Cava

As students it is commonly known that we all like a bit of a tipple every now and then ;]

So I thought that I would take a look at the most famous of the alcoholic drinks that the Catalonian region produces - Cava.

Cava is both a white and pink sparkling wine, produced in different areas of Catalonia, Navarra, Rioja, Andalucia, Valencia and Extremadura but mainly in the Penedès (or in Catalan - Alt Penedès) region in Catalonia, 40km south-east of Barcelona.

This Spanish sparkling wine was first made as early as 1851, although the true roots of the Cava can be traced back to Josep Raventos' travels through Europe in the 1860s, where he was promoting the still wines of his Codorníu winery. His visits to the Champagne region in France sparked an interest in the potential of a Spanish version of the sparkling wine, using the same production methods. After seeing the success of the Champagne region, Raventós decided to create the dry sparkling wine that has become the reason for the region's continued success.

The producers wanted to distinguish this sparkling wine from the very popular Champagne, and so they adopted the name Cava after the Catalan word for cave, where the wines were traditionally stored.

The wine had originally been know as xampany or Spanish Champagne, but this is no longer allowed under EU Laws.

Cava is produced in varying levels of dryness of the wine which are: brut nature, brut (extra dry), seco (dry), semiseco (medium) and dulce (sweet).

The production of Cava uses selection of the grapes including Macabeo, Parellada Xarel·lo, Chardonnay, Pinot Noie and Subirat. The rosé style of Cava is also produced by adding still red wines from Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha or Monastrell to the wine.

Under Spanish Denominacion de Origen laws, Cava can be produced in six wine regions (such as Aranda de Duero, Navarra and Rioja, however 95% is produced in the Penedès region). The wine must be made according to the Traditional Method with a second fermentation in the bottle.

I have to say, it is a lovely sparkling wine and it is no surprise that Cava has definitely become deeply ingrained in Catalonian culture. Cava has become tremendously popular and vast amounts, over two hundred million bottles, are now made for both domestic consumption and export. Today Cava has become integrated with Spanish family traditions and is often consumed at baptism celebrations where the newborn gets a taste of his/her dummy dipped in the wine!

Christina x.