Arrival and Background

On May 26th, 2026, my fellow classmates and I had the privilege to get an inside look at a winery of the name Talai Berri. A bus arrived at Olarain, the residence we are staying at in Donostia, and we drove about twenty minutes towards the countryside right outside of Zarautz. This was my first time ever visiting a winery, so I had no expectations going into it, and I will say it is impossible to put it into words how beautiful it really was. We entered to what seemed like just a modern looking rural house, but the doors were huge and opened up like it was the medieval times. As soon as we got in the lady greeted us instantly and began giving us a background of the winery. One thing I was astonished to learn was the fact that it is a fifth-generation winery and she is looking to pass it down to her family one day, as she has three kids in school at the moment. To confirm to us she was not lying, she pointed towards the wall behind us and showed us pictures of her family since the winery was first established. This was something that truly amazed me because coming from the United States and especially living in Massachusetts, taking on the family business is a dying art. What is the reason? I am not really sure. Maybe it is the fact that people want to pave their own path or find a job that pays higher. One thing for sure is that things are a lot different here in Spain and especially the Basque Country.

Creation and Tasting

After her background of the family business, we had the opportunity to walk downstairs and take an inside look on how the wine is actually made. The area was huge and was filled with these massive metal tanks that stored the wine to keep it cold and fresh, and there was a humungous metal crusher for the grapes. A lot of time and effort goes into making the wine, and the main difference here is that they make it was the upmost quality and effort. After spending about 30-45 minutes learning about the process, we all took a step outside on the balcony and we were blessed with a beautiful view. There was chorizo, cheese, bread, peppers all set up on the table ready to get eaten. It was all beyond tasty and was a pleasant sidekick to the main part… tasting the wine. There was Txakoli a dry white wine produced in the Basque Country, as well as Rose and Vermouth. In that order we began to taste them slowly while we sat along the balcony and talked among ourselves. This is something that Spanish people and especially Basque people are particularly known for. The idea of sitting down for hours either eating or drinking with friends or family without any sort of rush put on your shoulders. An idea that I absolutely love and my friends and I have become well adapted to I believe. The Txakoli was my favorite and was insanely smooth in my opinion. The Rose was also fantastic, just a little more acidic but tasted similar. Lastly the Vermouth was something that I could not get around to. Many of my peers loved it, but for me it had a very strong taste to it, so maybe my pallet has not yet matured! Even after the wine tasting was finished, we sat for more than an hour enjoying our time there while it lasted. The view was amazing and the vineyards all around were windy up and down the hills, and I learned that Spain is actually the 2nd hilliest country in Europe which quite surprised me. I had an absolutely fantastic time and for someone who had never been to a winery, let alone try wine before coming to Spain, it is something everyone should add to their bucket list!