Racy, fresh, and mineral, Txakolina (cha-ko-LEE-na) is the traditional white wine of the País Vasco, or Basque Country.

Vineyards in Basque Country are cold, damp, and wind-whipped, as they are often situated in eyeshot of the Atlantic Ocean. Uriondo’s vineyard is in Zaratamo, a tiny village outside Bilbão, in soils of clay and sand. The site sits at about 175 meters’ elevation on a southeast-facing slope, giving it protection from Atlantic-borne winds—but there’s no question that these wines are true “cool climate” whites, with a distinctive saline quality thanks to their coastal origins.

Uriondo has been at the forefront of a wine revival in the Bizkaiko Txakolina DO (Denomination of Origin), one of several geographically specific growing zones along Spain’s north coast, on the Bay of Biscay. Uriondo was founded in 1987 by Roberto Ibarretxe, who was a psychology professor in Bilbao. He and his brother, an engineer, both now work at the winery. They planted the first vines in the area in 1982 on their parents’ dairy farm.

Although many Txakoli wines are bottled with some residual CO2, lending them a slight spritz when first opened, this racy white is fully “still” and quite textured relative to other Txakolis. Uriondo uses a blend of only indigenous varieties, headlined here by 60% Hondarrabi Zuri, fermenting and aging the wine in stainless steel tanks. Bottling is done during the spring following the harvest.

A pale straw gold color introduces a zippy, lipsmacking refresher: scents of lemon/lime, tart green apple, sea salt, wet rocks. Fermented and aged briefly in stainless steel, the wine spends a few months aging on the lees and is bottled without any trapped CO2, so the fresh, sea salt laden flavors are able to shine all on their own. Pair this with steamed mussels, clams, oysters... something just plucked from the sea, prepared