Cava pouring at Llopart

While on Wine Pleasures 50 Great Cavas Media Tour, visiting Cava producers and tasting numerous Cavas in Catalonia, we discovered a wonderful enthusiasm for Cavas. One comment made today after a whirlwind visit to approximately ten Cava producers was, “More people can enjoy Cava more frequently than a Champagne.” Why? The retail prices for many Cavas are more affordable than Champagnes.

How good are Cavas?

Just as with any other sparkling wine or still wine, the quality is determined by the quality of the grapes and the winemakers many decisions. We discovered many delightful Cavas this past week. There is also a regulatory board for Cava.

The vineyards for Cavas must follow strict regulations set out by El CAVA Regulatory Board. El Cava controls:

• Amount of grapes harvested from vineyards
• Monitors the quality of the grapes
• Monitors the final grapes destination

Production controls include:

• Tipping stoppers for Cava must be marked with the date of production to meet the minimum ageing requirements
• Regular inspections
• Cava labels must be authorized by the control board

Specific ageing of Cavas must be observed

• Cava must be aged for at least 9 months
• Cava Reserva must be aged for a minimum of 15 months
• Cava Gran Reserva must be aged for at least 30 months.

According to the El Cava website: “To qualify as a ‘Gran Reserva,’ cavas are subjected to special quality controls including organoleptic and analytical examinations. The indication ‘Gran Reserva’ many only be used for ‘Brut Nature,’ ‘Extra Brut’ and ‘Brut,’ which are aged for thirty months or more in the same cellars. The label must necessarily show the indication ‘Gran Reserva’ and the year of the harvest. In this respect, Cava is the only sparkling wine which can bear this distinction.”

If you haven’t tried a Cava yet, maybe it’s time to do so. The Cava producers we toured on our visit to Catalonia are exporting to numerous countries around the world. If you haven’t tried a Cava yet, maybe it’s time to do so.

Cheers,
Kathy