From Rioja to Catalonia: The Fascinating Story Behind Cune Cava Brut

Send us a text

Venture into the effervescent world of traditional Spanish sparkling wine with an affordable gem that punches well above its $11.99 price tag. The Cune Cava Brut from Catalonia delivers the elegance and complexity you'd expect from wines twice its price, all while telling a fascinating story of Spanish winemaking heritage.

This Barcelona-area bubbly begins with an unexpected twist – the producer's name itself. While we know it as "Cune" (pronounced COO-nay), the company was actually founded as CVNE (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España) in 1878. A simple printing error on early labels transformed the "V" to a "U," creating an accidental brand name that has persisted for nearly 150 years. This charming quirk is just the beginning of what makes this sparkler special.

Unlike many affordable sparkling wines, this Cava follows the same meticulous traditional method used in Champagne production, with each bottle undergoing its own secondary fermentation. The result is a refined sparkling wine with persistent tiny bubbles and perfectly balanced acidity that allows its subtle flavors to unfold gracefully. The blend of indigenous Spanish grapes (40% Xarel·lo, 30% Parellada, and 30% Macabeo) creates a distinctive profile of delicate lemon, apple, peach and subtle citrus notes that reward thoughtful sipping. For those tired of overly sharp Cavas or seeking an alternative to pricier French options, this bottle delivers remarkable quality from a producer with 150 years of winemaking expertise.

Next time you're looking for the perfect summer refreshment or an affordable luxury for your table, reach for this Spanish gem. Subscribe to hear more value wine recommendations that help you drink well without breaking the bank!

Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com

or email us at [e-mail]

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello, it's Dave from CheapWineFindercom, again with
another podcast for value-pricedwine.
This time it's a Spanish Bubbly, a Cava.
It's a Cune Cava Brut.
Brut means that it's in dry.
There's three levels of dry andthis might sound backwards, but

(00:23):
Brut is the most sweet of thethree levels of dry, which means
not sweet.
Cune Cava Brut.
The Cune company originated inRioja in 1878, and their actual
name is it's an acronym C-V-N-E.
It stands for a wine companyfrom northern Spain.

(00:48):
The C is for company, the V isVinicola, which is wine, and the
E is Espanol, which is theirword for Spain.
We don't put the E in front ofit, so the name of the company
is actually C-V-N-E, but forsome reason, when they first

(01:13):
came out with their first winebrand, whoever did the labeling
thought that the V should havebeen a U, and so their wines,
even though the company isC-V-N-E, the wines have been
C-U-N-E, cune, which you canactually pronounce that Ever
since, and they never planned onthat.

(01:33):
That was just they wanted theiracronym, but that was 178 years
ago.
So here we go Now.
They started in Rioja, but thisis not a Rioja.
This is a wine from theCatalonia, the Penediz.
This is an area in northeasternSpain, think Barcelona.

(01:56):
Barcelona is the biggest townand this is a traditional method
.
Bubbly Traditional method isalso called the champagne method
.
I've got an explanation on thecheapwinefightercom website and
it's basically they do thesecond fermentation in the

(02:20):
bottle.
Prosecco is in a tank, apressurized tank, where they put
CO2, they put sugar and yeastin the tank with the first wine.
Every time they ferment thesetwice and there the pressure
pushes the CO2 back into thebottle and you get the bubbles.

(02:43):
Here it's the time spent in thebottle, each individual bottle.
They put yeast and sugar inthere and each individual bottle
.
There's no place to go thebubbly.
The co2 has got to go back intothe wine.
So that's where you get thebubbles.
On this thing it is the exactsame way as a made as um

(03:03):
champagne and it's differentfrom Prosecco.
Still bubbly, still like both,still like all three.
The grapes are traditionalgrapes, exarlo, which is weird
because it has a dot in it.
Usually you see a hyphenbecause most keyboard won't put
a dot up that high, won't put adot up that high.

(03:24):
So you get that it's an oldBasque grape.
The Basque language goes backso far that people aren't sure
where it's from.
And then it's also got perlata.
Well, it's 40% Nixarlo, 30%perlata and 30% Macabeo.
That's traditional grapes,that's the grapes you'd normally

(03:45):
find.
A combination of those threegrapes is what you find in Cava,
though nowadays you could alsofind Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
in some.
I mean, you have to actuallylook for it.
And then, because they make itlike champagne, there's
producers out there that arealso using the champagne grapes.
I'm going gonna take a sip.
That's good.

(04:18):
This is Chris.
Chris, light got reallybalanced acidity.
I've had some cavas that are sosharp with the acidity that
you're taking an acid a coupleof hours after you're done.
This one's balanced.
It's got length.
The acidity should give thewine enough structure for the

(04:41):
flavors to unfold, and that'swhat happened here.
If it goes overboard and startsgetting, you know, it starts
getting an accident reflex orsomething.
No, no, they didn't handle itright.
Here it's handled right.
I mean, it's a company that'sbeen around for 150 years making
all different types of wine.
You've got to figure.
They know what they're doing.
And it tastes great.

(05:02):
It's got lemon, it's got apple,it's got peach and pear and
maybe nectarine, maybe sometangerine.
Yeah, there's all faint.
This is not one of those wines.
This isn't the Sauvignon Blanc,where the flavors come up and
hit you over the head.
This is all faint stuff thatyou actually have to think about
just a little bit.
But that's okay.

(05:23):
Think about your wine for a fewseconds Any good wine you
should do that and then afterthat you don't really have to.
After that you can enjoyyourself and just sip and not
have to worry about things.
The bubbles are tiny, which isgood.
They keep going and it tastesgood.

(05:48):
I paid $11.99 for bubbly in atraditional method.
At a retail.
You can sometimes get a TraderJoe's, aldi, costco bubbly for a
really good price because theygot different pricing structures
because they're a store brand.
But to get a really goodsparkling wine from a retailer

(06:10):
who's been around a long time,that's not too bad.
So this is the Cunicaba Brut.
It is dry, it does taste good,it is well made.
It is Barcelona bubbles.
That ain't bad.
That's it for me.
Domain Dave cheapwinefightercom.
We've got more wines coming.
This is a good wine for thesummer.

(06:31):
Keep this chilled and you'regoing to have a nice sip on a
hot day.
So, adios, keep it cheap andI'll be speaking to you.
Bye, bye.