Urdaibai Nature Reserve is home to many secrets, but perhaps one of the most distinctive is that of Bizkaiko Txakoli.
The banks of The Oka River have, throughout a long history, been home to some of the most important industries in Bizkaia province. Shipbuilding, manufacturing, fishing and agriculture have all stamped their mark on this beautiful valley that has been inhabited for at least 14,000 years, as evidenced by the examples of Stone-Age cave art in the Santimamiñe caves. The river flows into a huge estuary which since 1984 has been declared as a Natural Biosphere by UNESCO. Including the famous towns of Gernika and Mundaka, the valley is home to countless species of flora and fauna and the forests on each bank are similarly protected.
However the region is home to another well-kept secret, that of Bizkaiko Txakolina. The Urdaibai Estuary valley forms part of the P.D.O. (Protected Designation of Origin) or D.O. Denominación de Origen in Spanish created for the Basque white wine known as Txakoli. This light, fruity, sharp and zingy white wine is created in three separate regions in the Basque Country from autochthonous grapes and as part of our tour we will visit two of the most characteristic, revered and awarded vineyards. We will partake in visits to the vines and the production facilities of these two very different bodegas before sampling. Lunch will then be taken in a very traditional Basque Restaurant with some of the most spectacular views of the reserve and estuary.