Cava Wine – The wine and the beauty behind

Cava is a Spanish sparkling wine mainly made from Macabeu white grape. It’s light bitter finish, and lemony flavor has a taste similar to green almonds. Other than Macabeu, Cava wine is often made from Xarel-lo and Paralleda grape, with the Paralleda variety known for its high acidity accompanied by a citrus flavor, while Xarel-lo feeling more aromatic with an accent of melon/pear flavors.

Together, these three varieties turn the Cava wine into a  beautiful sparkling variety that tastes more like champagne than a Prosecco.

Home of Cava

Catalonia is considered to be the home of the Cava wine as almost 95% of the Cava wines are produced there. To be more precise, the region of Penedes is considered the birthplace for this exquisite wine. However, aside from Penedes, Cava is made in eight more regions in  across Spain.

Styles of Cava

Cava Rose (pink)

Winemakers add other grapes to make Cava Rose. Usually, Monastrell is added for its peachy smell and pink hue, and Grenache for its raspberry and strawberry aromas. Recently, some winemakers added Pinot Noir to the mix, although this is still less common than Monastrell or Grenache additions.

Brut and Brut Nature Cava

This is more of a refreshing aperitif than anything else, and is often served as an aperitif or as part of cocktails. The fact that is low on calories and its specific taste that lacks much of the expected sweetness makes up much for its growing popularity.

Aged and Vintage Cava

Cava is not just a zesty aperitif as more and more winemakers decide to let it age. When aged, it produces a unique body featuring notes of almond and apple and to that purpose, winemakers use Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes to augment the traditional blend. The fact that they are French grapes, may slightly undermines the Spanish tradition, but it doesn’t make it less of a Cava.

Food pairing

Cava is a good match with most foods out there, even with lighter food like salads. However, some foods seem to get along perfectly with it – for example crumbly cheeses, fish pie, risotto, almost any seafood, and tapas.

Unlike most other wines, Cava makes a good match with fruit salads as well. Especially fruit salads that contain apples, oranges, and grapes – the fruit notes play well with the wine and pair well with sweet or dry cava.

Drinking Cava in Spain

Cava is the preferred choice for almost all types of celebrations in Spain; birthdays, wedding, New Year’s celebration, and so on. At the same time that doesn’t exclude it as an everyday drink. Almost every bar and restaurant serve Cava by the glass. If you are into wine tours, then you need to check out the Penedes wine region near Barcelona – this area is easily accessible by bus or train and is a must-visit if you are in the area. Cordoniu and Freixenet are the two most famous wineries that are open to tourists, although the Caves Nadal is also open often – a very popular winery that dating from the 16th century.

Production of Cava

Spanish laws allow Cava to be made only in Catalonia. Also, it must be made only with the Saignee method using Monastrell, Trepat, Pinot Noir, or Garnacha. Aside from the three main varieties, Cava can only contain Subirat, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay. Same as with champagne, Cava can be made with different levels of sweetness, starting from the driest “brut nature” to the sweetest “dulce”.

Conclusion

Cava wine is the pride of Spain and with a pretty good reason. It is an excellent wine that even though produced in large quantities remains a brand to be respected. It’s refreshing taste, and unique flavors can always find a place at any given table and occasion.