With the wine-drinking trends buzzing all over the world, all wine lovers have been having a difficult time trying to differentiate these three sparkling drinks; prosecco vs champagne vs cava. Therefore, in this text, I’ll cordially help you distinguish between these three wines.
We will get to view them ranging from the cheapest to the most expensive, dry to brut ones, and even the sweet to the sweetest of the three. Want to pop a sparkler for the weekend?
You can go for one of the three depending on the factors you consider. Cava goes at the lowest of prices while champagne is known to be the most expensive of three.
Prosecco vs Champagne vs Cava
Prosecco vs Champagne vs Cava which is better? Cava is one of the most prominent and selling wine bottles in Spain. This sparkler is a perfect blend of Macabeo(local), parellada, and xarel-lo grapes. This wine undergoes aging on lees just like champagne for a period of about 9 to 15 months.
Due to this process, it adapts a cream and toast fragrance which comes in handy with a mouth-filling fruit taste that will leave your mouth watering with sweetness.
However, regardless of the long production and aging period it takes, this bottle of wine is on cabins and shelves at a very affordable price ranging from $12-$24 compared to the expensive classic champagne which goes at $49.99+ per bottle.
Due to the production process, this bottle of cava undergoes, it’s considered drier and sweeter than prosecco. When compared to champagne, some bottles of cava can offer the same or even better experience a certain champagne drink offers.
Prosecco is produced from the Italian grape Glera. Its fermentation process is performed in a tank. This procedure is well-known to be efficient and cost-effective at the same time. This process is called the Charmat process. It brings a simple and fruity sweetness to the wine drinkers and keeps them coming back for more.
Location
These three wines are respectively produced in three different locations. Their names are associated with their origin i.e the location where they are specifically produced. There are set rules and regulations set upon brand naming of wines globally especially when it comes to these typical sparkling bottles.
Champagne is produced in the Champagne region in France. No other wine producers or companies are allowed to call their wines ‘champagne’ due to copyright rules set in favor of this prominent French wine.
From the northern parts of Italy, the prosecco bottle is dominant with its sweetness, flowing and spreading across all corners of the sphere. It’s particularly produced in Friuli and Veneto in the North-eastern of Italy.
Cava wines are produced in Catalonia, Spain. This fizzy drink is produced under the same method as champagne. However, the Spanish method is known as traditionelle.
Beyond the three known grapefruits used in producing cava, some cava varieties are composed of Garnacha, pinot noir, and chardonnay grapes.
Grape Varieties
Champagne is produced by a blend of three different varieties of grapes i.e Pinot noir, chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier; resulting in a fresh, bubbly, and fruity taste. Cava is made from a combination of xarel-lo, Macabeo, and parellada grapes bringing about fruity and mouth-filling notes.
Prosecco is made from the Italian glera grape creating a floral and fruity note to the drinker.
Production Methods
Different types of wines undergo different steps and procedures during production. From the stillest of wines to the most bubbly ones, the wine-making processes differ due to different factors. Cava and Champagne drinks are produced using the same process.
It entails the creation of a still bottle of wine and then boils in sugar and yeast. This method is considered more costly than others since it takes a longer time of adding ingredients and sugars to the beverage.
Prosecco wine is produced using the Charmat or tank method which is considered less complex and cheaper than the traditionelle method in making these fizzy sparkling drinks.
During this process, still, wines are left in tanks to ferment and create bubbles rather than adding ingredients and added sugars to the drinks during cava and champagne production.
Prosecco vs Champagne vs Cava Aging Processes
These three sparklers undergo different aging periods. Champagne takes the longest aging period of fifteen months(minimum) to achieve the best aromas and mouth-filling fruit notes. Cava needs a shorter aging period of at least 9 months. a shorter aging period for cava production will mean a less expensive bottle.
This is because champagnes and more expensive Cavas have extra and properly developed aromas and fruit notes. Therefore, for a better taste and breakdown of the fruity aromas, these sparklers should be left to age for a relatively long period of time compared to other wines.
With the absence of additional flavors and ingredients to this Italian drink, prosecco requires the minimum amount of aging thus harvested sooner for better flavor experiences.
Prosecco vs Champagne vs Cava Bubbles
Due to the different types and varieties of grapes used, wine aging periods, and wine-making processes used, these sparklers will present different appearances of bubbles when poured into a glass. Champagne will produce fine, shiny, and persistent bubbles on the top layer due to the long aging period and high pressure it undergoes during production.
Cava will also produce fine-looking and persistent bubbles since the two share a closely similar method of production. Prosecco’s bubbles seem to be larger and relatively light with less persistence as compared to those of champagne and cava drinks.
You could also read about Brut vs extra dry champagne.
Prosecco vs Champagne vs Cava - Conclusion
For quite a long time now, the French Champagne has been globally dominant. However, other sparkling wines have come up with fascinating and sweet drinks this giving wine enthusiasts a hard time deciding on which bottle to pop at a certain time.
Depending on one’s budget, you’ll easily acquire your bottle of wine depending on the occasion and feeling your taste buds want to achieve. With the ranging production costs from one fizzy drink to another, the prices will always vary and change from one bottle to another.
I believe you’re eventually capable of distinguishing between prosecco vs champagne vs cava sparkler drinks and choose the bottle you want to pop during dinner.
