I recently opened a bottle of the 2001 Bodegas Txomin Etxaniz Getariako
Txakolina from Spain. This wine is being talked up in several of my local
wine shops right now, as "lively and refreshing with pronounced minerality
and lemon citrus." Upon opening, I discovered it to be quite spritzy, with
small bubbles rising in the glass. This didn't dissipate with aeration.

Is this the way it's supposed to be, or is it a bottle variation? Is this
considered a "feature" or a "flaw" in the wine? Jason, you reported having
this recently at French Laundry, was your glass spritzy?

I'm curious because I didn't expect this from a white wine in a Riesling
style bottle, and this aspect wasn't noted by the merchant who recommended
it or in any of the "shelf talkers" I've seen.

Thanks very much,
-Amalia
_________________
Amalia Freedman
Remove X's to reply

amalia > wrote:
: I recently opened a bottle of the 2001 Bodegas Txomin Etxaniz Getariako
: Txakolina from Spain. This wine is being talked up in several of my local
: wine shops right now ....

Talked? Or mumbled?

> wrote in message ...
> amalia > wrote:
> : I recently opened a bottle of the 2001 Bodegas Txomin Etxaniz Getariako
> : Txakolina from Spain. This wine is being talked up in several of my
local
> : wine shops right now ....

> Talked? Or mumbled?

So, flaw, yes?

I've had good experiences with this shop before, but when I went back to
inquire whether this wine is supposed to be spritzy, the salesperson said
it's an enjoyable feature that is common in light white wines. When I said I
hadn't encountered this before, he got quite condescending with me and
implied that I should explore wines outside California like pinot grigio,
etc. I'm doing a slow burn on this one and considering writing an email to
the manager, who I know better, but thought I'd check in here before going
off half-cocked.

What would you do, short of avoiding this particular clerk in the future?

Amalia

"amalia" > wrote in message news:<FJkGb.191227$_M.869052@attbi_s54>...
> > wrote in message ...
> > amalia > wrote:
> > : I recently opened a bottle of the 2001 Bodegas Txomin Etxaniz Getariako
> > : Txakolina from Spain. This wine is being talked up in several of my
> local
> > : wine shops right now ....
>
> > Talked? Or mumbled?
>
> So, flaw, yes?
>
> I've had good experiences with this shop before, but when I went back to
> inquire whether this wine is supposed to be spritzy, the salesperson said
> it's an enjoyable feature that is common in light white wines. When I said I
> hadn't encountered this before, he got quite condescending with me and
> implied that I should explore wines outside California like pinot grigio,
> etc. I'm doing a slow burn on this one and considering writing an email to
> the manager, who I know better, but thought I'd check in here before going
> off half-cocked.
>
> What would you do, short of avoiding this particular clerk in the future?
>
> Amalia

I have had this wine and yes it is somewhat spritzy (or at least was
in the bottle I had)...This didn't bother me to much as I also like
Moscato d'Astis as well.

Another wine from the same Galician region which also available in San
Francisco is from Talai Berri--also talked up and on many
wine-by-the-glass programs around town. You could try this one out and
decide for yourself this spritziness represents a regional style in
Galician whites--it is hard to come to a conclusion with only one data
point me thinks...It was a while ago, but I seem to rememeber the
Talai having a bit of fizz as well as well the occasional Albarino I
have tried...

You could also let the bottle sit for a bit and see if it blows off...

ML

(th_duck) wrote in
m:
>
> I have had this wine and yes it is somewhat spritzy (or at least was
> in the bottle I had)...This didn't bother me to much as I also like
> Moscato d'Astis as well.
>
> Another wine from the same Galician region which also available in San
> Francisco is from Talai Berri--also talked up and on many
> wine-by-the-glass programs around town. You could try this one out and
> decide for yourself this spritziness represents a regional style in
> Galician whites--it is hard to come to a conclusion with only one data
> point me thinks...It was a while ago, but I seem to rememeber the
> Talai having a bit of fizz as well as well the occasional Albarino I
> have tried...
>
> You could also let the bottle sit for a bit and see if it blows off...
>

Hi,

first of all, we should not mix wines from the Basque Country and those
from Galicia. D.O. Getariako Txakolina and D.O. Bizkaiko Txakolina are
from the Basque Country (also called Euskadi) and IMHO are not worth the
price they ask for them. They are usually short in the nose, light
bodied and do have problems with unripe fruit. Upon release, they can
have some carbonic, which does not make them more appealing IMHO. It
should not have as much carbonic as a Moscato d'Asti in any case,
though.

In the case of Amalia, it is quite probably that other bottles from the
same winery and purchased from the same shop display a similar problem.
My biggest concern would be the shop recomendation of the wine, because
there are plenty of nice Spanish whites (D.O. Rueda, D.O. Ribeiro, D.O.
Valdeorras or D.O. Rias Baixas to name a few that use native grapes)
usually found at comparable or even lower prices.

Amongst the wines from Galicia, the three main D.O.s are Rias Baixas
(several subzones), Ribeiro and Valdeorras. Both make excellent wines
from the local grapes Albariño, Treixadura or Godello and can be found
in the under 10 euros price level in Spain.

Best,

S.

Is it possible that the wine makers add some carbon dioxide into the wine as
they do in Portugal with Vinho Verde ?

In article <FJkGb.191227$_M.869052@attbi_s54>, "amalia"
> writes:

>whether this wine is supposed to be spritzy, the salesperson said
>it's an enjoyable feature that is common in light white wines. When I said I
>hadn't encountered this before, he got quite condescending with me and
>implied that I should explore wines outside California like pinot grigio,
>etc.

Sounds like the guy is an ass. That being said, I have had a Basque wine that
showed light petillance. I wouldn't call light spritz "common", but one
occasionally runs across it (without it neccessarily being a real flaw) in
German Rieslings and in Muscadet.

There's no excuse for condescending salespeople, in any case. Tell the manager.

Dale

Dale Williams
Drop "damnspam" to reply

"Dale Williams" > wrote in message
...
> In article <FJkGb.191227$_M.869052@attbi_s54>, "amalia"
> > writes:
>
> >whether this wine is supposed to be spritzy, the salesperson said
> >it's an enjoyable feature that is common in light white wines. When I
said I
> >hadn't encountered this before, he got quite condescending with me and
> >implied that I should explore wines outside California like pinot grigio,
> >etc.
>
> Sounds like the guy is an ass. That being said, I have had a Basque wine
that
> showed light petillance. I wouldn't call light spritz "common", but one
> occasionally runs across it (without it neccessarily being a real flaw) in
> German Rieslings and in Muscadet.
>
> There's no excuse for condescending salespeople, in any case. Tell the
manager.

Thank you, Dale. And thank you for the "technical term," petillance. I knew
several words for sparkling wine, and now I know one for still wine with
"bubbles."

Happy New Year,
Amalia