Most everyone who visits Basque country on the northern coast of Spain develops a wine-crush on txakoli, the crisp, slightly effervescent white wine poured like water in pintxo bars from San Sebastian to Pamplona. The wine — pronounced “cha-ko-lee” and also known, somewhat erroneously, as txakolina — is about as refreshing as a beverage can be, and the ideal partner to the region’s salty, savory, and fried dishes, whether that be briny oysters, garlicky shrimp, or crunchy potatoes.
Despite (or perhaps because of?) its popularity there, it’s historically been hard to find a good bottle of txakoli in the United States. (That’s also likely because it can lose its zip in shipping.) And while our vintners make great strides with new versions of zesty whites each vintage, there’s nothing quite like that lightly fizzy, fully fun sip made in California, at least on a broad scale.
Into this conundrum comes Cambria Winery’s ode to txakoli: Txiki, a faintly sparkling, lower-alcohol, acid-driven explosion on the palate. “At this point, I’m just calling this fun in a glass,” explained winemaker Jill Russell as we shared citrusy sips in Cambria’s Los Olivos tasting room, which is shared with Brewer-Clifton.
Cambria and Brewer-Clifton are both owned by Jackson Family Wines, whose forward-thinking C-suite first challenged Russell’s team to come up with a white wine that could be made from grapes picked earlier in the season with lower sugars. This move happened a bit before the mainstream lower-alc movement kicked off, and was prompted by the Napa fires of 2020, which damaged so much of that vintage. Like most of the wine world, they’re wondering what sort of wines can be made if harvest has to be hurried before the weather turns, as is happening more frequently due to climate change.
“We’ve been making this wine for six years,” said Russell, explaining that earlier experiments involved using a SodaStream to inject the bubbles. (They professionalized that process for this inaugural release, of course.) Since hondarrabi zuri — the grape variety that makes txakoli — is not grown in California (or is it — anyone?), Russell made Txiki out of chardonnay, which Cambria grows in abundance around the Santa Maria Valley estate. But Txiki, which is pronounced “cheeky,” really doesn’t taste anything like chardonnay, and, at 10.5 percent, it’s lighter than most any white wine out there.
With wildfires and heat spikes plaguing wine countries across the planet, the viticultural promise of Txiki — interesting wine made on a nimble schedule — couldn’t come at a more critical time. That it appeases the lower alcohol trend is but a bonus.
And for the rest of us who’re just looking for something good to drink on a sunny day at the pool or playa? Txiki is your sip of summer.
Try Txiki at the Cambria Winery tasting room, 2367 Alamo Pintado Ave., Los Olivos, or see cambriawines.com
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