Basques in Boise

Bizkaia, or Biscay, is one of the constituent provinces of the Basque Country. It has an ample coastal area looking out on the Bay of Biscay. It is an area characterized by heavy industrial and urban development in which agriculture has managed to hold its own thanks to the efforts of a collective of farmers and stock breeders that have worked hard to hold to traditional crops and for recognition of their quality.

One of these peculiar and traditional products was - and is - a kind of wine, popularly known as Txakoli or Txakolina (Pronounced chah-ko-lee or chah-ko-lee-nyah). Our Txakoli wine had a splendid past and had enormous social and economic importance. However, towards the end of the 19th century, there was a slow decline that eventually led to a whole different situation. It was at the beginning of the 80''s when a group of wine producers formed the Txakoli Winemakers'' Association (Bialtxa) and with support from the local Basque administration (the Basque Government and the Biscay Provincial Government), the recovery of this exquisite and unique libation was begun.

The result of all this work and collaboration came about in 1994 with the appellation contrôlée entitled Chacolí de Bizkaia - Bizkaiko Txakolina (Bizkaia Txakoli). This appellation contrôlée came about to let people know about this ancestral wine and to appreciate and protect this fruit of Atlantic winegrowing that features local varieties of grapes and the know-how of our farms.

Quality

The quality of the appellation contrôlée Bizkaia Txakoli is defined by its own characteristics that define it: On one hand the natural environment and variety of cultivation and on the other hand the know-how and the careful production by its producers and makers. In this sense we can point out, for example, that due to physical conditions and dimensions of the plots, all grape harvesting is done by hand. To that effect, plastic boxes are used where bunches of grapes are carefully put before being taken to the wine press.