Cava 101: What is Cava?

Maybe you’re familiar with the term “Cava”, or maybe you’re not. But y’know that iconic black and gold bottle of bubbly that you’ve seen at every New Years Party? Surely you’ve had a glass of it at some point right? Well, that’s Cava. So what is Cava exactly? And what makes it different from Champagne or Prosecco?

A Closer Look at the Spectacular Sparkling Wines of Ontario, Canada!

That’s right! There’s a lot more to Canada than maple syrup, polar bears and a strapping young Prime Minister! The country is home to a broad range of climates and micro-climates, with many viticultural areas on the same ideal grape growing latitudes as much of France. In our last post (A Look at the Sparkling Wines of Canada… Eh!) we took you across the country, from coast-to-coast, and gave you an overview of the amazing cool-climate sparkling wine crafted in the Great White North. Now we’re going to focus in on each of the 3 main viticultural areas in greater detail, starting with our home province: Ontario! (With British Columbia and Nova Scotia to follow in subsequent posts 😉).

Why Ontario Sparkling Wines are the Best, Eh!

That’s right! There’s more to Canada than maple syrup, polar bears and a hunky Prime Minister! The country is home to a diverse array of climates, with certain areas (like southern Ontario) on the same ideal grape growing latitude as southern France. Fortunately for us Toronto based #SparklingWinos, that means we’re able to produce world class wines in our own backyard!

What do you mean “Champagne” isn’t a type of grape?

That’s right! Despite what some may think, Champagne is not a grape variety! In fact, the world’s most famous sparkling wine is made from a complex blend of various grape varieties, grown in certain vineyards within the Champagne region of northern France. So, which grapes go into Champagne and what are their roles in the blend (or “cuvée”)? Let us take you through in this quick 101, and hopefully the learning cuvée, errrrr curve, won’t be too high!

Tasting all of Nino Franco’s Prosecco!

We are lucky to have quite a few Venetian friends here in Toronto. Our conversations usually revolve around how different northern Italy is compared to the south (true), how beautiful the Veneto is (very true) and how great Prosecco (especially Nino Franco’s Prosecco) is – also very true! We visited the Nino Franco winery in Valdobbiadene at the end of August 2016. The late summer sun provided a beautiful, warm back drop for our visit to the scenic winery, which was buzzing with harvest prep.