Gary’s Corner

Photo by Ian McCausland

España Verde, Green Spain

By Gary Hewitt, DipWSET, CWE, FWS, SWS, Sommelier

Cordilleras (mountains) define the landscape of Spain, the third most mountainous country in Europe. Mountain ranges form a nearly perfect square frame around the Meseta, a huge, high-altitude central plateau that experiences blazing sunshine, blue skies, and dramatic day-night temperature swings. Further south and east, Spain’s dry climate and sunny skies open onto sandy Mediterranean beaches.

But there is another Spain. The Cordillera Cantábrica and its sub-ranges stretch from the Pyrenees of the Franco-Spanish border across the top of Spain and southward toward Portugal, creating a strip of land sandwiched between the cordillera and the Atlantic Ocean. The climate is maritime with seasonal rains and cool temperatures—more like Ireland, Great Britain, and western France—ideal for lush, vegetative growth. This is España Verde, Green Spain.

Four autonomous regions (think provinces or states) comprise Green Spain: País Vasco, Cantabria, Asturias, and Galicia. País Vasco and Galicia are home to fascinating wine regions, distinct from the rest of Spain.

País Vasco is Basque Country, or in local lingo, Euskadi. The local language is Euskera, the oldest European language in use today. Euskera is chock-full of the consonants x and k and unusual combinations of consonants such as tx. Take, for example, the name of the most important wine appellation, Txakolina (or Txakoli, or Chacoli).

There are, in fact, three Txakolina appellations based on the sub-regions of Getariako (coastal, closest to France), Bizkaiko (coastal) and Arabako (inland, close to Rioja). Each makes fresh, light white wines, often slightly fizzy that are best quaffed chilled, young, and with local seafood. The dominant white grape variety is Hondarrabi Zuri, where Hondarribi is a local town, and zuri is Euskera for “white.”

Tourists to País Vasco flock to San Sebastián on the Bay of Biscay, barely 20 km from the French border, lured by international and Basque festivals and sensational gastronomy. Upscale diners target Michelin Star restaurants—San Sebastián boasts the second-highest number per capita in the world—while lively bars in the Old Quarter specialize in pintxos, tapas-like snacks often skewered with a toothpick to a piece of bread. Txakolina wine is served by the “Basque high pour” where the bottle is dramatically raised and lowered, or, for more immediate gratification, patrons use a decanter-tea pot hybrid called a porron to pour wine directly into their mouths!

From País Vasco, try: Aizpurua 2018 Getariako Txakolina DO ($18.99) Bat Gara 2017 UNO Arabako Txakolina DO ($21.99)

Galicia, located north of Portugal at the western end of Green Spain, also has its own language, Gallego, and a strong nationalist identity. But unlike the Basques who trace their lineage back to prehistoric times, Galicia’s link to its Celtic past is less about understanding the ancient past and more about creating a new cultural identity. Modern Galician culture is a whirlwind of Celtic festivals exemplified by the Festa Castrexa, a celebration of the pagan water nymph Tanitaco. Sounds of the traditional gaeta, a form of bagpipe, enliven festivities.

Galicia boasts a dramatic coast formed of cliffs and rias (glacier-formed river valleys) and an interior of hills and mountains. Steep, terraced vineyards overlook rivers while, on flatter ground, vines are parral-trained overhead on granite supports to enhance ventilation and minimize humidity, and historically, to grow a second crop under the grapevine canopy.

The cool Galician climate produces fresh, aromatic white wines and fruity, floral reds. The Rías Baixas appellation produces 99% white wines from Albariño—youthful, fresh, and beguilingly aromatic wines, some able to age nicely gaining depth and complexity. Ribeira Sacra produces 95% red wines from Mencía. These wines, with strong floral and red fruit aromas, are continually improving as this challenging variety is more fully understood. Valdeorras claims the middle ground with almost equal production of outstanding Godello white wines and Mencía reds.

From Galicia, try: Granbazán 2019 Albariño Rías Baixas ($29.99) Telmo Rodriguez 2018 Gaba do Xil Godello Valdeorras ($23.99)

País Vasco and Galicia are linked by the Camino de Santiago, a network of Catholic pilgrimages running from southern France to the terminus of Santiago de Compostela, the capital city of Galicia. The routes date to the Middle Ages, but believers and hikers walk these famous paths today, and, as in the past, local wines sustain their way. 