Drink Basque

This refreshing note appeared today at EITb:

Gastronomy

Grapes and apples

Wine, Cider and Txakoli

11/22/2007

As opposed to the powerful wine industry, almost on an industrial scale, the production of txakolí (a light, young wine) and cider is still a limited craft.

There is no doubt that the Rioja alavesa is the great wine-cellar of Euskadi. The wines from this region have already attained international recognition. This region produces both red and white wines, the reds being made from grapes such as the "tempranillo" and the "garnacha" and the whites from "viura".

As opposed to the powerful wine industry, almost on an industrial scale, the production of txakolí (a light, young wine) and cider is still a limited craft.

It is this grape which produces "txakolí", a young, fruity wine, slightly acid and with a low alcohol content which has almost always been linked to Basque gastronomy and folklore, although up until relatively recently it hadn't received the recognition it was worthy of.

Txakolí can be both red and white, depending on the type of grape used to make it. The most renowned type of txakolí is the white variety, which because if its characteristics is very similar to other young wines found around Europe. This wine which has around 10 or 11 degrees of alcohol should be served chilled (about 8 degrees C), not cold, and is the ideal accompaniment for fish and seafood dishes.

For years, the Basque people were so convinced that txakolí was "something to drink at home" that it appeared on the wine list of only very few restaurants. Now its consumption is spreading, supported, amongst other things, by quality controls, although the fact that it has only a limited level of production means that it has not yet become a product which is available for mass consumption.

Cider is the most popular drink. This apparently inoffensive drink has enough alcohol to produce one or two disagreeable surprises if it is drunk to excess. It is best to drink it during the same year it is bottled and so that all its taste is brought out it should be served at a temperature of between 13 and 15 degrees.

It is usually kept in dark bottles which protect it from the light and, like txakolí, is poured into the glass from a distance of between 30 and 40 centimeters so that once it hits the glass, its taste comes flooding out. It has been said that eider should never stay for too long in the glass and should be drunk quickly.

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