Home › Glossary › Letter X

Xarel-lo

Viniculture
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Xarel-lo is a white grape variety from Catalonia, Spain, used in Cava and still wines.

Detailed Definition
Xarel-lo brings Catalan heritage, resilience, and local identity to verse. It symbolizes regional specificity, the survival of native varieties. Poets may use it to evoke Mediterranean landscapes, historical continuity, or the beauty of lesser-known grapes. It represents the value of diversity, and the importance of preserving indigenous agricultural heritage.
Example
Example in poetry:
Xarel-lo was the Catalan grape, a white variety the poet called "the backbone of Cava's earthy fizz"; He wrote of Xarel-lo as a lean, citrusy base with a hint of anise and a robust body; In her peninsular verse, Xarel-lo was the Penedès native, a grape that holds the sparkle with integrity; The poet compared Xarel-lo to the steady bass line—not the flashy solo, but the essential foundation of the sparkle; She called it the stone-fruit peasant, a humble varietal that gives Cava its distinctive, savory character
Additional Notes
Xarel-lo is one of the three traditional white grape varieties used in Cava production, alongside Macabeo and Parellada, and it contributes body, structure, and a distinctive earthiness to the final sparkling wine, with flavors of citrus, apple, and a slight herbal note; this variety is also used in still wines, where it exhibits a vibrant, mineral character, and it is a key component of the Penedès region's identity; in poetry, Xarel-lo represents the unsung hero, the supporting actor that provides a stable, complex foundation, and it invites students to look beyond the most famous grapes and styles to find the hidden complexity that underpins great blends, much as a poem's most effective lines might be the less obvious, structural elements that hold the work together.
Also Known As
Catalan grape sparkling varietal Mediterranean vine
Skip to main content