There’s a New Sparkle to Spain’s Cava and Corpinnat

For decades, Cava was the dependable workhorse of the wine bar: reliable, ubiquitous, and, if I’m being honest, often uninspiring. Even in Spain, 90% of Cava sells for under 10 euros per bottle. The issue has always been one of geography. Unlike Champagne, which is a place, Cava is a method. You can make it in Catalonia, of course, but also in pockets of Rioja, Valencia, and even Extremadura. This multi-regional approach to an appellation has long frustrated small producers who believed that it obscured the quality and potential of small-scale sparkling winemaking in Penedès, where the style originated.

Spanish Wines from the Catalan Coast

Priorat, like so many classic regions in Spain and beyond, is having a renaissance. Though once known for rich, extracted wines with big points to match, many new winemakers on the scene are harvesting earlier and fermenting the wines more gently, avoiding any harsh over-extraction of tannins.

Spanish Sparkling Wine Picks by Our SF Bubbly Expert

There are several great things about the sparkling wines of Spain. My very favorite is the ratio of quality to value. You can get some excellent wines of superior quality for under $40. I had the opportunity, care of K&L Spanish & Portuguese Wine Buyer Kirk Walker, to taste quite a few of these on Valentine’s Day eve. I am familiar with some of them while others are brand new to me.

Cava Is Spanish Sunshine in a Bottle

Let’s talk Cava. Spain’s answer to Champagne may inhabit a value price point on the shelf, but it can often punch way above its weight, made in similarly intricate methods as Champagne, with a distinctive personality from Spanish grapes and a warm-climate flair.

SpainKate SotoApril 13, 2019spain, spanish wine, cava, spanish sparkling wine, sunshine, macabeu, xarel-lo, parellada, sparkling wine

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