296- Identity: the
building blocks of
2. Literature
and philosophy
3. Art and
architecture
4. Performing
arts
5. Cinema
and fashion
6. Media and
communications
7. Food and drink 8. Living culture:
the details of
ii. Eastern Spain
Catalonia’swine map is a jumble of colours, styles
and methods, embracing pretty much every variant of
wine you can think of. Large producers like Miguel
Torres, the undisputed Señor Big of Spanish wine, exist
alongside single plot ‘boutique’ vineyards, while ultra-
modern production methods rub along with aged
practices. Some small vintners are still making the
ranciosand fortified wines that were once the region’s
prime output. Most famously, Catalonia is the home of
Cava. Made using the sameméthode champenoiseas
its significantly more expensive French cousin (for many
years Cava was sold as ‘Spanish Champagne’), Cava
principally contains Macabéo, Parellada and
Xarel-lo grapes and therefore differs from New World
‘champagnes’ in its deviation from the classic
champagne grapes.The majority is produced within
the rocky Penedès DO, although here, confusingly,
the DO status applies only to still wine – not the Cava.
Penedès is the largest DO in Catalonia. It’s home to the
Torres vineyards, the setting for Spanish wine’s giant
leap forward in recent years. Reds, whites androsados
are all made. In the sun-bleached region ofTarragona
the emphasis is on powerful, Garnacha-led reds, and
right in the middle ofTarragona, like an upland oasis, lies
Priorato, producing some of the best – and most
expensive – reds in the world. It duly carries the DOCa
award.There are great reds to be had further north too,
in the Ampurdán-Costa Brava DO where Catalonia
collides with France.Cava: it doesn’t
do the DO
Cava is regarded as a
DO quality wine yet
isn’t required to state
denominación de origen
on the label. Three-
quarters of the stuff is
made in or around Sant
Sadurní d’Anoia, 30
miles west of Barcelona,
but the rest comes from
a rather scattered area,
so ‘Cava’ itself serves
as a byword for the DO
standard without the
ties of the ‘origin’ part.
Sherry has a similar
set up.