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Cava (Catalan:[ˈkaβə],pl. caves;Spanish:[ˈkaβa],pl. cavas) is asparkling wine ofdenominación de origen (DO) status from Spain. It may bewhite (blanco) orrosé (rosado).
TheMacabeo,Parellada andXarel·lo are the most popular and traditionalgrape varieties for producing cava.[1] Chardonnay and Malvasia are also permitted. Authorized red grapes are Garnacha tinta, Monastrell, Trepat, and Pinot Noir. Only wines produced in thetraditional method may be labelled "cava"; those produced by other processes may only be called "sparkling wines" (vi escumós).
About 95% of all cava is produced in thePenedès area inCatalonia,Spain, with the village ofSant Sadurní d'Anoia being home to many of the largest Catalan production houses.[2]: 144–145 The two major producers areCodorníu andFreixenet. Cava is also produced in other villages in the provinces ofGirona,Lleida,Tarragona, andBarcelona in Catalonia,Zaragoza inAragon,Badajoz inExtremadura,La Rioja,Araba/Álava in theBasque Country,Navarra andValència in theValencian Community.[3]
Marketing cava as "Spanish champagne" is no longer permitted underEuropean Union law, since "champagne" has aprotected geographical status (PGS). (Colloquially, however, cava is still calledchampán orchampaña inSpanish, orchampú inArgentinian Spanish, orxampany inCatalan.)[1] Today, cava is defined by law as a "quality sparkling wine produced in a designated region" (Vino Espumoso de Calidad Producido en una Región Determinada, VECPRD).[4]
The wordchampán in Spanish is not to be confused withachampañado, a colloquial term for the non-traditional sparkling wines. Theseachampañados wines are generally cheaper, are served by the bottle at bars or restaurants specializing in them and hence these establishments are called by the same name, i.e.achampañado. This is not cava, but it is a somewhat popular drink as well.
TheSpanish wordcava (pl. cavas) means "cave" or "cellar", as caves were used in the early days of cava production for the preservation oraging of wine.[2]: 143–144 Spanish winemakers officially adopted the term in 1970 to distinguish their product from French champagne.[1]
Catalan sparkling wine was first made as early as 1851,[5] while the roots of the cava industry can be traced back to Josep Raventós's travels through Europe in the 1860s, where he was promoting the still wines of the Codorníu Winery. His visits to theChampagne wine region sparked an interest in the potential of a Spanish wine made using the same traditional method. He created his first sparkler in 1872, after the vineyards of Penedès were devastated by thephylloxera plague, and the predominantly red vines were being replaced by large numbers of vines producing white grapes.
Catalan cava producers pioneered a significant technological development insparkling wine production with the invention of thegyropallet, a large mechanized device that replaced hand riddling, in which thelees are consolidated in the neck of the bottle prior to disgorgement and corking.[6] In the 21st century it started its international expansion, being exported to several economies.[7]
According to Spanish law, cava may be produced inCatalonia.[clarification needed] ThePenedès wine region where most cava is produced is located in Catalonia. Cava is also produced in other villages inAragon,Castile and León,Extremadura,la Rioja,Basque Country,Navarre andValencia.[3]
To makerosé cava, blending is not allowed. The wine must be made viasaignée method usinggarnacha,pinot noir,trepat ormonastrell. Besidesmacabeu,parellada, andxarel·lo, cava may also containchardonnay,pinot noir andsubirat grapes.[2]: 144–145 The first cava to use chardonnay was produced in 1981.[1] Like any other quality sparkling wine, cava is produced in varying levels ofsweetness, ranging from the dryest, brut nature, through brut, brut reserve, seco, semiseco, to dulce, the sweetest.
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