Xarel-lo is a Spanish grape used in the production of Cava and grown in the Catalonia region of Spain. It is indigenous to Spain and I personally only thought of it as a blending grape. Little did I know……A little research, special guests on Winephabet Street an Xarel-lo is more than just a blending grape.
Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Exploring the Wine Glass and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
For episode X featuring Xarel-lo we had two special guests on the show. Rick Fisher, SipWSET, SWS and Spanish Programs Director for the Wine Scholar Guild along with Ignasi Segui from Vinyes Singulars. Ignasi is the 23rd generation farmer/vinegrower managing the family estate that has existed since 1405. He is the first generation winemaker to bottle and produce wines with grapes made from his vineyard.
This episode is so special, because as I mentioned, I only thought of Xarel-lo as a blending grape in Cava. As you watch or listen, you will see all four of us are drinking Xarel-lo produced in different ways. I was drinking a Cava, Lori a Xarel-lo as a still wine, Rick Xarel-lo as an orange wine and Ignasi, a late harvest Xarel-lo. It was pretty amazing as we all got to discuss the different ways the grape was used.
Sit back, grab a glass of wine and listen to the episode. If you have any questions, feel free to email me and I will do my best to answer them.
