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Cava
In Spain, but especially in Catalonia, Cava is sparkling wine.
A visit to Barcelona reveals that not only is Cava ever-present at meals and in light, fruity sangrias, but is stocked at local Carrefour supermarkets for as little as three to five euros. Inspired by Champagne when it was produced in the late 1800s, Cava distinguished itself from other sparkling wines more than 40 years ago by taking its distinctly Catalonian name from the caves in which the wine was aged and preserved.
In the U.S., Cava is not treated with nearly the same sense of pride and often gets lost in the sparkling wine section among its French, Italian and Californian counterparts. That doesn't make its fairly dry semi-sec or brut bubbles any less tasty or its price any less affordable. A decent bottle of Cava starts around $8 and -- in some of the more daring wine shops -- can fetch as much as $25. Given the widely available $10 to $13 bottles of popular Cava brands Friexenet and Codorniu -- produced in the same town of Sant Sadurni d'Anoia, by the way -- buyers shouldn't have to break more than a $20.
