When the national drink of the Basque Country, Txakolí (chalk-oh-lee), is served, one and all pause…read moreto admire the performance. The seemingly flat sparkling white wine explodes with carbonation when decanted, using an enthusiastic overhand technique. Leave the champagne flutes and coupes on the bar as this rustic, straw-colored beverage refuses anything but an oversized tumbler. Txomin Etxaniz Winery's version excels at cleansing the palate between bites of flash-fried or salty foods.

If you're in San Sebastian and have a car, I recommend stopping by Txomin Extaniz…read more Once you arrive, you might be greeted by one of the owner's sons Mikel who is charged with many duties, among them giving the English speakers a tour of the winery and also a tasting of housemade anchovies, bread, Txakoli and rose. I much preferred the Txakoli as it was more fragrant and went home with two bottles. Note: You need to make an appointment before you visit. Also, if you're like me you will get lost so pay attention to the signs while you're driving. The winery is located down a steep hill with captivating views of the sea.

Tucked below the 1* Eneko in Larrabetzu, which is the old locale of 3* Azurmendi, is Eneko Atxa's…read moreUncle's winery. Of course wine is made for the various Eneko restaurants worldwide and those grapes in the immediate area are only for the current Azurmendi further up the hill. Otherwise they source grapes from the surrounding area of Bilbao to make the Txakoljna wines of note. If you decide to check out their operations they give tours before lunch most days and can precede a meal at Azurmendi or Eneko. Last time i was in the area the airline left my bags in Barcelona. So I showed looking like I came out of a hostel with nothing but my backpack and ended up waiting at Azurmendi when I should have been below at the winery before lunch. This time I made sure to be at the right place on time and had a wonderful tour. If you're a culture and wine lover this is worth a visit to learn about Basque food ways

From the owner: El TXOTX es un fenómeno de la cultura gastronómica de nuestra Sagardoa(Sidra Natural Vasca), nace…read morede la cata que realizaban los clientes a la hora de comprar. Antiguamente las bodegas de producción no disponían de medios para poder conservar la Sagardoa durante todo el año en la kupela(barrica), por lo que el cliente entre finales de invierno y principios de primavera(periodo actual de TXOTX), debía hacer acopio de la Sagardoa embotellada para todo el año. Ante las diferencias de calidad que presentaban entre unas kupelas y otras, el comprador cataba el contenido de cada una buscando los mejores caldos, hasta cerrar el trato de compra de Sagardoa embotellada. La Sagardoa(Sidra Natural Vasca) es producto del año, de modo que la sagardoa que tomamos cada año de finales de Enero en adelante es una nueva bebida que acaba de nacer, con las características que le haya aportado el año climático a la manzana de la que proviene. Esto le da a nuestra bebida un encanto especial. Los meses de Febrero, Marzo y Abril, excepto sábados y festivos, Zapiain abre las puertas de su bodega a amigos, clientes y visitantes en general, de 8 de la tarde en adelante, para que en ambiente único puedan disfrutar bebiendo la nueva Sagardoa directamente servida de las kupelas por el propio bodeguero. Se cena de pie en la misma bodega, con los platos tradicionales que acompañan a la Sagardoa: tortilla de bacalao, bacalao frito, chuleta, queso y nueces. Se puede adquirir Sagardoa embotellada todo el año.

Beautiful slices of jamon. Make it a point to try as many as possible and take some back to your…read moreapartment for late night snacking. Lovely owners, nice selection of conservas, txakoli, and crianza, too!

Must-stop shop in Donostia-San Sebastian, for high-quality foods at fair prices in a clean, cozy…read moreshop in Parte Vieja. We were looking for tasty local and regional specialties to bring home, and our finds there did not disappoint. Sylvain was friendly, well-informed about everything on the shelves, and so helpful. He hand-carved some Ibérico from Córdoba for us to sample. Will stop in again the next time we visit the area.

"What is Txakoli" you ask?…read more Well the easy solution is to contact Jon Oliden, Basa-Lore's Marketing Manager, next time you are in the Basque Country and have him give you a tour of this wonderful family owned winery so you can both taste their delicious products and learn about the history of this wonderful and different wine. Txakoli is a dry and slightly sparkling Basque wine. It has somewhat of a high acidity and is low in alcohol content. Basa Lore has been producing Txakoli since 1930s mostly for local consumption, but more recently they have expanded and not produce it at a higher capacity. The winery is located in the beautiful hills near the town of Zarautz and is a through back to what is quickly becoming a more commercial industry.

A classic example of a small provider of beautiful Txakoli wine from the Getaria (DO) region. The…read morewinery was founded in the 1930's and has produced txakoli for several generations. It has its own vineyards and since 1989 it has been incorporating equipment and modern machinery to produce a txakoli of excellent quality. Its txakoli has a delicate white fruit perfume, is balanced and offers a pleasant fresh finish. Because it is from the Getaria DO, it has a fizz to it when poured a foot above the glass and a pleasant saltiness which goes great with Spanish cuisine. The salt is actually incorporated into the skin of the grape as the daily fog drifts over the vineyard with the Atlantic Ocean only a mile away. Basa-Lore is Basque for "Forest Flower". The wine has fresh green tones, the fine bubbling that it gives off when it falls in the glass reminded us of the sound of the wind when it hits the leaves of the trees. Refreshing in the front palate, it explodes in the mid-palate and supports a long finish owing to the hint of salt. Marketing Manager, Jon Oliden, provided an extensive tour of the vineyard, the village and ocean views from the hillsides and a wonderful discussion about the novelty of the grape varietal and the method of growing/harvesting. Inside the production facility we sampled from the barrels and bottle. We tasted two white Txakoli and a red (blush) one. All were very pleasing. Jon, himself, prepared local products of sardines, fresh caught tuna and a tiramisu for taste pairings with the wines. The wines are available in the USA through Travis Vernon at Well Crafted Wine & Beverage Company +1 571-359-6227. Do yourself a huge favor and contact Jon Oliden for a visit through their website. Highly Recommended.

We enjoyed an amazing lunch here. We sat in the beautiful quaint courtyard on a lovely afternoon to…read moreenjoy all their specialities including the carpaccio of red prawns that melted in your mouth, glazed crispy suckling pig so tender inside, savory black pudding ravioli with truffle and incredibly flavorful ribeye. We ended the meal with a tasty hot apple cake with vanilla ice cream. Each dish raised the bar. Service was attentive but non-intrusive.

Food was very good- we had a number of dishes and particularly enjoyed the rice with clams, baked…read morecrab and turbot. The wine cellar is out of this world- probably one of the best in all of Spain if not the world. Definitely worth coming here if you love wine from the old world - ask for cellar tour at the end of your meal.