Artomana Txakolina
Basque Country, Álava / Arabako Txakolina, Spain
Artomaña Txakolina are one of the key producers helping preserve and reshape Basque txakoli culture in Álava, a part of the Basque Country that still feels slightly undiscovered compared to better-known Spanish wine regions. The winery was originally founded in 1988 by Eugenio Alava Ugarte, who began replanting traditional txakoli vineyards after seeing how close the local wine culture had come to disappearing entirely during the 20th century. At the time, very little txakoli production remained in Álava, and Artomaña became one of the first serious projects involved in reviving the region’s identity and eventually helping establish the Arabako Txakolina denomination in 2002.
The vineyards sit in the Arrastaria Valley near Amurrio, surrounded by dramatic limestone mountains, Atlantic weather systems, and incredibly green rolling countryside that feels much closer to northern Europe than most people expect from Spain. That landscape shapes everything about the wines. Cool temperatures, high rainfall, and strong Atlantic influence help create the freshness and natural acidity txakoli is known for, while the limestone and clay soils bring texture and salinity underneath.
What makes Artomaña especially interesting is how much the winery balances tradition with a more modern, thoughtful approach to winemaking. The family remain heavily focused on local Basque grape varieties like Hondarrabi Zuri, but there’s also a lot of careful vineyard work, spontaneous fermentation, and gentle cellar handling behind the scenes. Nothing feels overworked or heavily polished though. The wines still carry that lively, slightly wild, unmistakably Basque character that makes txakoli so easy to fall for in the first place.
There’s also something very tied to local culture about the whole project. Txakoli in the Basque Country has always been about food, hospitality, seafood, pintxos bars, long lunches, and drinking socially rather than ceremonially. Artomaña feels deeply connected to that atmosphere. Fresh, energetic wines made with serious care and history behind them, but never presented in a way that feels intimidating or overly formal.
