Bodega Gaintza Txakolina

Tucked away on the banks of the Cantabrian Sea just west of San Sebastián sits the small yet fierce Getariako Txakolina DO. The area's sandy beaches attract surfers and tourists, while the Basque region’s abundance of Michelin-starred restaurants draws millions of destination diners each year. It is also here that the Lazkano family has been farming their small vineyard plots around their rural stone house and cellar—known as a caserío—for a century. The Gaintza estate and winery was founded by Andrés Lazkano in 1923, for the purpose of making wine for home and selling the small amount leftover directly from his farmhouse to neighboring villages. The winery has expanded since then, now home to a boutique guesthouse and tasting room offering classically warm Basque hospitality. The winery is run by its 4th generation, brothers Joseba and Urtzi Lazkano. Joseba and his mother handle the winemaking (and the many visitors!) while Urtzi manages the family’s 23 ha of sustainably farmed, pergola-trained vineyards. Intensely focused on their small but fierce region and its potential for its native varietals, the Lazkano family name is respected for being fine wine pioneers in a region largely known for inexpensive, fizzy white wine. Surname aside, members of the family are usually referred to simply as “Gaintza,” in the local custom of swapping in farm or fishing boat names.