News0 min ago
cava v champagne
30 Answers
do you think champagne is just snobbery
or is a tesco cava is just as good !
or is a tesco cava is just as good !
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I agree there's a big difference between the two, but I don't like dry wines anyway, so I hate champagne. Give me a nice sparkly Rose anytime! lol
I'll never understand the snobbery about champagne. I understand it about wine, as it has a true foundation in taste, but champagne? Bitter, dry....ewww!
I'll never understand the snobbery about champagne. I understand it about wine, as it has a true foundation in taste, but champagne? Bitter, dry....ewww!
cava just means spanish champagne really.
Cava, according to the wine critic Carlos Delgado, is "one of the few wines which can be drunk throughout a meal, simply by moving from brut to dulce, as long as there is no strong-flavoured meat dish." Delgado, somewhat snobbishly, also considers that "cava is always preferable towards the beginning of the meal," an elitist opinion perhaps related with the association between cava and (expensive) seafood.
Cava, according to the wine critic Carlos Delgado, is "one of the few wines which can be drunk throughout a meal, simply by moving from brut to dulce, as long as there is no strong-flavoured meat dish." Delgado, somewhat snobbishly, also considers that "cava is always preferable towards the beginning of the meal," an elitist opinion perhaps related with the association between cava and (expensive) seafood.
There is a lot of snobbery in champagne - most of it generated by the French themselves, and their wild eyed hysteria over the name "Champagne".
If you do a blind tasting, you tend to find the following (with some consistency).
1. Most people CAN tell the difference.
2. Most people can also tell which is the Champagne, and which is not.
3. This does not mean that they prefer the Champagne to the others.
A good test is the question ... "If you had to keep drinking one of these wines all afternoon, which would you choose?" The most commonly chosen wine for this is Italian Prosecco. It is more fruitful, and not as dry (see Max's post above), and just more drinkable.
If your question is leading up to choosing one or the other, go for neither - try a Prosecco )about the same price as a cava). And when you serve it to your guests, remember ... you are not serving Prosecco because it's cheap, you are serving it because it is so drinkable.
So if you're looking for a fizz which is fun, fruity, delicious and sensibly priced (as opposed to "cheap") then fill your trolley with Prosecco. You won't be sorry.
(winebuyer flies off to collect his introduction fee from the Conegliano-Valdobbiadene Prosecco producers consortium)
If you do a blind tasting, you tend to find the following (with some consistency).
1. Most people CAN tell the difference.
2. Most people can also tell which is the Champagne, and which is not.
3. This does not mean that they prefer the Champagne to the others.
A good test is the question ... "If you had to keep drinking one of these wines all afternoon, which would you choose?" The most commonly chosen wine for this is Italian Prosecco. It is more fruitful, and not as dry (see Max's post above), and just more drinkable.
If your question is leading up to choosing one or the other, go for neither - try a Prosecco )about the same price as a cava). And when you serve it to your guests, remember ... you are not serving Prosecco because it's cheap, you are serving it because it is so drinkable.
So if you're looking for a fizz which is fun, fruity, delicious and sensibly priced (as opposed to "cheap") then fill your trolley with Prosecco. You won't be sorry.
(winebuyer flies off to collect his introduction fee from the Conegliano-Valdobbiadene Prosecco producers consortium)
Like champagne, cava comes in different degrees of sweetness. The following are the categories according to sugar content, although the characteristics of different wines may mean one manufacturer's seco tastes as sweet as another's semi-seco:
Brut Nature - (no added sugar) up to 3 g per litre
Extra Brut - up to 6 g per litre
Brut - up to 15 g per litre
Extra seco - between 12 and 20 g per litre
Seco - between 17 and 35 g per litre
Semi-seco - between 33 and 50 g per litre
Dulce - more than 50 g per litre
Brut Nature - (no added sugar) up to 3 g per litre
Extra Brut - up to 6 g per litre
Brut - up to 15 g per litre
Extra seco - between 12 and 20 g per litre
Seco - between 17 and 35 g per litre
Semi-seco - between 33 and 50 g per litre
Dulce - more than 50 g per litre
I totally agree with the French snobbery over champagne as stated by winebuyer, and completely agree with the fact that people are generally able to tell the difference, although champagne might not be the preferrred drink.
However, I think the snobbery has gone past the borders now! lol
Ah well, not all countries can boast about toad in the hole, or warm beer! ;O)
However, I think the snobbery has gone past the borders now! lol
Ah well, not all countries can boast about toad in the hole, or warm beer! ;O)
max,
If you think that they will enjoy it, then it shows that you are thinking of them, rather than just following the herd.
I do like ethel's "shiraz" post, a few boxes up. How often do you hear the painful old wine snobs after a function whispering childishly that "I could tell it wasn't real Champagne, you know". Well the shiraz gets around that one ... of course you can tell it's not Champagne you tit - it's a different colour.
If you think that they will enjoy it, then it shows that you are thinking of them, rather than just following the herd.
