Cava, the Spanish sparkling wine

The first Spanish sparkling wine was born in the bodega Cordorniu owned by Don José Raventos, in Catalonia. Before that, the bodega produced only red and white wines. In the 1860s, Don José Raventos was travelling all around Europe to sell the bodega’s wines. When he went to France, he became fascinated by the region of Champagne, its sparkling wines and their elaboration. So when he returned from his French trip, he began to develop his own sparkling wine using imported equipment from Champagne. The first Spain sparkling wine, the Cava’s ancestor, was produced in 1872; it was named champan or xampany. Later, it was recalled Cava (which means cellar in Catalan).

Today, the appellation Cava is applied to Spanish sparkling wines which are produced in one of the six wine Spanish regions, 95% are from Catalonia. Cava became an appellation in 1986. A Spanish sparkling wine can only get the appellation Cava if  it is  made by the same process employed to elaborate French Champagne (“methode champenoise” also called the traditional method) and if they are elaborated with one or more of the following  grape varieties: parellada, xarel-lo, macabeo, malvasia . They are the most used grape varieties. Since 1990s, Chardonnay has also been admitted in the blend.  

Although French Champagne was the inspiration of the Cava’s first elaboration, Cava is not trying to be Champagne. The first big difference resides in the grape varieties used in the Champagne,which are different from those used in the Cava. Among plenty of other things that differentiate the two products, there is the climate, Champagne is not Catalonia.                    

 Since the turn of the 20^th century, Cava has been consumed by the Spanish middle class. Barcelona counted dozens of wine bars specialized in Cava. This product is, like the Champagne, a festive drink. For example, in Spain, when there is a baptism, the baby is dipped in the bubbly.  

Cava has always been a successful drink in Spain, however it is consumed more and more all year round and  not only during Christmas and New Year’s festivities. Germany is the largest market for Cava, then it’s Great Britain, Belgium and United States. The Cava’s production and commercialization are dominated by two companies: Freixenet and Codorniu, which own more than 75% of the production. There are several well-knowned Cavas like Codorniu (approximately 90% chardonnay and 10% parellada) and Mont-Marcal (30% parellada, 30% xarel-lo and 30% macabeo)