A Match Made in Catalunya: Cava and Jamon Iberico
There a few wines that pair as well as cava sparkling wine and Spain’s famous jamon iberico (click for a detailed guide to jamon iberico). We have pulled our review of the Cava D.O. from our AG Wine app for the iPhone and iPod Touch/iTouch.
Cava, (meaning ‘underground cave’) is Spain’s sparkling wine, 95% of which is produced in area between the cities of Tarragona and Barcelona (chiefly around the city of Sant Sadurní in Penedès) in the region of Catalunya.
Cava is based chiefly upon the traditional Catalunyan white grape variety triad consisting of macabeo, xarel-lo, and parellada (typically with small amounts of subirat and chardonnay): xarel-lo provides the structuring body, parellada the crisp acidity, and macabeo the soft creaminess.
Although cava sparklers use different grape varieties, the production method is the same as French champagne, in that the wine is fermented in the bottle (rather than in large pressure tanks, as with Italy’s prosecco).
As far as a comparison versus France’s champagnes: cavas are more approachable, in they exhibit similar gentle fruit flavors, good body, and a level of creaminess, but with a lower relative acidity. Best of all: they are the most attractively priced sparkling wines in the world. You can’t miss with a cava from Catalunya!
AG Wine for Spanish Wines is now available! The AG Wine app profiles all of Spain’s winemaking regions, grape varieties, appellations, and vintages. Best of all: It’s a FREE upgrade for existing AG Wine App owners!
