune Mahatsa and Txori Mahatsa. Again, something totally new.
Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes (pocket version, 1996) has only three-and-a-bit lines on the Hondarrini grapes - Zuri is light-berried and Beltza is dark-berried. Her guide doesn't even mention the other two.

It seems the wines are fermented in stainless steel then CO2 is added to give it a light spritziness. Evidently the whites can be bracingly tart and are usually lowish in alcohol yet are a perfect accompaniment with the local seafood and shellfish.
Oh- and the the Tx is pronounced Ch (as in choo-choo train).

Cheers,
Sue

Welcome, Dana.

You don't say where you live, but I'd bet there aren't a lot of txakolinas available in your area. If there's a good wine shop nearby, you might go talk to the people there. If they have any in the store, you can pick up a bottle and give it a try. If they don't, they may have some idea of what's around your area, which you could use for searching online.

Good luck, and let us know what you find.


Mike

now see what you've done! the non amateurs haven't even heard of the wine you found. pretty esoteric for an 'amateur'. anyway, there are similar wines - Rias Baixas (albarihno) isn't too different in many cases. vinho verde will be lighter but have the fizz for sure - also much cheaper.

[Jenise]

Dana,

In spite of the above confessions, several of us here have actually had txakolinas. I would suggest you use this forum's SEARCH function (second button from the left near the top of your screen) to read through our tasting notes to both get a list of likely suspects and get some degree of comfort about the consistency (or not) of this wine from producer to producer and vintage to vintage. With the caution that vintages can vary, you might even recognize the wine most likely to be the one you had.

To use the search function, click SEARCH, then type of copy the name txakolina into the keyword box. Leave the author box empty, press SEARCH at the bottom. Voila, there will be your reading list. Good luck in your search,

Jenise

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll try the vinho verde (I've seen that in stores while on my txakolina quest) and search for the notes.

Appreciate the feedback.

Welcome, Dana, to WLDG.

I took a look at Wine Searcher Pro and found over 40 shops offering Txakolina in various forms. Several of the shops ship to most states. I'll be glad to post a few suggested stores in case you don't subscribed to Wine Searcher Pro.

Regards, Bob