Basque Country Comes to Alberta Street
King · Portland · Spanish · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · June 17, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Urdaneta’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Urdaneta reads like a passport stamp collection from the Iberian Peninsula — Basque txakoli, Galician albariño, Jerez sherry, and Ribera del Duero all show up in a compact, focused lineup. It's not trying to be everything to everyone, which is exactly right for a tapas spot this size. You get the sense someone actually thought about what goes with food here.
The list stays tight at roughly 40–70 labels, but those labels are doing real work. The Basque and Galician whites anchor the program — txakoli and albariño are natural fits for a seafood-forward tapas menu and Urdaneta leans into that hard. Rioja and Ribera del Duero cover the red side without overcomplicating things, and the inclusion of Manzanilla Sherry from Hidalgo La Gitana signals that someone in this kitchen actually drinks wine. Cava from Penedès rounds out the bubbles department and makes a strong case for not ordering cocktails. The gaps — no real French or Italian crossover, limited skin-contact options — are fine given the concept.
Eight to twelve pours by the glass puts Urdaneta in solid territory for a neighborhood tapas spot. Prices run $11–$18 a glass, which is honest for Portland's current market. The rotation doesn't appear to change much, but when your anchors are txakoli and Manzanilla, you don't need to chase novelty.
Manzanilla Sherry, Hidalgo La Gitana — $11
Manzanilla at this price point is almost always the smartest order at a Spanish spot. La Gitana is a benchmark producer — briny, bone-dry, and criminally underpriced relative to what it delivers alongside salty tapas.
Txakoli (Basque Country)
Most diners still don't know what txakoli is, which means more for the rest of us. The low-alcohol, high-acid, slightly effervescent Basque white is made for exactly this kind of eating — it cuts through everything, never gets heavy, and makes a 10-tapa spread feel totally manageable.
Cava (Penedès)
Cava is fine, but at a restaurant this locked into Basque identity, ordering generic sparkling wine feels like a missed opportunity. The txakoli is right there. Use it.
Albariño, Rías Baixas + Octopus tapas
Albariño and octopus is one of the great no-brainer combinations in Spanish cuisine — the wine's citrus-driven acidity and slight salinity mirror the ocean in the dish without overpowering the char. It's the kind of pairing that makes you feel like you made a smart decision.
The Bottom Line
Urdaneta isn't trying to run a wine bar — it's trying to run a great Spanish tapas spot, and the wine list earns its keep by staying honest to that mission. If you care about drinking something that actually makes sense with your food, this list delivers.
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Acceptable
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