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Traditional tools and barrels for making txakoli. Author: Juanjo Hidalgo.
Wine has had much to do with drinking, food and liturgy; it has been a product to trade with, it has been present in rituals, celebrations and ceremonies, it has granted social prestige and, its consumption even established the frontier between the barbarian and the civilized world. Because of this, the grapevines (and consequently wine) arrived in places where the climate was not so favourable; one of these wines was our txakolin. Thus, our wine, more than a geographical denomination, became a liquid baptized with an adjective that, let’s say did not pretend to praise its organoleptic virtues.
A tavern in the town of Bedia (Bizkaia). Source: Labayru Fundazioa Photographic Archive.
“Txikiteo” is a traditional custom that is deeply rooted in the Basque Country (and other neighbouring territories). It consists of going from one bar to another standing and drinking “txikitos”, that is, small amounts of wine taken from glasses. The space in which it is practiced is generally limited to one or more small areas of the town, where there are many bars. In these places, people called “txikiteros” take turns. They are formed by groups of friends who take advantage of the opportunity to meet and exchange news about their town, other nearby towns or general events, and today a rather pedantic term for “socializing” is used for this. Txikiteo is also called “poteo”, and the act of “txikitear” is called “potear” as well.
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Iker Ugalde. Labayru Fundazioa Photographic Archive.
It is grape harvest time in the Basque Country. Txakolin wine producers sample their grapes to check acidity levels, sugar content, and three or four other parameters, in search of optimal fruit maturity.
Home winemaking was once customary in our country. Most farmhouses would keep some vines, on orchard and field margins, typically, or in rows between cultivated fields, to make the so-called txakolina — a slightly sparkling, dry white wine— for their own consumption. A quarter of a century ago there would be just over a dozen hectares of vineyards in Bizkaia; today there are more than four hundred. (more…)
Wine was the perfect festival drink. San Martín de Unx, c. 1960.
Wine has likewise had important uses both in popular medicine and family diet.
Within the daily therapeutics of yesteryear’s Navarrese society, so far removed from medicines and drugs, wine and its derivatives helped in combating numerous diseases. Compresses of vinegar and salt served as a remedy for sprains in Améscoa and insect bites in San Martín de Unx. Vinegar being considered an efficient wound disinfectant, a good rub of it would fight ringworm in Izurdiaga, chilblains in Larraga, and even rabid dog bites in other localities. Vinegar patches to minimise the effects of cold sore outbreaks was another common use. (more…)
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