The Best Spanish Sparkling Wines To Enjoy Or Gift This Christmas

When people think of sparkling wine they tend to think of Champagne: rightly or wrongly, France has dominated the sparkling wine industry, especially in Europe.

But actually, Spain has an excellent sparkling wine industry and there are some truly delicious choices available. As an added bonus, the price point for Spanish sparkling wine is often more affordable than French sparkling wine.

Whether you’re looking to enjoy a glass of sparkling wine with your meals during the festive season or you want to give a bottle of sparkling wine as a Christmas gift, here’s everything you need to know about Spanish sparkling wine.

Why Choose Spanish Wine?

Spain is the world’s second largest exporter of wine in terms of volume. The first largest exporter of wine in terms of volume is Italy.

Of course due to slight differences in climate and taste, the grapes that are grown to produce Spanish wine are not the same as those used to produce wine in France or Italy. The main three grape varieties for Spanish sparkling wine are Xarel·lo, Macabeo and Parellada, with each variety having its own charms.

Spanish wine is good quality and comes in a great variety thanks to the country’s diverse geography. There are multiple wine making regions divided across the country, meaning that a wide variety of tastes are catered for.

What Type of Sparkling Wine Is Produced In Spain?

Sparkling wine in Spain is called espumoso and is generally categorised as a cava. Most of the sparkling wine you’ll find in Spain is cava.

But not all Spanish sparkling wine is cava, and there is one particularly notable exception. In the Spanish Basque Country they produce a light green coloured dry white wine that is slightly sparkling (but not as bubbly as the average cava). This is called Txakoli.

You might also find wines listed as methode ancestrale, and known colloquially as ancestrales, which are produced by natural wineries that are moving away from traditional cava making methods in favour of a more natural approach.

There are also 11 wineries in the Penedes region of Catalonia producing high end sparkling wine under the Corpinnat label. This label and designation means that these producers are subject to some of the world’s strictest quality requirements for sparkling wines. Some experts feel this is setting a new standard for Spanish sparkling wine.

Which Spanish Sparkling Wine Should You Choose?

So you walk into your local supermarket or wine shop looking for a good quality and delicious bottle of Spanish sparkling wine. And the choices available are frankly overwhelming! So how do you know which bottle to choose?

Do you want a cava, a txakoli, or an ancestrale? And which one when we know that not all of these wines are created the same?  It’s also worth noting that you may see many bottles of wine labelled D.O. Cava, which is a multi-regional denomination label. Wines with this label could come from anywhere in Spain, but the majority of these wines are produced in the Penedes region of Catalonia.

It sounds confusing, right? But to help you make the right decision when picking a Spanish sparkling wine (whether for a Christmas gift of for dinner) we’ve created a selection of ten of our favourites:

Mas del Serral

This is an award-winning wine that is from Catalonia. The grapes are grown from vines planted at Clos del Serral more thn 80 years ago. For those of you that like the technical details, it’s made from a combination of Xarel·lo and Bastard Negre grapes.

In 2007 it’s first vintage was named Catalonia’s best wine. In 2009 it was awarded 99 points by Decanter Magazine. This is a consistently good wine that’s produced to a very high standard. It’s refined, has a fully rounded flavour palette, and is sure to impress. This is a great choice for a crowd pleasing gift.

Llopart Original 1887 Gran Reserva Brut Nature

Don’t worry this isn’t a bottle of wine produced in 1887 (a wine with that vintage is likely to bankrupt you) but a replica. In honour of Llopart’s first sparkling wine, this bottle was created as a tribute and a limited run of just 2,657 bottles was created. The wine is aged for over 120 months lending it a rich depth of flavour. The aroma is that of ripe white fruit and honey, and the design of the bottle is incredibly impressive too.

Torelló Finca Can Martí

This is a modern and luxurious Corpinnat sparkling wine produced by an old and well-established wine producing family in Spain. The Torelló family first started growing grapes in 1395. Now their thoroughly modern wine is 100% organic and harvested manually.

