Cava from Spain

Cava is the name of a type of white or pink sparkling wine, produced mainly in the Penedes region in Catalonia, Spain, 40 km to the south west of Barcelona. Cava is derived from the Catalan word for cellar. There are a small number of areas in Spain outside Catalonia that also produce Cava. These have benefited from the Spanish boycott of Catalan Cava as a result of moves by Catalonia for more autonomy.

The region of Penedes is an area of predominantly rocky terrain, and has been home to vineyards since the Greeks settled there in antiquity. It has a favorable climate for wine making, the north and eastern winds of the levanter help to cool the region, while the chalky top soil over clay allows the vines to establish deep roots.

The sparkling wine of cava was created in 1872 by Josep Raventos. The vineyards of Penedes were devastated by the phylloxera plague, and the predominantly red vines were being replaced by large numbers of vines producing white grapes. After seeing the success of the Champagne region, Raventos decided to create the dry sparkling wine that has become the reason for continued success of the region. In the past the wine was referred to as Spanish Champagne but this is no longer permitted under EU law, or colloquially as champana or xampany.

The annual production of cava is around 12 million cases, second only to Champagne in quantity of production for a sparkling wine. The wine is made by the traditional method "Methode champenoise", and uses a selection of the grapes macabeo, parellada, xarel lo, Chardonnay, "all white" and trepat, monastrell, garnatxa negra, "rose". Pinot Noir is not currently permitted under the Cava name, but increasingly it is being used in sparkling wines sold under brand names.

Cava is produced in varying levels of dryness of the wine which are brut nature, brut extra dry, "seco" dry and "semiseco" medium. At some lively celebrations a "porron" is used to enjoy Cava.