Thinking about the best sparkling wines to enjoy on Valentine’s Day, I remember my luncheon at Il Grano where I sampled Cava from Pere Ventura. These sparkling wines are ideally suited to toast the day with your loved one.
Meeting the charismatic Pere Ventura Vendrell makes one understand why these wines are so befitting to enjoy on Valentine’s Day. Pere comes from a family that has deep roots in the winemaking business, especially that of Cava. In the late 19th century, his great grandfather, Manuel Montserrat Font, helped to create the first bottles of Spanish Cava that utilized the Champagne method. His grandfather, Pere Ventura Peracaula, through modernization, brought the standard of making Cava to a new level in the early 20th century. His father, Jaume Ventura Montserrat, continued the family tradition of making Cava but added the ingredient, preserving our environment and encouraged his son to take over his family’s business.
Pere Ventura
Pere Ventura is a spirited man in more ways than one. Originally he studied to be a priest and missionary but changed his career path to overseeing his family’s winery. Bickering with his siblings over the way the winery should be run, he handed the business over to them, opting to open his own Cava estate. With the fervor he has for everything he puts his mind to, Pere’s goal is to produce the finest Cava in Spain.
Through his own winery, he continues his family’s heritage and his father’s tradition of respecting the environment. Pere believes that the vineyards bring out the true quality in the Cavas he creates. He does just that by using sustainable practices, including no pesticides or herbicides. As a member of the Wineries for Climate Protection initiative, Pere’s estate commits to protecting the environment through the reduction of both the carbon and water footprint. He has invested in renewable energy and biodiversity. The grapes are handpicked and crafted.
Pere VenturaPere Ventura Bottle
Viewing any bottle of Pere Ventura Cava one finds hidden meaning behind the presentation. Take a look at the foil seal and you will find the checkerboard design with a handprint. The checkerboard represents the many roads that we traverse to get reach our goals. In the case of Pere Ventura, it is those roads taken to achieve the elegant Cava you are tasting. The handprint symbolizes the personal guarantee that you will love the Cava.
Pere Ventura Cava
The Winery utilizes the “Traditional Method” to create its Cavas. The grapes undergo a first fermentation by varietal in stainless steel tanks and a second fermentation in the bottle before riddling, disgorged and then the addition of the dosage.
Spanish sparkling wines typically utilize the indigenous grapes of Spain, including Xarel-lo, Macabeo and Parellada, white grapes with origins in Catalonia, the area of Spain most known for Cava. They are considered the noble grapes of the Pyrenees. Trepat is a red Spanish grape that is often used in Rosés.
The Sparkling Wine
I sampled three different Cavas. The first was the Pere Ventura Tresor Reserva. The wine honors Pere’s mother and is a blend of Xarel-lo, Macabeo, and Parellada. This is a light, refreshing Cava. It is bright with flavors of citrus, especially grapefruit, Butterscotch, and hints of spice.
The Pere Ventura Tresor Rosé consists of 100% Trepat and is very fresh and exudes wonderful flavors of strawberries and raspberries.
Tresor means treasure in English and both wines are real treasures that you will not want to miss.
The final Cava we sampled was the Pere Ventura Cupatge d’Honor, a blend of Xarel-lo and Chardonnay. The wine pays tribute to Pere Ventura’s Father. The wine is fresh yet toasty with flavors of lychee and peaches. It is a heavier, dryer, and more complex Cava compared to the others sampled.
There is a luxurious luminosity to Pere Ventura Cavas. You will find that there is a balance between the bubbles and freshness. It is almost as if there is an explosion of bubbles, and for these reasons, Pere Ventura creates the perfect sparkling wine for Valentine’s Day.