The “Hauser & Wirth Somerset” gallery is exhibiting a selection of works by the Basque artist Eduardo Chillida in its Durslade Farm gallery in Somerset (United Kingdom) until January 2022. The exhibition will invite new encounters between Chillida’s work and the unique environment of Hauser & Wirth Somerset, drawing parallels with the artist’s own vision for Chillida Leku.
As part of this initiative, the brand promoting Basque Country beverages, Basque Wine, is the gastronomic sponsor of the event, offering Basque gourmet foods and wines in a desire to promote understanding of the Basque culture that gave rise to a universal artist of the stature of Eduardo Chillida. It is a collaboration involving the Basque government, HAZI and Chillida Leku to raise awareness of the drinks under the promotional brand Basque Wine.
The initiative is being run through the holding of a “Basque Fest”, which taking advantage of the events being held at Durslade Farm from 8th to 11th and 22nd to 23rd October (weekend offering a programme of Basque cultural events organised by the Basque Government’s Department of Culture, Kukai and Oreka TX) will allow visitors to immerse themselves in the gastronomic culture of the Basque Country. The working proposal is that on the six days of Basque Fest, visitors will be offered a menu based on Basque gastronomy and which represents its variety. There will also be a full offering of the range of drinks produced in the Basque Country under the Basque Wine brand. The drinks available will be Txakoli de Álava, Bizkaia and Getaria (Txakoli white wine from Álava, Bizkaia and Getaria), Sidra Natural de Euskadi (Natural Cider from the Basque Country) and wine from Rioja Alavesa.
On 8th October there was a gala dinner for 50 people with a plated menu of traditional Basque food, each dish being paired with a Basque Wine beverage. On 9th October there was an open-air party attended by 300 people with a “standing” buffet of traditional Basque food involving islands of “pintxos”. Those attending could move around the islands, giving them the opportunity to taste at least a few of them. Another part of the menu involved live cooking on grills using traditional Basque techniques and on separate islands there were bars called Basque Wine Bars, with a full range of beverages. On 10th October, the museum’s board had the opportunity to taste food made with high-quality Basque Country products, accompanied by Rioja Alavesa and Txakoli wines and Euskal Sagardoa cider. Lastly, 120 people will today enjoy a Basque Brunch and will be able to take part in three guided tastings of Basque Wine beverages given by the oenologist Mikel Garaizabal.
The Basque Country’s foods and wines will also be present on 22nd and 23rd October, with an open-air party for 200 people on the Friday and a Basque Grill Corner on the Saturday. This final event will be the largest, with 1,350 people expected to attend.
Basque Wine
Basque Wine is a new promotional brand to promote the Basque Country’s beverage and winery sector. It includes: wines from DOCa Rioja bottled in the Basque Country and labelled as Vino de Zona, Vino de Municipio or Viñedo Singular de Rioja Alavesa; beers included in the “Basque Beer” group brand of craft beers; txakoli wines with the “Txakoli de Álava-Arabako Txakolina”, “Bizkaiko Txakolina-Txakoli de Bizkaia” and “Txakoli de Getaria-Getariako Txakolina” DOs and ciders with the “Euskal Sagardoa- Sidra Natural del País Vasco” DO.
This event is part of a public-private partnership strategy to support the Basque Country’s beverages sector and strengthen its promotion and consumption channels, as well as the positioning of the products from Basque wineries.
