We flew to Barcelona on a mission to learn about and taste many Cavas. The 2014 Media Tour of 50 Great Cavas is sponsored by Wine Pleasures. Kathy and I are part of a small group of writers on this five-day tour that begins next week. We decided to get an early start on discovering Cava.

On our first day in Barcelona we decided to start walking rather than sleep off the trans-atlantic flight that involved only cat naps. At the Diagonal Mar mall across from our hotel, we looked for a nano sim for Kathy’s iPhone. Orange and Vodafone were no help. Finally we stopped at a Movistar that set us up for a month of voice, text and data. Now that our phone worked we needed to sample a Cava.

Our hotel was serving a Cava on the executive floor. They had a Parés Baltà Brut Cava that was very refreshing on this warm October day. Parés Baltà is a family owned winery in the Penedès region. The surrounding vineyards as well as their vineyards in higher elevations are certified organic. The light yellow colored Cava was a blend of Parellada, Macabeo and Xarel.lo. The 11.5% alcohol wine had a persistent stream of bubbles and offered a fresh citrus aroma and taste with hints of apple and pear. The wine matched well with some appetizers we had while relaxing and taking in the views of the Mediterranean Sea.

For dinner we ate at the Indigo Restaurant and ordered Iberian ham croquettes and fish & seafood paella. Intrigued with the grape Xarel.lo, we ordered a Calcari also produced by Parés Baltà. The wine was made with 100% Xarel.lo grapes. In the subdued restaurant lighting, the wine appeared to have a light gold color. The juice spent a few hours on the skins and picked up some color pigments. The 12.5% alcohol wine reminded us of mineral, spice and young yellow stone fruit. In particular the spice reminded us of cloves. The wine paired well with an appetizer that had baby lettuce over tomato, fresh mozzarella cheese on a bed of basil pesto. The wine was also a perfect match for the ham croquettes. The wine also paired well with the seafood paella, however I would have preferred the Brut Cava instead.

Tomato, mozzarella pesto appetizer and fish and seafood paella

After dinner we headed back to the lounge to have another glass of the Parés Baltà Brut Cava. The overnight travel began to overtake us and brought a finish to our first day in Barcelona.

Cheers,
Terry