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What can I drink in the Basque Country?


 


 

• TXAKOLI •

Txakoli is a slightly acidic, carbonated white wine, typical of the region and made from varieties of native grapes.

It is pale yellow in color, with an alcohol content of around 11%. Its flavor is very specific, and it pairs well with seafood. It also goes well with pintxos. It’s worth trying it!


 

• SAGARDOA / CIDER •

The native drink par excellence, this is a fermented apple juice low in alcohol made by traditional methods that distinguish it from cider made in other parts of Europe.


 

• RIOJA ALAVESA WINE •

La Rioja Alavesa is one of the most important geographic enclaves in the world in terms of wine culture. Its wines are world­famous and we shouldn’t miss an opportunity to try them. Some details we should know are that “young wine” refers to a recently bottled wine, normally fruity and mild in flavor, “crianza” an older wine aged partly in barrel and partly in bottle with more intense flavors, and “reserva and gran reserva” are wines cask­ and bottle­aged over more than 3 and 5 years, which are made from high­quality harvests.


 

• VINO IRULEGI / IROULÉGUY •

A prize­winning Denomination of Origin in the Paris contests, it has the distinct characteristic of being the only wine from the mountains of the Basque Country. They produce white wines, rosés and reds. A gastronomic pearl established in the community of Irouléguy, 5 km from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.


 

• PATXARAN / PACHARÁN •

Liqueur of around 28% alcohol made by soaking sloes (Prunus spinosa) in anise. It has a beautiful red color and a sweet, pleasant flavor to have at the end of a good lunch or dinner.


 

• IZARRA •

It is a traditional herbs liqueur of the Pyrenees, typical in the French Basque Country.  A fifteen-month process is required to produce it, with alcohol distilled with herbal flavorings, a liquid resulting from the soaking of prunes and walnut shells in armagnac, a syrup of sugar and local acacia honey. Before it is bottled, the liqueur is matured for a period of about six months in barrels. Different varieties exist, thought the most important are the yellow Izarra (with and infusion of saffron) and the green one (with several green plants). 

It is used in cocktails, deserts and above all, as a digestive after a good meal.


 

 

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