CocoCami: Cava Masterclass at Roja Pinchos

I enjoyed a very special evening last Friday when I was invited to enjoy a Cava Masterclass at Roja Pinchos. I have been to a couple of wine tastings in the past which were enormous fun, but I had never attended a Cava Masterclass before so I did not know what to expect. Roja Pinchos is a cool and sophisticated restaurant on Berry Street in the bustling heart of Liverpool.

They serve a delicious menu of Pinchos or Pintxos, which are essentially a type of tapas (which are sometimes served on a stick) which originated in the Basque region of Spain, there is also a range of ever-changing specials on offer and of course their legendary Churros with delicious dipping sauces! I have eaten at Roja Pinchos a few times before and I was looking forward to going back and soaking up the cosmopolitan atmosphere. Last time I was at Roja Pinchos I enjoyed some delicious Patatas Bravas, wholetail prawns and chicken skewers with a curried dipping sauce which was just perfect, so I was eager to devour more of their Pinchos during the Cava evening.

Edward and Clare Ridding, the owners of Roja Pinchos have won rave reviews for the restaurant since they opened, and for good reason. as they offer a relaxed style of dining, with amazing Pinchos in a fun environment. They recently opened their Abajo, a downstairs secret bar which is where you can enjoy an enormous range of Cavas as well as a great selection of gins which are served with different botanicals.
We arrived to find a large table had been laid out in the Abajo, set with champagne saucers. A delicious looking selection of Cavas were set out ready for the Masterclass and Jake Crimmin, a Cava expert from the Codorniu Cava company was on hand to give us the Masterclass, during which we would be trying 5 Cavas, which had been paired with 5 Pinchos specifically to complement them, mutually enhancing the flavours.

Manchego cheese with quince jelly

We were warmly welcomed by Edward and Clare and Jake told us a little bit about the history of Cava, which is over 500 years old. He explained how to properly taste the Cava, giving the glass a good swirl first and really letting it linger in your mouth to enjoy the flavours, as we tucked in to an excellent Pincho of Manchego cheese with quince jelly.
Cava is currently becoming very popular and fashionable, in the same way that Prosecco did a while ago. As the Cava flowed, we all got chatting and there were so many interesting people at the event, it was a pleasure to chat to them all. We tried the Codorniu Anna Cava during the evening which is a Brut Cava and was simply delicious, due to it being a softer style Brut with a fruity finish.

Some of the amazing Pinchos available at Roja Pinchos

The secret Abajo is such a cool and tranquil bar!

Jake delivering us the fascinating talk.

Jake gave us a detailed insight in to how Cava is made and stored, before guiding us through each of the Cavas. We enjoyed more delicious Pinchos including a mackerel one and then we tried a vintage reserve Cava which was just so dry and refreshing and also a rosé Cava. Rosé wine is one of my favourites, and I always love sparkling rosé. This particular rosé Cava was one of the best I have ever tried, with a real layer of sweetness and plenty of strawberry flavour bursting from it. This was paired with a Pincho of green and black olive tapenade with anchovy, which really contrasted well with the sweetness of the Cava.

The final Cava we tried was a Bach Frizzante which is essentially more of a sparkling Moscato wine, one which was deliciously sweet. The sweetness of this made it dangerously drinkable and we all commented how easily it was to keep drinking more and more! This was paired with an amazing Pincho of steak and salsa verde and the smoky steak worked so well with the sweetness of the Cava.

After the Cava had all been enjoyed down to the very last drop, we all moved on to Gin! The Gin selection at Roja Pinchos is carefully curated to offer customers a delightful selection of different options. We all carried on chatting and laughing and before we knew it, it was getting late! We had so much to talk about and it was a joy to meet so many nice people.

The Cava Masterclass was such a fun and interesting way to spend an evening. The talk from Jake was insightful and the Pinchos and Cava were all delicious! Edward and Clare will be holding more Cava masterclasses in the future and I would recommend them to anybody who enjoys a lovely evening of food, drink and conversation (that's everybody then!) thank you so much to Clare and Ed for such a wonderful evening!
What do you all think, would you like to sip some Cava and enjoy a few extra special Pinchos during a Cava Masterclass at Roja Pinchos?As always I can't wait to hear your thoughts and thank you so much for reading this post !

Until next time,

Camille

Roja Pinchos

50 Berry Street

Liverpool

L1 4JQ

0151 378 9563