Parés Baltà
Cava Brut NV
Penedès, Spain
$20-24 +366872 available at BC Liquor Stores and select private liquor retailers
If you have Champagne wishes for New Year’s but a water budget post-Christmas, let me remind you of the virtues of Cava. Spain’s traditional method sparkling wine is painstakingly crafted in the same way as France’s Champagne, the main difference being the grapes used – Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier are here replaced by Parellada, Macabeo and Xarel.lo.
Parés Baltà is a family owned winery in the Penedès region, with ecologically sound farming traditions reaching back to 1790. Though officially certified organic in 2004, the vineyards have been sustainably managed for generations (complete with flocks of sheep and hives of bees to aid fertilization and pollination). Today the winery remains strongly a family affair, with three generations actively at work. Grandfather Joan Cusiné Hill (b. 1917) continues to be active together with his son Joan Cusiné Cusiné. However, daily operations have now passed to the two grandsons – Joan and Josep Cusiné Carol, and the winemaking is in the expert hands of Maria Elena Jimenez and Marta Casas, enologists and wives of Joan and Josep.
This incredible value Cava is just one of a lineup of sparklers, whites and reds they produce. Dry and citrus crisp, with a lovely pure minerality throughout, this orangic Cava has juicy red apple, toasted nuts and fragrant perfumed pear notes on the palate. Creamy and elegant, with a lengthy and bright mineral finish, this is a stylish sparkling wine to ring in the new year, and will do double duty (if there’s any left) at your New Year’s Day brunch the next day. Though at around $20 (approximately one third the entry level price of Champagne), you can afford to buy an extra bottle for brunch.
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Parés Baltà Cava Brut NV
Dry and citrus crisp, with a lovely pure minerality throughout, this orangic Cava has juicy red apple, toasted nuts and fragrant perfumed pear notes on the palate. Creamy and elegant, with a lengthy and bright mineral finish, this is a stylish sparkling wine to ring in the new year, and will do double duty (if there’s any left) at your New Year’s Day brunch the next day.
