El Pais Vasco (officially La Comunidad Autonoma del País Vasco) is a fiercely independent region on the northern coast of Spain, near the Pyrenees and the border with France. In Basque, the region is called Euskadi, but to most English speakers it is referred to as the Basque Country.
The Cantabrian Mountains form its western boundary, while the famous wine region of La RiojaLies to the South. Despite this, the region is not Particularly well known for its wine, although a group of determined producers have Long fought for recognition.
In fact, it is the historic port city of Bilbao (home to the Guggenheim Museum) and the beautiful seaside resort of San Sebastian that attract visitors to the region.
Pais Vasco wine is synonymous with Txakoli (pronounced "Chac-o-lee"), a style of wine that is an integral part of the region's wine culture and traditions. This wine is direct and simple. It has a refreshing style with fruit-dominated characters, and can have a Slight fizz and high Acidity.
There has been buyer and trade enthusiasm for California’s 2018-vintage releases, yet there is still a sense of the region finding its way on the international fine wine market. Releases of top Cabernet Sauvignon and ‘Bordeaux blend’ wines from the 2018 vintage have added some spark to the California sector of the market this year. ‘We’re seeing much stronger demand for blue-chip 2018s than we did for the 2017s,’ said Ryan Woodhouse, domestic wine buyer for K&L Wine Merchants in the US. Scar ...
In the produce aisle of most US supermarkets, choices are clear: the organic section is to the right, or at the very least, organic items are identified on packaging or shelf-talkers. Shoppers willing to pay a few cents more per pound for broccoli grown without synthetic chemicals know where to reach. In the wine aisle? Not so much. There’s more than a bit of confusion, to date at least, with little-understood labels announcing wines are certified sustainable or made from organic grapes. Scroll ...
Canada’s western province of British Columbia (BC), has approved six new sub-appellations for its most famous wine-growing region of Okanagan Valley. The Okanagan Valley is BC’s largest appellation – called Geographical Indications (GIs) in Canada. And from a standing start in 2015, it now has 11 sub-GIs following the recent ratification. The six new sub-GIs are: Summerland Valleys, Summerland Lakefront, Summerland Bench, East Kelowna Slopes, South Kelowna Slopes and Lake Country. They are now l ...
