Promoting the image of the shacolí
There are still many people who do not identify xacolí as a white wine, and this lack is what Euskadi is working against to promote the image of this local specialty. To achieve this, they emphasize its versatility, especially in the innovative elaborations that are driving a new batch of winemakers, as a return to viticulture in an eminently industrial territory. This is why, this Tuesday, the Xacolí from one of the three denominations of origin that protects it, that of Biscay, has landed in Barcelona with ten wineries that have shown its virtues.
The origin of the xacolí
It seems that the word txakolin has its origin in the expression etxeco ain, which means “just what we need for the house”, which was what the farmers answered when they were asked how the harvest had gone. And those wines that were made for self-consumption with the native varieties Hondarrabi zuri, Hondarrabi zuri zerratia and Hondarrabi beltza began to be called txakolin.
A successful recovery
For many years, these wines were consumed in the same villages where they were made and, since they began to be marketed, they were always considered minor, popular wines, with little travel time, to drink in a chato. In fact, in the 1980s, there were little more than 40 hectares of vines left in the Biscay area, and this type of production was not going through the best of times. It was then that, with the impetus of some producers, it began to recover. Now there are 172 winegrowers working 430 hectares and making wine in 37 wineries — and that’s just in the Biscay area.
Breaking stigmas
But this collective wants to go further and break the stigma of simple wines suffered by the Xacolis in order to be able to compete with white wines from anywhere. In fact – as happens in many other territories – the presence of wines from areas with a lot of production – such as Rueda or La Rioja – has gradually pushed Xacolis out of the preferences of Basque consumers, although today the trend is changing, and, in little by little, they make their way to bars and restaurants.
Tradition and modernity
Tradition, a very important factor in the Basque Country, is maintained with the requirement to make Xacolis mostly with the own varieties, while the modern aspect is experienced in the elaborations – also with red wines, which, although representing a very small percentage of production (about 2%), are coming in strong.
Working to change perception
The main bets are to break clichés, as the high acidity makes them not suitable to accompany a meal, that the wine must be vintage and that long aging cannot be considered or that they are wines with very little complexity. In this Wednesday’s event, in the classroom of La Patente, in Paral·lel, in Barcelona, the ten processors who participated were able to explain it to prescribers and restoration professionals.
A new bet: organic wines
This is precisely the new bet: the difficulty of working organically in an environment where the climate favors the appearance of diseases raises many doubts, but, little by little, farmers and processors are incorporating measures to reduce the use of treatments and chemical additives.
