Hondarrabi Zuri is a white variety of

Vitis vinifera ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, is a species of flowering plant, native to the Mediterranean region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran. There are curr ...

(Grape) that is native of the Basque Country,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. The bunches are small and compact and the berries small, round and golden in colour. The must produces a pale yellow wine, with aromas of citrus fruit, ripe fruit, herbs and flowers. It is the main grape used to make

Txakoli Txakoli (pronounced ) or chacolí (pronounced ) is a slightly sparkling, very dry white wine with high acidity and low alcohol content produced in the Spanish Basque Country, Cantabria and northern Burgos in Spain. Further afield, Chile is als ...

wine.

Hondarrabi Zuri

Hondarrabi Zuri is a synonym for any of three grape varieties of ''

'' found in South West France and

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

, an autonomous region of

, including: * Crouchen * Courbu Blanc * Noah

Characteristic

Until the 19th century there were many hectares of hondarrabi zuri in the region. The aristocrat Wilhelm von Humboldt came to compare his wines with the most prestigious of Alsace and the Rhineland. It is not a very productive vine, so it is not he managed to recover the previous number of hectares. It rarely exceeds 8,000 kg/ha or 60 hl/ha. Some Basque producers blend Hondarrabi Zuri with the red Hondarrabi Beltza variety or with small amounts of Petit Corbu and Gros Manseng, to create wines with more aromatic complexity. Hondarrabi zuri vines produce grapes and bunches of small size. The wines have intense aromas of pear and exotic fruits, as well as citrus, herbaceous and floral nuances, with notable acidity and a medium to moderate alcohol content. In good vintages, when the maturation circumstances are optimal, it is possible to obtain aromatic, powerful and very balanced wines. The quality of the chacolíes that are produced with hondarribi zuri has nothing to do with that of others that are produced in the area with unsuitable varieties and incorrect production techniques, which produce wines that are not very aromatic, excessively acidic, light and often with a significant amount of dissolved carbon dioxide.

Regions

In a subregion of Basque, called

, Hondarrabi Zuri is a synonym for both Courbu Blanc and Crouchenbr>
ref name="I.E. Ilgenfritz & Sons"> Hondarrabi Zuri is the predominant grape variety used in Txakoli's white wines. In

, Hondarrabi Zuri can be found with three different spellings: Hondarrabi Zuri, Hondarribi Zuri and Courbu, Ondaria Zuria. Hondarrabi Zuri, is grown in the following Denominaciones de Origen (DOs): * DO Txakoli de Álava * DO Getariako Txakolina * DO Bizkaiko Txakolina

Synonyms

This variety is known by synonyms such as ondarrabi zuri, ondarabiya zuriya, ondarrabi txuri, ondarrubi zurilla, oudanabi, tocuri, txuri, zuri and zuria. Likewise, hondarrabi zuri is a synonym of the French courbu blanc grape.

References

{{reflist Spanish wine Grape varieties of Spain White wine grape varieties