Bodegas Iturregi is a young project, yet one firmly anchored in its landscape and in a vision of txakoli that consciously moves away from the most established models along the coast of Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Country. Founded in 2020 in Getaria, Iturregi is led by Jon Bermúdez, a 31-year-old agronomist who launched the project after completing his studies in Pamplona and gaining experience at Ameztoi, one of the historic wineries of the appellation.
The origins of Iturregi are closely tied to family. Jon’s grandfather and uncle own a spectacular estate in the San Prudencio area, a high point of Getaria with uninterrupted views over the Cantabrian Sea and the surrounding vineyards. Purchased some 15 years ago, the old farmhouse that crowned the hill was transformed into a discreet luxury hotel, seamlessly integrated into its surroundings. Today, with its carefully tended gardens, the estate also forms the emotional and physical centre of the wine project.
In 2020, Jon’s uncle expanded the family holdings with the purchase of a second property in Getaria. The site totals 12 hectares overlooking the sea, but its most remarkable feature lay at the top of the slope: a small, old vineyard known as Bizkarraga. Planted with a mix of white and red varieties over just 1,300 m2, it had largely gone unnoticed until then.
The rediscovery of Bizkarraga —a traditional pergola-trained vineyard that had been neglected for at least two years— coincided with the Covid lockdown. Jon began restoring it during that period, working through the winter to bring the vines back into shape. The first year yielded barely enough fruit for around 100 bottles, made for family consumption. By 2021, once the project was more clearly defined, production had risen to approximately 1,000 bottles.
The vineyard is thought to be around a century old and with ungrafted rootstock, a rarity in the area. While there is no official certification of its age, local growers’ testimony and US Army aerial photographs from 1943 already show the vineyard in existence. Many of the vines are layered plants, and each year Jon re-grafts several vines to replace those lost to esca and other trunk diseases.
Limited yields
From the outset, Jon was clear that producing a “classic” txakoli was not his aim. In a region where yields of 15,000 kg/ha are not uncommon, his focus is on lowering production and working on a parcel-by-parcel basis. Getaria’s soils, clay-based with limestone bedrock, are fertile and have a high nutrient-retention capacity. Combined with a humid climate —over 1,000 mm of rainfall annually—and the naturally vigorous character of the variety Hondarrabi Zuri, this results in abundant vegetation which, if left unchecked, delays ripening and leads to very high acidity and low alcohol levels.
Viticulture at Iturregi therefore revolves around managing that vigour. Green pruning and crop thinning —still unusual practices locally— are central to the work in the vineyard. Jon seeks yields of around 8,000 kg/ha and is often among the last growers to harvest in Getaria, frequently well into October, in order to achieve greater ripeness. Vineyard treatments combine organic and conventional approaches depending on seasonal conditions. In a setting marked by mild nights and high summer humidity, downy mildew is a constant challenge, and in years such as 2025 Jon was forced, for example, to forgo making wine from the Zumaia parcel, although the grapes were sold to other wineries.
Alongside the old vineyard in Getaria, Jon works a one-hectare parcel in Zumaia, though he vinifies only part of it. Planted in 2005 on a trellised system, it is composed of 60% Hondarrabi Zuri, with the remaining 40% split between Hondarrabi Zuri Zerratia (Petit Courbu) and Izkiriota (Gros Manseng).
There is also a new trellised planting on the 12 ha Getaria vineyard. Still young, it has been designed to maximise ripening, improve airflow and make vigour easier to control. In time, this vineyard, planted mostly to Hondarrabi Zuri, will produce a third wine, expanding the range.
In the cellar, Jon works with the guidance of Carlos Sánchez, a producer based in Rioja. Winemaking is centered on spontaneous fermentations, extended lees contact and a restrained use of oak, understood as a tool to provide protection and texture rather than overt aromatic influence. In this context, the choice of Burgundy bottles can also be read as a statement of intent within the world of txakoli in Gipuzkoa.
The wines
The range includes two wines for now. The top wine is Iturregi Bizkarraga (1,000 bottles, €75), identified by its white label. It comes exclusively from the old vineyard in Getaria and is the estate’s most ambitious wine. The 2021 vintage —the first to be released and only recently launched— was fermented and aged in three 225-litre French oak barrels, with extended ageing on the lees, including a proportion of gross lees, to build volume and complexity. It is a deeply coloured txakoli, saline and fresh, with firm acidity and a tension that has gradually integrated with time in bottle. On the palate it combines vertical drive with depth, showing a clear limestone imprint and good ageing potential.
The second wine, Iturregi (3,100 bottles, €25), with its black label, comes from the Zumaia parcel and is made primarily in a 2,000-litre chestnut cask, complemented by a small proportion aged in French oak barrels. After spontaneous alcoholic fermentation in stainless steel, the wine is transferred to the cask, where it undergoes malolactic fermentation and spends around 10 months ageing on fine lees with bâtonnage. The result is a txakoli with apple and pear notes, a fresh, saline palate and a rounded texture that balances its vibrant finish.
Iturregi does not have its own winery and makes use of the facilities of another producer, Mokoroa. Alongside the wine project, Jon divides his time between vineyard consultancy work for other producers and the family hotel, where he is responsible for maintaining the extensive gardens —an area that touches onto his training in landscape design.
The financial and logistical support of Jon’s grandfather and uncle has been essential for Iturregi to exist in this early phase, when income barely covers costs. The synergy between the hotel and the wines strengthens the project’s narrative, while the immediate challenge remains to establish the brand more firmly and extend its reach beyond the Basque Country.