The palate is refreshing, the sparkle balancing the green and citrus fruits. It is light but long and elegant. Basil has a slightly anise-like smell and contains the aroma compound linalool, which is also found in lemon peel. If you’re eating basil in pesto or putting a lot of it in a tomato salad then try wines made from the cortese grape (used to make Gavi) which tastes a bit like lemon pith and bay and seems to go very well. Spicy food Not forgetting mountain. Dominating the cava towns is Montserrat, a craggy outcrop of pink conglomerate. It’s worth planning a visit to the Benedictine monastery, Santa Maria de Montserrat, to coincide with a performance by the famed Escolania boys’ choir, usually at 1pm in the basilica. Organic producer Llopart offers lovely mountain views. Rioja goes really well with the paprika-spice of chorizo, and you could also serve it with almost any dish in which chorizo is a strong flavour, for instance: cod with butter beans in a chorizo and tomato sauce; squid, chorizo and red pepper stew; or just chorizo sausages cooked in red wine and served with chunks of fresh bread. Of course, there’s no such place as cava. It’s the only Spanish denomination not to have its own geographical home. Cava is produced in as many as 159 towns and villages across the country, including in Valencia, La Rioja and Extremadura, as well as Catalonia. However, the vast majority of cava is made in Catalonia. So when talking about holidaying in cava country, that does mean Catalonia, and specifically the region of Penedès.

Pinot noir is so often a possible answer to the “what shall I drink with this?” question. It is very good with the earthy flavour of mushrooms – think garlic mushrooms on toast; mushroom risotto; monkfish with ceps and artichokes; macaroni cheese layered with mushrooms. This Cava offers a lot of heart for the value. Whereas prosecco is known to keep it fruity appeal because it is made in large steel tanks, Cava is a traditionally made fizz. It is made using the same method as Champagne: after the initial ferment in a stainless steel tank, the dry wine is then bottled for the second ferment which captures the bubbles in that bottle, giving you a more complex wine with finer bubbles. This is partly a mood thing. It’s also about the fact that what you’re eating has the power to change the perception of the wine you are drinking. For instance, salty food makes a wine taste less refreshing, a big steak seems to soften the tannins in a red wine, and so on.Matching every course with a wine can feel fussy, detracting from the fun rather than adding to it. I make an exception if lunch or dinner is simply a main then a pudding, when a dessert plus a good wine turns it into an event. A few good combinations: strawberries and moscato d’Asti; orange salad and cream sherry; tarte Tatin and sweet riesling or Coteaux du Layon (sweet wine made in the Loire from chenin blanc). Basil The ultimate white for crab, octopus (dressed with olive oil and dusted with paprika) and prawns is albariño from Rías Baixas on Spain’s Atlantic coast. The peachy flavour of the wine brings out the sweet succulence of the shellfish and its subtle salinity plays into the seaside feel. What I find fascinating now is how cava is escaping from decades of torpor. Gone are the years when cava was the cheaper default from Champagne. Prosecco holds that prize now. Thankfully, many producers are now looking to compete on quality, since they cannot compete on price. For some, that means reducing yields in the vineyards, aiming to get the best out of the local varieties, and giving the wines longer than the minimum bottle age.

Richard Bampfield, Master of Wine at Lidl said: Richard Bampfield, Master of Wine at Lidl said: “Dry, with bright, citrus aromas and attractive creaminess on the palate, the Cava Brut really is a high quality fizz at this special price point. A refreshing, tasty reminder that Cava often outperforms its big rival, Prosecco.” The Gran Campo Viejo Cava Brut Reserva is a fresh, well balanced and elegant sparkling Spanish wine. It has fine and powerful aromas of fruit, with a round and pleasant palate. Of course it’s also a great wine to drink with tapas; there’s an affinity with almost every dish from pan y tomate to fried prawns with garlic. Quinta do Noval 10 Year Old Tawny NVThis L’Atzar Cava offers a lot of heart for the value, it is generous, fruity and dry. Particularly compared to the Italian Prosecco which keeps its fruity appeal by being made in large steel tanks from start to finish. However, Cava is one of the traditionally made bubbles of the world. This means it is made using the same method as Champagne. After the initial ferment in a stainless steel tank, the dry wine is then bottled for the second ferment. This captures the bubbles in that bottle, giving you a more complex wine with finer bubbles. With dishes such as chilli con carne or red meat cooked in a spicy marinade or rub, red wine can be good but choose one that is generously fruity because the chilli will effectively turn down the volume on the fruit and you want to have some left.