When I am holding tasting events where we serve Cava, I like to call it “Champagne’s cute little Spanish cousin”. The link between Cava and Champagne is very strong, and while it is made with different grapes, they both have a lot on common. Let me tell you how Cava came about…..
Catalunya, along the Mediterranean coast in northeastern Spain, is the home of Cava. In the mid to late 19th century, Catalunya created a niche market for itself in the way Champagne did – it started producing sparkling wines. Theses were first created by Josep Raventos i Fatjo, who visited Champagne in the 1860s and was captivated by the traditional method of making sparkling wine in the bottle through a controlled second fermentation.
In 1872 he created the first traditional method sparkiling win in Spain using the methods he ahd learned in Champagne. The term “Cava” is a relatively new term. It refers to the caves that Cava is aged in, similarly to the crayeres of Champagne. In 1977 it became the offical name of this lovely bubble beverage.
Cava is generally a blend and, since 1888, the 3 primary grapes used are indigenous:
- Xarel-lo (also known as Pansal Blanc or Pansa Blanca), a grape native to Penedes, which is high-yielding, high acid, giving structure and flavors of herbs and citrus
- Parellada, native to Aragon, which brings finesses and lemony freshness to the blend
- Macabeo, native to Catalunya, a lower acidity, aromatic grape that brings softness and perfume to the blend.
- There are 4 black grapes that can used as well, generally for rosado, and there must be 25% of these used: Garnacha Tinta, Monastrell, Trepat and Pinot Noir. Tempranillo is NOT allowed.
Cava grapes are grown in over 150 municipalities in seven different regions: Catalunya, La Rioja, Valencia, Aragon, Navarra, Extremadura and Pais Vasco. Most of it is produced, however, in Penedes in Catalunya. The two big producers, Freixenet and Cordoniu, produce about 75% of the total output.
Like Champagne and other traditional method sparkling wines, Cava spends time ageing on its lees (dead yeast cells), which adds autolytic flavors to the citrus, floral and herb flavors – brioche, bread dough, biscuit, and caramel and honey of aged longer.
When you look for a bottle, they will be marked by age, and often will be Brut (less than 12 g/l of sugar) to offset the medium high acidity of this wine. You may also find drier or sweeter wines, some even with no added sugar (Brut Nature), which are quite tart!
Here are some things to look for on the label:
- Cava – minimum 9 months ageing
- Reserva – minimum 15 months ageing
- Gran Reserva – 30 months ageing, Brut Nature, Extra Brut or Brut only
- Cava de Paraje Calificado – 36 months ageing, single estate grown and produced
- Classic Penedes – 15 months ageing, 100% organic (although this is not technically it is made the same way with the dame grapes)
A nice thing about Cava is the price – even higher quality ones are affordable and really much more interesting than Prosecco on the palate. I hope you will venture into this interesting region of sparkling wines and try something new, that is based on a very old Catalunya wine tradition.
