Chacolí or Txakolí is the wine produced in three wine appellations in Spanish Basque Country.  It is a slightly sparkling light wine made in all three colors that is commonly served in Basque bars with tapas and pintxos.  It is very similar in style to Portugal’s Vinho Verde.  White Chacolí is the norm and it is generally served with a special spout attached to the bottle high above the glasses…splashing it vigourously encourages the fizzy carbonic to come out.   It is meant to be a light, fresh and fruity wine that refreshes the palate between all the varied pintxos you might eat….the best wines fit that bill perfectly…the worst are bland and bitingly acidic.   I recently saw in a Spanish TV report that over 80% of the Chacolí served in Basque bars is fake…in other words, not from the wine appellation, but rather a table wine made in the style of Chacolí with inferior grape varieties.   I decided to investigate the last time we were in Basque country and sure enough most of the time I was served a vino de mesa most of the time when I ordered Chacolí.  Generally you don’t get your hands on the bottles as it usually served behind the bar by the glass, but in the picture you can see a bottle of a fake one we were served.  The real rip off is that these wines are served at Chacolí prices, 8-10€ a bottle versus their real price value, which would be well below 5€.   So be wary of what you’re being served while enjoying the tapas in San Sebastian…ask for appellation Chacolí (Denominacion in Spain).  Read on for more information on Chacolí and its counterfeit version.

There are three Chacolí appellations or denominaciones, Chacolí de Viszcaya, Chacolí de Guetaría and Chacolí de Álava.  Álava is tiny and rarely seen, while the largest and most famous locally is probably Guetariá.  Viscaya still has a larger percentage of inferior grapes planted and quality can vary tremendously.  The overall production is very small…less than 400 hectares total under vine.  Obviously this contributes to the abundance of counterfeiting as well as to the fact that Chacolí is very hard to find outside of the area.  It is becoming trendier in Spain though and is starting to appear on restaurant wine lists in wine stores.  My fervent wish is that Chacolí eventually reaches the beach resorts and replaces the ubiquitous Viña Sol and Barbadillo that are so often our only choices in white wine. 

There is a lot of thin, acidic Chacolí and the counterfeits are invariably in that style…though occasionally I taste a counterfeit that is bland and surprisingly lacking acidity.  This is a very cool (for Spain) and rainy climate and cultivating vines and avoiding rains at harvest can be tricky.  Many grapes are harvested unripe to avoid rain and this leads to the inferior quality of so many wines. 

Lately some Txakoli wineries, such as Itsasmendi, have been making more substantial, “serious” styles, including aging over lees, barrel-fermented and even a late-harvest wine.  There are some really interesting wines there…I’ve served them blind to Spanish groups and you would never guess they were Chacolí.  They are also great value as they sell for less than 10€.  Luckily Itsasmendi still also makes the more traditional style of spritzy Txakoli that goes so well with Basque pintxos.   Even among the appellation wines, there are far too many that are inferior in quality.  Prices for regular Chacolí generally range from 3-10€ a bottle retail.

The best grape varieties in the region are the indigenous ones….the white grape Hondarribi Zuri and the black grape Hondarribi Beltza, and most of the top wines are made exclusively from these two.  The lesser appellation versions and the fakes are usually made from Folle Blance, Gros Manseng and Petit Manseng.  Traditionally fermented in large oak vats, most wines today are fermented in stainless steel.  Care is taken to preserve the small amount of CO2 that gives it its fizz.  You can drink a lot of Chacolí as the average alcohol content is 10.5%.