On Saturday September 21st, Hubby and I landed in Barcelona and the next day started with a bang… my first sabrage (sabering) of sparkling wine! What better way to experience that, than with my good friend Marta, in her vineyards in Penedès, Spain, with Cava she made!
The goal of our three-week European Wine trip was to learn, explore, and further establish relationships in the wine world.
Today’s post will not be typical, but I wanted to say hello and give you an update!
Talk about not taking your own advice.
Are you referring to the article I wrote on the rules of sparkling wine and respecting the bubbles?
Touché.
But it WAS a rush!
That day, in Penedès, Catalonia about 40 minutes drive from the Barcelona airport, we visited the Parés Baltà vineyards and winery and tasted this year’s harvest wines at their various stages in the winemaking process. Then we tasted the current release bottles of the same wines. This was a fascinating comparison!
Most 2024 wines were in the process of fermenting, meaning there was still yeast and sugar in the mixture we tasted. These definitely did not taste like a finished wine, even though there was a percentage of alcohol. They are more juice-like, and as you see from the pictures below, they are cloudy from the yeast in suspension.
What was the texture like?
Definitely not the texture of a finished wine. Lighter body, very low tannins in the reds, and you feel the yeast texturally.
Yes, we were in the middle of harvest, and part of that is the initial stages of winemaking: grape sorting, crushing, pressing, fermentation, post-fermentation maceration, transferring to ageing vessel, etc.
Speaking of harvest, this was our main objective, spending a week in Priorat, Spain helping at Parès Baltà’s Priorat winery, Gratavinum.
This was an amazing opportunity for us as we were literally part of the winemaking process for 4 days. Most of the grapes had already been picked before our arrival, though we had the opportunity to sort the last batch of grower grapes that arrived at the winery during our work visit. These grapes were bought by Gratavinum from the grower who owns the land, a common practice in the wine world.
Jordi Fernandès Davi, the Gratavinum winemaker, was our leader for those days. We did not need to hit the gym after a day at the winery!
Gratavinum means pleasant wine in Latin, and the prefix also relates to the name Gratallops, the town in Priorat near where the grapes are grown. This is also the town we set our base in, at the Clos Figueras winery and hotel.
Considering your obsession with sparkling wine, I am surprised Cava has not come up before.
Indeed! Let’s fill you in a little! Cava is a traditional method sparkling wine and is made in white or rosé styles. The grapes allowed to be used in Cava are:
white grapes: Macabeo, Parellada, Xarel-lo, Subirat Parent, and Chardonnay
black grapes: Red Garnacha (Grenache), Trepat, Monastrell, and Pinot Noir
The term Cava means cellar. Most Cava is made in Catalonia, including the first bottle made by José Raventós after visiting France in 1872. There is a wide range of quality in Cava which has led to misunderstanding about this product. This has caused some Spanish producers to stop labeling their Sparkling wines with the term Cava. More on this in a future post!
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Parés Baltà Cava Brut
Style: Medium Body Traditional Method Sparkling Wine
Varieties: Xarel-lo, Parellada, Macabeo
This fresh and lively wine has light floral aromas and flavors of crisp apple, pear, and white peach with the complexity of minerality. Light and smooth with a pleasant finish.
Best pairings: Seafood, including Sushi, Tapas, Cantaloupe or Asparagus Prosciutto Wraps, and Soft cheese: Brie, Chèvres.
Serving Temperature: 6-8 degrees Celsius
Serving Tips: Decant for 30 to 60 minutes.
I have compiled all my wine recommendations in one place. I will do my best to keep this up to date. I also include the link(s) to the article in which the wine was featured.
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SOURCES:
Harding, J. and Robinson, J. (2023) The oxford companion to wine. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
MacNeil, K. (2022) The wine bible. New York, NY: Workman Publishing.
The origin of cava (no date) The Cava Zones | Sparkling Wine | D.O. Cava . Available at: https://www.cava.wine/en/origin-cava/4-zones/ (Accessed: 15 October 2024).
Wine & Spirit Education Trust (2021) D3: Wines of the World - An accompaniment to the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines. Version 1.2. London: Wine & Spirit Education Trust.