Turns out the irrigated desert terrain, high altitude and resulting cool nights lengthen the growing season and create a more acid, but balanced, grape suited for sparkling wine.

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Explaining the rise of Barcelona as a naval power to rival Italian city-states like Pisa and Genoa, he notes the balanced diet of Catalan sailors: more biscuit and cheese than the Venetians, less wine than the Neapolitans, but plenty of garlic, onions and spices to make hard biscuits more palatable.

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My friend Vanessa and I ordered a regional white wine and enthusiastically awaited our antipasti: homemade pickled vegetables in olive oil which were perfectly balanced and not too acidic.

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