| In both outdoor activities and relaxed summer | | | | familiar to international wine consumers. |
| afternoons, I always find myself picking up a few | | | | *DO, Denominación de Origen, a Spanish |
| bottles of Cava to enjoy with company. Cava's | | | | quality wine classification. |
| approachable acidity and lovely fruity flavors offer | | | | 3. Flavors and Styles of Cava: |
| great value buys for happy hours and fun | | | | Cava is required to age for at least 9 months in |
| occasion! | | | | the bottle. Such aging time gives Cava the flavors |
| Cava, like Champagne in France, is made with the | | | | of the pleasantly yeasty, green apple, cherry, |
| Traditional Method of sparkling wine production, | | | | berry, peach, and occasionally almond nut. Its |
| however it can not be called "Champagne". The | | | | clean finish with mellow acidity are always |
| law prohibits the use of the term Champagne for | | | | refreshing and friendly. There are quite a few |
| sparkling wines outside of the Champagne region | | | | different styles of Cava. Some best to pair with |
| in France. While most people are used to call | | | | appetizers, others seafood dishes, and yet others |
| sparkling wines "champagne", the proper name for | | | | by itself as delightful summer picnic wine or |
| all sparkling wines other than Champagne thus is | | | | aperitif. |
| "sparkling wine". | | | | 4. Sweetness Levels of Cava: |
| 1. Cava Winemaking Method: | | | | Another style difference is its various levels of |
| The bubbles or sparkles are produced during the | | | | sweetness. What's called Brut Nature would have |
| Second Fermentation. In the Traditional Method of | | | | only up to 3 grams sugar per liter of Cava wine, |
| sparkling winemaking, the Second Fermentation | | | | and when the sugar level increases to Extra Brut, |
| does not take place in the pressure tank, but | | | | it could include up to 6 grams of sugar per litre. |
| instead occurs in the bottle, the same bottle to | | | | Cava that has between 0 and 15 grams sugar |
| be sold eventually. | | | | per liter is called Brut. The rest of the Cava has |
| 2. Cava Wine Regions: | | | | increased sweetness level that could be detected |
| In Spain, Cava is produced in DO* Cava, which | | | | by most palates. From low to high levels of sugar, |
| includes five regions. The grapes for Cava are | | | | these are Extra Dry, Dry, Semi Dry and finally |
| Macabeo (or called Viura in Rioja), Xarel-lo and | | | | Sweet. |
| Parellada. Some producers now include a | | | | A bottle of beautiful Cava could be about $10. |
| proportion of Chardonnay (one of the traditional | | | | What a bargain to add sparkles to your life! |
| grapes for Champagne) for its flavors that are | | | | |