Txakoli: The Drunkard, Zarauz, by Joaquín Sorolla

Txakoli: The Drunkard, Zarauz, by Joaquín Sorolla

Most of the time, it’s the wine itself that inspires the desire to write about it. However, at other times inspiration comes courtesy of an entirely different subject. This time, Art has inspired the urge to write about a less well-known and unique Spanish white wine called Txakoli.

The Drunkard, Zarauz

The painting shown above is The Drunkard, Zarauz. I think it’s a marvellous and compassionate depiction of drunkenness. But in addition, the companions of the central figure also have a distinct air of predatory menace about them. It’s superb social realism and was sketched “live” by a Valèncian artist Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida in 1910.

Britain has forgotten about Sorolla. Yet at his London exhibition in 1908, his billing was as ‘the world’s greatest living painter”. Hyperbole, perhaps, but there’s no doubting the talent on show here. This picture recently made the news in 2019 after the National Gallery bought it.

Meanwhile, Zarauz is the Spanish spelling of Zarautz. A small town on the north coast of Spain, Zarautz lies between the twin tourist destinations of Bilbao and Saint Sebastián (Donostia). Bilbao is a large port city now famous for the iconic Guggenheim museum, while San Sebastián is known for its culture and gastronomy. Welcome to the Pais Vasco, which we know in Britain as the Basque Country. Zarautz (Basque spelling) is a holiday destination, a mecca for surfers, and a wine town.

So this painting got me thinking, is that white wine in the bottle in the picture? And if so, what is it? Granted, it could be cider instead, but I’ll happily speculate. The painting is in Zarautz, inside a famous local tavern known as a Chacoline. A postcard from Bilbao of a Chacoline is shown below, offering a further clue.

Txakoli

In these parts, the local wine is Txakoli (pronounced chac-o-lee). Zarautz is part of the small wine DO Getariako Txakolina, (aka Txakoli de Getaria, aka Chacolí de Guetaria). It’s one of the three small Txakoli wine regions in the Pais Vasco. It was also the first of the three to receive DO status in 1990. It underwent further expansion in 2007.

About 85% of all Txakoli is from a white grape variety called Honderribi Zuri*. It’s found virtually nowhere else, apart from over the nearby French border, where it’s thought by some to be the Courbu Blanc of Irouléguy AC.

Another grape variety, red, is also grown, called Honderribi Belza. However, that isn’t related to Zuri and might be a form of Cabernet Franc. Consequently, while Txakoli production is predominantly white wine, there is also a little red and rosé. Other varieties in Txakoli are all white, with French origins: Folle Blanche, Petit Manseng, Petit Courbu and Gros Manseng.

This part of Spain has an oceanic climate. The Bay of Biscay is known for being stormy, even in summer, making the land extraordinarily green and verdant. There’s as much annual rainfall in these parts as at Malham Tarn in the Yorkshire Dales! That rain makes growing grapes challenging because of humidity and fungal diseases. Hence the vines are usually grown high up on pergolas. These shelter the grapes from the rain and encourage drying airflow from offshore breezes. The typically steep and mountainous slopes also promote water run-off.

A revival

In Getariako, there’s been a great Txakoli revival. Once there were a thousand hectares of vines along this coast. Then, on a steady decline throughout the 20th century, by 1982, there were only 21 hectares left, with just three ha at Zarautz. Now the DO covers 433 hectares**, the wines are available in the UK, and their quality has probably never been better.

So Txakoli is usually a white wine. It’s sold young and often has a spritz. This is because of bottling it while some fermentation CO₂ gas is still present. In the past, its most memorable aspect was searing acidity with a crab-apple tartness. Since the DO, improving viticulture and vinification techniques have allowed winegrowers to make far better wines without losing the malic crispness that is a defining hallmark.

Hence a typical Txakoli is a greenish-yellow colour, bone dry, with crisp high acidity. Alcohol is low at around 10.5%. There will be some spritz tingling on the tongue. Flavours are grapey (that’s unusual to find grapes as a fruit in wine), plus apples and pear. Perhaps it tastes like the sea. Think of Muscadet or Vinho Verde as comparisons on a similar spectrum.

Getariako Txakolina recommendations

Here are three good examples of Txakoli to try:

Akarregi. Txixi Blanco, DO Getariako Txakolina, Spain. 2017. 10.5%. Martinez, £15.99

Ameztoi. Hondarribi Zuri, DO Getariako Txakolina, Spain. 2018. 10.5%. Latitude, Leeds £14.50

Txomín Etxaníz. Txakoli, DO Getariako Txakolina, Spain. 2018. 11%. Oxford Wine Company £14.95

 

Food

In the Pais Vasco, seafood rules, and Txakoli is an ideal partner. So famous cuisine includes a tuna fish stew called Marmita, fresh crabs, lobster and most other shellfish. Try Pintxos, tapas-like bar snacks featuring anchovies, sardines, hake, cod and tuna skewered onto fresh bread. Closer to home, anything battered and fried is brilliant, from fish and chips to onion rings. Further afield, Japanese sushi/sashimi makes for an excellent fusion experience. Also, try asparagus, while Txakoli is one of the few wines that can withstand artichokes.

And finally

The National Gallery might challenge me about Txakoli; their website suggests that the drink in Sorolla’s painting is cider. However, they do not offer any explanation or evidence. Basque cider has always been part of a unique history, culture and cuisine. Also, by 1910, the ravages of Phylloxera had doubtless hit the vineyards. So local cider could easily be a candidate. Hence, I’ll stick with it being Txakoli unless further evidence emerges.

Though I missed the Sorolla exhibition at the National Gallery in 2019, this painting will hang in a new permanent home. That’s in Room 41 once it re-opens post-Covid-19. Afterwards, I’ll get a glass or two of Txakoli to celebrate!

Location

*I’ve seen this spelt as Hondarrabi, Hondarribi, Ondarribi and Ondarrabi.

** Source: Getariako Txakolina DO