Akareggi Txiki
“Hoch, hoch! RRRREEE” “Baaa.” Sheep perk up from about 100 yards away, assessing whether they should heed the call and come to the fence of this trellised Hondarabbi Zuri parcel planted next to Akareggi Txiki.
“Hoch, hoch! RRRREEE” “Baaaaaaaaa.” The sheep are curiously watching us, and stirring closer, bells around their necks – a black faced sheep who seems the bravest and/or MOST curious inches closer still to a trio of strangers with his people on the edge of the vineyard lane.
Its a windy day to this cliffside outpost perched above a churning Cantabrian Sea and the iconic Basque town of Getaria.
Lurdes Zubuzarreta and Iker Eizmendi, mother and son, are the latest members of a polycultural farming family that goes back several generations in this town. Their flock of sheep lives amongst the 15 ha of vineyards they hold here, kept to maintain the undergrowth and fertilize the soils. Lurdes and Iker were able to stop using herbicides & pesticides completely 5 years ago, and have incorporated practices like leaving pruning on the ground for compost to enrich the soils and vines.
A short walk from the cellar finds another parcel of newly planted Hondarabbi Beltza, oriented over a sharp edged slope at north-south exposure, and absolutely brimming with ground covers and helpful insects under the young trestles. A ten year old parcel of Beltza across the lane quite literally clings to the clay & sand on top of sand stone bedrock, and I swear I felt the sea spray – we were that close and totally exposed. Parcels further up in the hills, planted on the edge of the woods, give more acidity than these sea adjacent vines (and incidentally, it was that hillside parcel that saved the 2024 vintage, so they say they’ll keep it forever).
Akareggi Txiki was one of the original founding members of DO Getariako Txakolina, which is not without its challenges in addition to the benefits. The DO dictates its wines must be filtered to complete clarity, but Lurdes and Iker have been working to change that rule for some time now – filtering is not a part of their familial winemaking heritage. All vineyard work, harvesting and winemaking is done by hand, another rarity here. This is a small family winery, proudly maintaining their heritage and culture in this corner of the Basque Region.
“Baaaaaa.” The sheep have come to the fence, expecting what I can only assume is some kind of sheep cookie. Iker proudly shows off pictures of his son, as Lurdes looks on. The next generation, already in play to make Txakoli of place.
