Drinks of the Month

Gaintza Txakoli 2013

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on September 6 2014 at 10:15

If you dread pronouncing wine names and steer away from flute shaped bottles you may want to give this wine a wide berth if you see it on the shelf but put your prejudices aside - it’s well worth a try.

In fact it’s not sweet but bone dry, a racy blend of Hondarrabi Zuri, Hondarrabi Beltza and Gros Manseng (no, that doesn’t make it much easier does it?) that’s produced in a wine region called Getariako Txakolina just inland from the Bay of Biscay. (The name is Basque*)

It’s virtues are that it’s only 11% and tastes like a squeeze of fresh lemon juice which makes it brilliant with shellfish, obviously, but also more surprisingly with the powerful, punchy flavours of Ottolenghi’s food with which I was trying it yesterday, especially a dish of quinoa cakes with Salbitxada, a Catalan roast pepper, tomato, garlic and almond sauce. Like Portugal's Vinho Verde it also has a slight spritz.

You can buy it (oddly) on Amazon for £33.21 a case of 3 (£11.07 a bottle) or from independent merchants such as Corks of Cotham in Bristol for £11.99. Marks & Spencer also has one, the Alais Txakoli, for £11.99

Read more about the region and the producer on importer Liberty Wines website.

(Pronounce it Chuckle-lee*)

If you’d like be able to check out all the food and wine pairings on the site you can buy a bundle of credits here to access my premium content.

And/or for regular updates on what and where I’ve been eating, drinking and travelling sign up for my weekly newsletter Eat This, Drink That, Live Well.