I do like ethel's "shiraz" post, a few boxes up. How often do you hear the painful old wine snobs after a function whispering childishly that "I could tell it wasn't real Champagne, you know". Well the shiraz gets around that one ... of course you can tell it's not Champagne you tit - it's a different colour.
I know I'd much rather be greeted with a nice bottle of Magners or even proper French cider, than a bottle of champagne.
A good red wine would do the trick to, but only with food, and only if they knew what they're talking about. There is nothing worse, honestly, than a bad wine. Date breaker, definitely. :O)
A good red wine would do the trick to, but only with food, and only if they knew what they're talking about. There is nothing worse, honestly, than a bad wine. Date breaker, definitely. :O)
Knowing what they're talking about is the biggy in the wine world, isn't it max.
There is more drivel spoken about wine than almost anything. In particular, the "19xx was a good year" sort of nonsense. Even Hugh Johnson now says that years of production are almost irrelevant - wine making is now so sophisticated that wineries just don't produce "bad" years.
So what do you need to know.
1. I want red, or white, etc.
2. I tend to like wine made from grape variety x.
3. I have had this from country y, and I enjoyed it.
Hey presto ... you cut through the extensive wine list and find (say) a bottle of cabernet sauvignon from New Zealand. And ... guess what?? You enjoy it. Job (as they say) is a good 'un.
There is more drivel spoken about wine than almost anything. In particular, the "19xx was a good year" sort of nonsense. Even Hugh Johnson now says that years of production are almost irrelevant - wine making is now so sophisticated that wineries just don't produce "bad" years.
So what do you need to know.
1. I want red, or white, etc.
2. I tend to like wine made from grape variety x.
3. I have had this from country y, and I enjoyed it.
Hey presto ... you cut through the extensive wine list and find (say) a bottle of cabernet sauvignon from New Zealand. And ... guess what?? You enjoy it. Job (as they say) is a good 'un.
Watch this space max.
Here's something to try.
Get yourself 2 reds and 2 white. Most supermarkets sell small taster bottles. But look only for the grape variety.
Reds
1. a Cabernet Sauvignon (from New Zealand if you can, but anywhere will do)
2. a Pinot Noir (from anywhere, but avoid France)
Pour a glass of each. Hold them to the light.
One of them (the Cab) is dark red. It will smell and taste of blackcurrant jam.
The other (the pinot) is light and clear. It smell and tastes almost spicy.
These two varieties will always, always, always have those characteristics. If you see wine on a menu made with those grapes, you will know what to expect. And if the two were ever put in front of you, you would instantly know which was which (that's a promise).
White
1. a Chardonnay (try Australia, because they have mastered Chardonnay).
2. a Sauvignon Blanc (back to New Zealand for this).
The Chardonnay is darker (always!!), a "rich" yellowy colour. The Sauv Blanc is much lighter.
Smell them. The Sauv Blanc (close your eyes here) will smell of strawberries, lime, pineapple. It will taste "zingy" ... sharp and refreshing.
The Chardonnay smells a bit like butter (yes, really) and it tastes richer and almost creamy.
Again, if you look at the wines on a menu, you have got these wines in the bag.
Trust me ... this will ALWAYS work. You will not come a cropper, and you will not find a bottle of wine made from these 4 grapes which does not match these characteristics.
Now go and try this at home.
max ... those wine lists are now yours for the taking !!! Trust me, with this little bit of knowledge, you will make a better wine selection than the twit on the next table who is waffling on about regions and vintages.
(tune
Here's something to try.
Get yourself 2 reds and 2 white. Most supermarkets sell small taster bottles. But look only for the grape variety.
Reds
1. a Cabernet Sauvignon (from New Zealand if you can, but anywhere will do)
2. a Pinot Noir (from anywhere, but avoid France)
Pour a glass of each. Hold them to the light.
One of them (the Cab) is dark red. It will smell and taste of blackcurrant jam.
The other (the pinot) is light and clear. It smell and tastes almost spicy.
These two varieties will always, always, always have those characteristics. If you see wine on a menu made with those grapes, you will know what to expect. And if the two were ever put in front of you, you would instantly know which was which (that's a promise).
White
1. a Chardonnay (try Australia, because they have mastered Chardonnay).
2. a Sauvignon Blanc (back to New Zealand for this).
The Chardonnay is darker (always!!), a "rich" yellowy colour. The Sauv Blanc is much lighter.
Smell them. The Sauv Blanc (close your eyes here) will smell of strawberries, lime, pineapple. It will taste "zingy" ... sharp and refreshing.
The Chardonnay smells a bit like butter (yes, really) and it tastes richer and almost creamy.
Again, if you look at the wines on a menu, you have got these wines in the bag.
Trust me ... this will ALWAYS work. You will not come a cropper, and you will not find a bottle of wine made from these 4 grapes which does not match these characteristics.
Now go and try this at home.
max ... those wine lists are now yours for the taking !!! Trust me, with this little bit of knowledge, you will make a better wine selection than the twit on the next table who is waffling on about regions and vintages.
(tune
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