The case for Cava

The case for Cava

If you like to try unusual and offbeat grape varieties just for the fun of expanding your wine knowledge, here's a surprisingly quick and easy way to add three more oddities to your "life list."
Simply pop the cork on a bottle of Cava, the Spanish version of sparkling wine, and you're most likely tasting the grapes Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel-lo, with maybe a splash of more familiar Chardonnay thrown in.
Cava ("Cah-vah") - which means "cellar" in Catalan, the language of the Barcelona region where the lion's share of Spanish sparkling wine is made - is a modern Spanish wine word that replaced the older "Champaña" in the 1970s.
Cava has become immensely popular around the world, primarily through the marketing efforts of two giant producers of inexpensive wine, Freixenet and Codorniú. And, as so often unfortunately happens when demand drives up production, over-cropping and mass-production yielded some mighty bland wine. I'm sure I'm not the only wine enthusiast who tired of Cava and switched over to the similarly cheap but often more interesting Italian Prosecco when I wanted a cooling glass of fizz.
I still love Prosecco (although, in fairness, some of the cheaper, more industrial brands share the lackluster character that put me off Cava); but in recent years Cava seems to be bouncing back. I've found more than a few Cavas - including some from the Big Two - that stand a good chance of pleasing the taste buds with decent quality in an interesting, affordable sparkling wine.
Moreover, for those who care about such technical nuances, Cava is usually made by the Champagne process of fermentation in the individual bottle, albeit, in some cases, done in a highly mechanized process. Prosecco sticks with the "Charmat" process involving mass fermentation in the vat or tank, a less-idealized technology that, however, doesn't seem to do the better labels any harm.
As summer lingers in much of the Northern Hemisphere, a glass of Cava can make a mighty cooling quaff on a steamy day. It's extremely food-friendly, serving well with a wide variety of dishes including such relatively challenging items as gazpacho and at least moderately fiery Southeast Asian dishes and curries.
About those grapes: Macabeo ("Mah-cah-BAY-oh"), it's said, contributes floral scents to the wine, while Xarel-lo ("Sah-rel-yo") adds an earthy note of complexity; Parellada ("Pah-deh-YAH-dah"), provided it's not greedily over-cropped, builds a framework for the rest with tangy green-apple acidity. The optional Chardonnay? It adds some body, perhaps, and from a cynical standpoint, a popular and more familiar varietal name to add to the label.

Origin: Wine Lovers Page