Since joining our CSA, the Sweet Partner in Crime and I have
challenged ourselves to power our way through every last vegetable in that
wonderful box before the next one arrives. This has required some creative
cooking on our parts from time to time – and we’ve ended up with lots of little
leftovers, stray peppers, the occasional bag of ground cherries, and the like. How
to clear out the tupperware, you ask?
Tapas Tuesday!
We decided, once a week, that we’d go through the fridge and
see what we could easily combine into a small plate meal. Now, much of what we
end up with wouldn’t be considered traditional Spanish tapas, but early returns
on this little project seem pretty positive just the same.
Along came an offer I couldn’t refuse. One of my
favorite memories of our European trip several years back was a meal in
Barcelona at El Xampanyet, a tapas place near the Picasso Museum. After we sat
down, the waiter brought us a bottle of the house bubbly – which, of course,
was Cava. Few things in the world go better with tapas than Cava. The day after we decided on our Tapas Tuesday project, Tiffany at
Colangelo offered to send us a couple of Cava samples. I almost sprained my
finger hitting “reply.”
Cava, if by some odd chance you’re unfamiliar, is a Spanish
sparkling wine. It’s usually a white wine, although it can be made as a rosé (which
we’ll get to in a moment). The name “Cava” means “cave” and refers to the caves
traditionally used to store and age the wine. 95% of all Cava is made in
Catalonia, the region of Northeast Spain where Barcelona lies.
Cava is made in the methode
champenoise style used in the production of Champagne and many other
high-quality sparkling wines. Most Cava bottlings, however, are consistently
lower in price than other sparklers of similar quality. Cava has long been my
go-to bubbly when I’m snagging a bottle for immediate, unfocused consumption.
Tiffany sent us two bottles, one white and one rose, for our
perusal:
1+1=3 Cava Brut –
Make sure you chill this one thoroughly
before you crack it open. One Tuesday, I came home from work and popped
the bottle in the fridge, thinking that a couple of hours would probably be
sufficient to get the bottle to a serviceable temperature. After I took off the
wire cage, I found the cork to be super-tight, which probably should have been
a warning to me. Driven by testosterone and a craving for little bubbles, I
applied somewhat more force than I likely needed. The cork finally came loose. For
my futbol-loving readers -- let’s just say that if Barça is looking for a
great-spraying victory bubbly, I’ve done Messi’s beta testing. I got a bit
drenched, but hey – small price to pay for science, right? As for the wine
itself, it turned out to be very crisp and acidic with sharp bubbles that would
cut through just about any flavor you throw at it. Some yeasty flavors, green
apples, and a friendly fruity finish were the major flavor features. A very
solid sparkler, especially at ~$13. Unfortunately, I’ve lost my note as to the
array of plates we had with it, so you’ll just have to trust me in its ability
to be flexible.
Biutiful Cava Brut Rose – “Biutiful,” one of the few rosé Cava I’ve
tried -- was much kinder to me than to my spellcheck! Most Cava are made from
white grapes like Viura and Xarel-lo, but this rosé version is made from 100%
Grenache, which I thought gave it a very interesting construction. It possessed
the tight, powerful carbonation common to Cava. The initial flavor is very dry
and, once again, crisply acidic. However, after a sip or two, notes of
strawberry and pear start to emerge, but these flavors aren’t sugar-backed in
the slightest. I guess you’d call it “fruity, but bone dry” – which certainly is
not a problem around here. On this particular Tapas Tuesday, we had this bottle
as a very nice accompaniment to slices of prosciutto wrapped around marcona
almonds, paprika-ed potatoes, and pork tenderloin sliders topped with curried
sauerkraut from a local place called Fab Ferments. Trust me on the slider
pairing – it was delicious. The little extra fruit carried the flavors with the
pork/sauerkraut mix nicely. If you’re looking for a sparkler with a little
extra fruitiness, or you’ve got some food where you’ll have a little “fat in
your mouth,” you could find a winner here. You can find this for $16-17, which
is still a good value.
With Labor Day Weekend picnics
abounding, consider snagging a couple of bottles of cava to pour. There’s no
need to break out the good crystal. Cava tastes just as good out of a Solo cup,
if you ask me. Enjoy!
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