The Finca Can Marti is made up of  Macabeo, Xarel·lo and Parellada grapes. You’ll also notice the aromatic scent of Chardonnay wine.

This is a mellow and easy to drink sparkling wine. It is also a great choice for drinking over Christmas as it has been designed to pair particularly well with traditional Spanish foods. 

Can Descregut Brut Reserva

Another wine from the Corpinnat label, you might not have heard of Can Descregut because it is the smallest winery to fall under this umbrella. This is a relatively new winery, having been founded in 2005 as a small organic outfit.

This wine would make a great gift for someone with an interest in sustainability or modern wines. It can be enjoyed alone or is also great paired with Christmas foods. Dry but still sweet, despite having no added sugar, the fruity notes of this wine make it an incredibly versatile option.

Vilarnau Rosé Delicat

Another organic wine, and the first wine on this list that’s a rose. In fact, this isn’t any ordinary rose. The Vilarnau Rose Delicat is the only sparkling rosé to be awarded a gold medal at the prestigious Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships.

This sparkling cava is a very pale pink colour and it has a rich and interesting aromatic complexity. This is a wine for those with a sweet tooth because it pairs so well with desserts, but its fresh and elegant flavour pallette means you could serve it with pasta or paella. There’s so much you could do with this interesting wine during the Christmas season.

Mas Candí Segunyola

This is the final Corpinnat label wine to make this list of Christmas options and it is a huge hit thanks to its complex and intense flavour combination. It’s straw yellow in colour and has small, fine bubbles making it a very interesting drink.

This is a wine that pairs well with fish, so it’s an excellent choice for the sushi lover in your life. Of course you can also enjoy this drink on its own to really appreciate its creamy, and fruity, flavours.

Sumarroca Gran Reserva Brut Nature

The Sumarroca Gran Reserva Brut Nature is a compex Penedes cava which is made of Macabeu, Xarel·lo and Parellada grapes and aged for a minimum of 36 months in stacks.

This is a fresh, refreshing wine with fine bubbles and a pale yellow colour, adding to its luxurious feel. It tastes fruity, and it incredibly highly regarded. In fact, it was a gold medal winner at the influential Berliner Wine Trophy in 2021.

Anima Mundi Camí Del Xops

The name of this wine translates to mean ‘soul of the world’ and those are big claims that this Catalan winery actually manages to live up to. This a bright and clear sparkling wine that’s made using the ancestral method and it is perfect for anyone that likes a fruity flavour in their wine.

Camí Dels Xops has fine, soft bubbles and tasting notes of pear, citrus and white flowers. It’s a universally popular wine that would work for any occasion.

Cueva Bobal Ancestral

This is an unusual wine because its made from grapes grown in the Valencia region, while most Spanish sparkling wine is from the Catalonia region. This is a rich, dark pink rose and its made from 100% dark skinned Bobal grapes.

This wine has fun, foamy bubbles and its unfiltered, unrefined, and with no additions of sulfur. This wine is a lot of fun both to drink and to gift.

Lahu Getariako Txakolina

As we mentioned above, not all Spanish sparkling wine is cava, and this is one of the best Txakolina wines on the market right now. And this has been true for a long time because this beautiful pale green txakoli is produced by one of the oldest txakoli estates that was founded in 1925.

This fascinating wine is made from 100% Hondarribi Zuri grapes and these grapes are then hand harvested, and fermented in stainless steel tanks. This is a classic txakoli and it has a distinctive colour and a distinctive fizz. This makes a great gift if you want to give something uniquely Spanish. And if you’re serving it at Christmas then it pairs wonderfully with grilled fish.

If you enjoyed this list and are thinking about visiting or moving to Costa del Sol, don't hesitate to contact us! We specialize in all things Spain and what it takes to move there. We have thousands of  properties for sale in Mijas, Benalmadena, Fuengirola and more!