Akarregi Txiki

There aren’t a whole lot of winegrowing terroirs in which you peer at an ocean horizon and feel like you can see the curvature of the Earth… but this is one of them. Hugging the slopes of the famous Basque coastal town of Getaria are found the Akarregi family’s generations-old caserío, or farmhouse, and their 17 hectares of vineyards. Wine has been produced here for many decades, but the current bodega dates to shortly after the (surprisingly recent!) establishment of the Getariako Txakolina appellation in 1990. No frills here, and no frills necessary for the production of this salty wonder of the world—just clean tanks and cold temperatures.

Cultivation is split between the two best-known Basque varieties of Hondarrabi Zuri (“white”) and Hondarrabi Beltza (“black”, a variety that interestingly shares a parent-offspring genetic relationship with Cabernet Franc), nearly all of the latter of which goes towards their delightful rosado. Vines are trained in relatively tall pergolas (easier to walk under than, say, in the Rías Baixas) to maximize airflow in this breezy but damp district, and undergrowth is encouraged in order to protect against erosion. Winemaking is simple and elemental, resulting in classically refreshing Txakolinas that deliver the full spectrum of livewire fruit and steely cut for eminently affordable prices.