Cava chameleon!

Great-value fizz for all occasions

- by Matt Nixson

UNLIKE Champagne, Cava is not a place or a region.

Rather it’s a type of Spanish sparkling wine made using the so-called “traditional method” like Champagne but largely without the high price tag. This is mostly because the Spanish climate makes growing the grapes easier and limits losses to bad weather and cold snaps. So it’s a great-value alternative if you fancy something fresh and fizzy without breaking the bank.

The traditional method used in both Champagne and cava production involves the grape juice being pressed and fermented and then blended. The blended wine is then bottled along with yeast and sugar, stopped with a crown cap and stored for a second fermentation, during which its carbon dioxide is trapped as bubbles.