359: How Is The Spanish Sparkling Wine Cava Different From The Italian Bubbly Prosecco In Production, Taste and Reputation?
Release Date: 10/15/2025
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372: How is Namratha's "Vineyard Melody" memoir the wine version of Eat, Pray, Love?
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371: Why Do Some Non-Alcoholic Wines Keep Their Fruity Aromas While Others Lose Everything?
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370: Wes Pearson: What Happens When the World’s Most Expensive Wines Are Tasted Blind
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369: How Did One Viognier Go From the Brink of Extinction to Being Planted Around the World?
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367: Why Are So Many Swiss Vineyards Planted on Dangerous Terrain? Simon Hardy Reveals Why in the Smart Traveller's Guide to Switzerland
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366: The Smart Traveller’s Wine Guide to Switzerland with Simon Hardy
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Why You Can't Buy Switzerland's Exceptional Wines Abroad? Why does Switzerland grow so many grape varieties, and which ones are the key players that define the country’s wine regions? What makes high-altitude wine regions uniquely capable of producing wines that balance great concentration without being too heavy? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I'm chatting with Simon Hardy, author of The Smart Traveller’s Wine Guide to Switzerland. You can find the wines we discussed at . Giveaway Two of you are going to win a copy of Simon Hardy's terrific new book,...
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365: Why did Cha McCoy create her own flavour wheel rather than rely on traditional wine-tasting vocabulary?
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Why do certain spices and dishes show up far from their origins, and how can tracing these cultural “foodways” change the way we think about wine and food pairing? Why did Cha create her own flavour wheel rather than rely on traditional wine-tasting vocabulary? How can expanding your flavour vocabulary through travel, food, and culture help us describe wine in ways that feel relatable? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I'm chatting with Cha McCoy, author of the new book Wine Pairing for the People. You can find the wines we discussed at . Giveaway Three of you are...
info_outlineHow is the Spanish sparkling wine Cava different from the Italian bubbly Prosecco? What makes Xarel·lo stand out from Spain’s other traditional Cava grapes? How did Alicante’s Monastrell grape give rise to the rare Fondillón wine, and what makes it different from Port or Sherry?
In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I’m chatting with Sarah Jane Evans, author of the terrific new book The Wines of Central and Southern Spain: From Catalunya to Cadiz.
You can find the wines we discussed at https://www.nataliemaclean.com/winepicks.
Giveaway
Two of you are going to win a copy of Sarah Jane Evans' wonderful new book, The Wines of Central and Southern Spain: From Catalunya to Cadiz. To qualify, all you have to do is email me at natalie@nataliemaclean.com and let me know that you’ve posted a review of the podcast. I’ll choose two people randomly from those who contact me. Good luck!
Highlights
What do you need to know about Xarel·lo and Spanish sparkling wine?
How does Cava compare to Prosecco?
What effect does the aging process used for premium Cavas have on their taste profile, and how does it compare to Champagne?
What is the historical significance of the Terra Alta region?
Which historical artifacts has Sarah Jane encountered while visiting Spanish vineyards?
How does Richard Ford’s 1840s observation about Valencia still define Spanish wine culture in the Valencia region?
What might surprise you about the ancient amphorae in Valencia and how they’re used in modern winemaking?
How do the three main styles of Sherry differ?
Which types of glassware and food pair best with Sherry?
What are copitas, and how do they differ from other glasses used for Sherry?
How does serving temperature affect our enjoyment of Sherry?
What do you need to know about wine and the Canary Islands?
What challenges and opportunities does Sarah Jane see for the future of the Spanish wine industry?
Key Takeaways
How is the Spanish sparkling wine Cava different from the Italian bubbly Prosecco?
Prosecco bubbles are created and captured in the tank to make it a pleasantly fizzy drink. Whereas Cava is made exactly like Champagne. It's aged in the bottle with its yeast. It begins to develop other aromas which are nothing to do with flowers or fruits. The youngest Cava, can be released at nine months, younger than the youngest Champagne. If you're going to have a very young fizzy wine, then Prosecco is very appealing.
What makes Xarel·lo stand out from Spain’s other traditional Cava grapes?
People have started to recognise that this white grape variety, once just a component in blending, can be grown on its own and produces lovely, fresh, excitingly lively wines that are not very high in alcohol. If you're making Cava, it's the one that will last. It has a capacity to age, which is better than the other two.
How did Alicante’s Monastrell grape give rise to the rare Fondillón wine, and what makes it different from Port or Sherry?
Alicante is one of the places for Monastrell. Historically, they used to make a wine out of this red grape that got so ripe they didn't need to fortify it because the grape on the vine got so sweet that it turned itself into alcohol. Then it was a wine that was stable enough you could have it in a barrel. Then you could send it to India or to Africa, all around the world.
About Sarah Jane Evans
Sarah Jane is an award-winning writer. She travels widely as an educator and consultant, and is a Contributing Editor to Decanter. Her books include The Wines of Central and Southern Spain, The Wines of Northern Spain, Seville, Chocolate Unwrapped, and also the entries on Spain and Sherry for the annual Hugh Johnson Pocket Wine Guide. Sarah Jane received the Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic awarded by the King of Spain for her work for Spain. Beyond Spain, her special interests in wine are Greece, South America and the great fortified and sweet wines of the world.
To learn more, visit https://www.nataliemaclean.com/359.