Getaria
Gipuzkoa · Basque Country
DO Getariako Txakolina2.887inhabitants
1201first mention
1397wine documented
A coastal town of Gipuzkoa set on a tombolo beside Mount San Antón, the birthplace of Juan Sebastián Elcano. It was founded as a town by the Kingdom of Navarre, probably by Sancho VI the Wise (c. 1180–1194), and Alfonso VIII confirmed its fuero (charter) in 1209.
First mention: Charter of Alfonso VIII dated in Burgos on 20 January 1201, addressed to the settlers of Getaria, recognising their rights over pastures, waters and woodland. It is now lost and known through Madoz. The confirmed fuero dates from 1209.
The legend
ordinances of the Hermandad de Gipuzkoa at Getaria 1397; Etxaniz family since 1649; crisis in the 1880s; DO 1989The death penalty for uprooting vines: Getaria, 1397
On 6 July 1397 the representatives of the towns of Gipuzkoa met in the church of San Salvador in Getaria and founded the Hermandad de Gipuzkoa, the seed of the present-day territory. The first ordinances they drew up there protected vineyards with the harshest penalty: according to the Regulatory Council, article 18 punished with death anyone who destroyed vines. Centuries later, when txakoli had disappeared from almost the entire province, Getaria was its last refuge: in the 1880s only 21 hectares remained, three in Zarautz and the rest in Getaria. In the town, the Etxaniz family traces its link with these slopes back to a Domingo de Etxaniz documented in 1649.
Alive today: Getaria gives its name to the DO Getariako Txakolina (1989, extended to all of Gipuzkoa in 2007) and hosts its Regulatory Council. Trellised vines cover the slopes between Mount Garate and the sea. Every 17 January, on Saint Anthony's Day, the town tastes the first txakoli of the year. Txomin Etxaniz, Gaintza, Ameztoi and Akarregi Txiki, among others, make wine there.
Wineries and their wines
- Aitako
- Gaintza
- Gaintza Roses
- Eugenia
- Eugenia Rosado
- Txomin Etxaniz
- Txomin Etxaniz Rosado
- Txomin Etxaniz TX
- Uydi
Wine towns nearby