The Basque Country is a landscape on the Atlantic coast in the border region between Spain and France. The Autonomous Region of the Basque Country in Spain is not identical with the Basque Country in the cultural sense, which also includes the French Basque Country and the Basque-influenced region of Navarre (Nafarroa in Basque), particularly in the north-west.

Basque Country France

The French Basque Country (French: Pays Basque, Basque: Iparralde = northern Basque Country) forms the west of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-west France. It is divided into three areas marked in yellow on the map: Labourd (Basque: Lapurdi), Lower Navarre (French: Basse-Navarre, Basque: Nafarroa Beherea) and Soule (French: Pays de Soule, Basque: Zuberoa). The two AOC areas of Béarn and Irouléguy are located here.

Basque Country Spain

The Spanish autonomous region of the Basque Country (Euskal Herria or Euskadi in Basque, País Vasco or Vasconia in Spanish) with the capital Vitoria-Gasteiz covers 7,230 km² and is divided into the three provinces of Gipuzkoa (Guipúzcoa in Spanish), Biscay (Bizkaia in Basque, Vizcaya in Spanish) and Álava (Araba in Basque), which are labelled pink on the map.

History

There is documentary evidence that Txakolí wines were already being produced in the 9th century. At that time, however, this took place in the interior of the Basque Country and not mainly in the coastal area, as is the case today. The naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) liked Txakolí so much that he compared it to the local Rhine wine.

Climate & soils

Under the influence of the Atlantic Ocean, the climate is mild but humid with plenty of rainfall. The clayey soils are partly mixed with gravel and have a high organic content.

Vineyards and grape varieties

The vineyards cover a total of 13,500 hectares. The grape varieties are listed below.

Wine-growing areas

There are three DO areas (quality wines). A special feature is that vineyards in the very south of the province of Alava belong to the DO area of Rioja (Rioja Alavesa).

• Chacolí de Alava (Basque: Arabako Txacolina) - in the province of Álava in the centre of the country
• Chacolí de Bizkaia (Bizkaiko Txacolina in Basque) - in the province of Biscay from the coast to the hinterland
• Chacolí de Getaria (Getariako Txacolina in Basque) - near the fishing and harbour town of Getaria

Before phylloxera, there were still over 1,000 hectares of vineyards here. The vineyards on clay, limestone and chalk soil are tiny and widely scattered. There is plenty of rainfall, but also lots of sunshine, and the vines are trained on pergolas. Over 80% of the wines produced are acidic, low-alcohol, naturally carbonated white wines made from the Hondarrabi Zuri (Courbu Blanc) variety with small proportions of Petit Manseng, Petit Courbu, Gros Manseng and Folle Blanche, as well as Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The red wine is produced from the Hondarribi Beltza variety.

Image left: by Unai Fdz. de Betoño, based on User:Willtron - Mapa, CC BY-SA 1.0, Link
Image on the right: by Basotxerri - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link