Exploring Mediterranean Spain

Attempting to categorize a stretch of Spain that runs from the French border down and then west across to Jerez is a challenge that is best achieved by taking a closer look at some of the individual regions that make up this vast swath of land. The wines produced in the zones that lie on or near the Mediterranean coast vary considerably. The northeast section, Catalonia, tends to produce more graceful wines that reflect the area’s relatively cool climate, while those farther down the coast display the ripe, powerful character one would expect from hot, arid conditions. Throw in the elegant wines being made on Spain’s islands, especially the Canaries, and you’ve got an area that defies simple generalization.  

Mid-spring in the vineyards of Catalunya, where Cava is made

Cava

I can’t think of another category of Spanish wine that has made greater recent strides in quality than Cava, which is commonly used as shorthand for “Spanish sparkling wine.” But while all Cavas are sparkling wines, not all sparkling wines from Spain are Cavas.  Bubbly wine is made in virtually every region in Spain that produces white wine, but historically the home of Cava is Penedès, which is located between Barcelona to the north and Tarragona to the south. It’s a cool, ocean-influenced region, and the best vineyards, which are almost all in the Alt Penedès, are rich in limestone. Those sites are positioned at high altitude with typically dramatic diurnal shifts that make the region ideal for producing grapes with high acidity and not too much ripeness, which is just right for sparkling wine.

The problem is that for generations most Cava has been pretty pedestrian in quality and priced accordingly. Cheap and mediocre is hardly a great marketing strategy in a world where quality is steadily on the rise, and Cava’s reputation, despite pockets of excellence, was suffering until just recently. The native varieties, Xarel-lo, Parellada and Macabeo, can produce rustic, dull and flabby wines if not farmed carefully and, unfortunately, those were the kind of Cavas that have dominated the export market for decades. Visitors to the region, as well as to restaurants and tapas bars across Spain, returned home with glowing reports of terrific small-production Cavas in situ but those wines were rarely available elsewhere, making them virtual myths.

Fortunately, through the efforts of forward-thinking producers with a combination of great sites, talent and ambition, the outside world is now able to enjoy Cava at its best. In most cases pricing has yet to catch up with quality, making the wines excellent values compared to Champagne. For my money, they’re also almost always superior to Italian Proseccos costing roughly the same, not to mention North American and other New World bubblies.