Spanish Cava or French Champagne?
Catalunya - Spain's Sparkling White Wine Region & Cava Fiesta Home
If you enjoy a bit of bubbly then the Spanish Cava should suit your taste buds and your wallet, try a bottle or two and see!
Having lived under the shadow of its neighbour for so long, the so- thought- of cheap cousin of Champagne - Spanish Cava is turning the tables at last. Cava has been produced for 140 years and is no imitation, being created with its own grape varieties it’s a duelling rival.
"Spanish Champagne"
Before the 1970s Cava was known to the world as Spanish Champagne, that was before the E.U ruled that only the wines produced in that specific area of Champagne in France could go by the name.
The E.U ruling actually helped the Spanish growers by making them label their wines under their own name - at the same time restrictions as to what could be labelled as Cava meant an increase in quality. Today Cava, being produced in the same way as Champagne, brings us not an inferior alternative - but an equal in quality and taste and at a better price which produces a superior wine.
Admittedly it all started in the 1870s, with a healthy intention of producing a sparkling wine to rival the French Champagne but to be grown on Spanish soil with local grapes. Cava is sparkling success story that needs a toast and the place to go for a tasting session is the village of Sant Sadurni D’Anoia in the Penedes region of Catalonia which is said to produce 85% of the total Cava output. The mild climate with an average of 12 –14 degrees, limited rainfall and hardly any wind make it ideal growing conditions for the fussy Macabeu, Xarel-lo and Parellada grape.
Friexenet and Cordorniu Bring Back Cava
With its growing success the big bodegas wine cellars such as Freixenet and Cordorniu have ploughed money back into Cava production to ensure a world-wide presence of this clear effervescent bubbly.
Since 1986 the Chardonnay grape has been used in the DO (domain d’origen), the Spanish quality mark and we all know that Chardonnay is the tops – still or frothy.
Guided tours and wine tasting sessions can be sampled at the bodegas of both these large Cava producers.
Every year at the end September into October there is a Cava Fiesta, where grape-pickers, wine makers and the locals all get together to celebrate the harvest and the fermenting of the harvest into new wine. The dates vary slightly every year, but here you should find a calendar of events that will hopefully be updated in plenty of time for this year's festivities.
For a cork popping and wine fizzing time this is the place to be!
