What is Cava? (EP 40)

Cava is Spain's sparkling wine and one of the great bargains in the wine world. It's made the same way as Champagne, with a second fermentation inside the bottle. It's also the most exported wine in Spain: 190 million bottles last year, to more than 130 countries. Marti Buckley explains how the bubbles get into the bottle, why the word cava (which means cellar) replaced the old name xampany, and how a wine invented in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia came to be made as far away as Extremadura. She walks through the three local grapes behind it (macabeo, xarel·lo and parellada), how to read the aging and sweetness on a label, and how cava compares to Champagne and Prosecco. Then the split: why Recaredo and Gramona left the Cava DO to form Corpinnat, why Juvé & Camps is following them, and why a single valley's wine can go by five different names. Plus Marti gets into her 24 hour trip to Alella and what to pour on Nochevieja. If you want more about Spain: ∙ Subscribe to Marti's Substack at https://substack.com/@martibuckley ∙ Follow her on Instagram @martibuckley ∙ Visit her blog at travelcookeat.com