“A great way to start your meal is to serve a nice cool glass of Cava accompanied by an assortment of traditional Spanish Tapas.” Yonatan Sternberg is happy to familiarize you with Spain’s sparkling wine.
Cava is a sparkling Spanish wine produced using the same production methods as those used in the production of French Champagne.
The name Cava comes from the Latin word for cave in English. Throughout history caves have been used for the preservation and/or aging of wine. The slightly chilly temperature, darkness and high humidity levels that most caves possess serve as ideal locations for this purpose.
Most people attribute the first cava wine to Josep Raventos. After traveling in France during the late 19th century, Raventos returned to Spain and produced the first Spanish sparkling wines.
The majority of the Cava produced in Spain originates in the Pendes region of Catalonia, 40 km south-west of Barcelona.
Cava is produced using several different grape varieties such as including white grape varieties such as: Macabeo, Xarello, Parellada, Subirat and Chardonnay, and red grape varieties such as: Red Grenache and Monastrell.
By using both red and white grapes cava ranges from white to pinkish in color.
Similar to Champange, Cava is produced in several degrees of sweetness.
The following are the different categories according to sugar content:
Brut Nature - (no added sugar) maximum of 3 grams per liter.
Extra Brut - maximum of 6 grams per liter.
Brut - maximum of 15 grams per liter.
Extra seco - between 12 to 20 grams per liter.
Seco (dry) - between 17 to 35 grams per liter.
Semi-seco - between 33 to 50 grams per liter.
Dulce (sweet) - more than 50 grams per liter.
Cava is sold ready for drinking and is not intended for further aging. Like other sparkling wines cava should be stored vertically and not horizontally in a cool, dark place.
Pairing Food with Cava:
A great way to start your meal is to serve a nice cool glass of Cava accompanied by an assortment of traditional Spanish Tapas.
Tip of the week:
Serve in a chilled flute champagne glass. By doing this you will ensure that the bubbles last longer.
