Cava (ˈkaβə, ˈkaβa, ˈkavə or ˈkava) is a Spanish

Spanish wine

Spanish wines are wines produced in the southwestern European country of Spain. Located on the Iberian Peninsula, Spain has over 2.9 million acres planted—making it the most widely planted wine producing nation but it is the third largest producer of wine in the world, the largest...

 sparkling wine

Sparkling wine

Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it making it fizzy. The carbon dioxide may result from natural fermentation, either in a bottle, as with the méthode champenoise, in a large tank designed to withstand the pressures involved , or as a result of carbon dioxide...

 of Denominación de Origen

Denominación de Origen

Denominación de Origen is part of a regulatory classification system primarily for Spanish wines but also for other foodstuffs like honey, meats and condiments. In wines it parallels the hierarchical system of France and Italy although Rioja and Sherry preceded the full system...

(DO) status, most of which is produced in Catalonia

Catalan wine

Catalan wine is wine made in the Spanish wine region of Catalonia. More rarely, the term may also be used to refer to some French wines made in the Catalan region of Roussillon, once joint with the southern territories that currently are part of Spain...

. It may be white or rosé

Rosé

A rosé is a type of wine that has some of the color typical of a red wine, but only enough to turn it pink. The pink color can range from a pale orange to a vivid near-purple, depending on the grapes and wine making techniques.- Production techniques :There are three major ways to produce rosé...

. The macabeu, parellada

Parellada

Parellada is a white grape variety of Catalan origin specially grown in Catalonia. With Macabeu and Xarel·lo, is one of the three traditional varieties used to make the sparkling wine Cava, which is primarily produced in Catalonia...

 and xarel·lo

Xarel·lo

Xarel·lo is a white grape variety of Spanish origin specially grown in Catalonia. With Macabeu and Parellada, is one of the three traditional varieties used to make the sparkling wine Cava...

 are the most popular and traditional grape varieties for producing cava. Only wines produced in the traditional method

Sparkling wine production

There are four main methods of sparkling wine production. The first is simple injection of carbon dioxide , the process used in soft drinks, but this produces big bubbles that dissipate quickly in the glass. The second is the Metodo Italiano – Charmat process, in which the wine undergoes a...

 (méthode champenoise) may be labelled cavas, those produced by other processes may only be called vinos espumosos (sparkling wines). About 95% of all cava is produced in the Penedès

Penedès (DO)

Penedès is a Spanish Denominación de Origen, DO, for wines in Catalonia . Penedès DO includes all Penedès region and municipallities of four other counties: Anoia, Alt Camp, Baix Llobregat and Tarragonès...

 area in Catalonia

Catalonia

Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...

, with the village of Sant Sadurní d'Anoia

Sant Sadurní d'Anoia

Sant Sadurní d'Anoia is a municipality in the comarca of the Alt Penedès in Spain, and the centre of production of a sparkling wine known as cava. It is situated in the north-east of the Penedès Depression at the confluence of the Avernó river and the Anoia river...

 being home to many of Spain's largest production houses. The two major producers are Codorníu

Codorniu Winery

Codorníu is the world's largest producer of bottle-fermented sparkling wine made by the traditional champagne method , it was founded in Catalonia, Spain in 1551. It produces 60 million bottles annually. Spanish sparkling wine from the region Catalonia is known as "cava."-History:The Codorníu...

 and Freixenet

Freixenet

Freixenet is a Cava producer in Spain, located west of Barcelona in Catalonia. Cava is a sparkling wine produced in Spain.Freixenet was started after the union of two Spanish families with a lengthy history in winemaking: the Ferrers, owners of La Freixeneda, a 12th-century farming estate in Sant...

.

In the past, cava was referred to as Spanish champagne, which is no longer permitted under European Union law

European Union law

European Union law is a body of treaties and legislation, such as Regulations and Directives, which have direct effect or indirect effect on the laws of European Union member states. The three sources of European Union law are primary law, secondary law and supplementary law...

, since champagne has Protected Geographical Status

Protected Geographical Status

Protected Geographical Status is a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. Protected Designation of Origin , Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed are distinct regimes of geographical indications within the framework...

 (PGS) and Spain entered the EU in 1986. Colloquially it is still called champán or champaña in Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

 or xampany in Catalan

Catalan language

Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...

. Today it is defined by law as a (VECPRD), that is, "quality sparkling wine produced in a designated region".

Cava is an important part of Catalan and Spanish family tradition and is often consumed at celebrations like baptisms, marriages, banquets, dinners and parties.

Name

The word cava means "cave

Cave

A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...

, cellar

Wine cellar

A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae or plastic containers. In an active wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control system. In contrast, passive wine cellars are not...

" in both Catalan and Spanish. Caves were used in the early days of cava production for the preservation or aging of wine

Aging of wine

The aging of wine, and its ability to potentially improve wine quality, distinguishes wine from most other consumable goods. While wine is perishable and capable of deteriorating, complex chemical reactions involving a wine's sugars, acids and phenolic compounds can alter the aroma, color,...

. Catalan winemakers officially adopted the term in 1970 to distinguish their product from French champagne.

History

Spanish sparkling wine was first made as early as 1851, although 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 the Champagne 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 the phylloxera

Phylloxera

Grape phylloxera ; originally described in France as Phylloxera vastatrix; equated to the previously described Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, Phylloxera vitifoliae; commonly just called phylloxera is a pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America...

 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 in sparkling wine production

Sparkling wine production

There are four main methods of sparkling wine production. The first is simple injection of carbon dioxide , the process used in soft drinks, but this produces big bubbles that dissipate quickly in the glass. The second is the Metodo Italiano – Charmat process, in which the wine undergoes a...

 with the invention of the gyropallet, a large mechanized device that replaced hand riddling, in which the lees

Lees (fermentation)

Lees refers to deposits of dead yeast or residual yeast and other particles that precipitate, or are carried by the action of "fining", to the bottom of a vat of wine after fermentation and ageing. The yeast deposits in beer brewing are known as trub...

 are consolidated in the neck of the bottle prior to disgorgement and corking.

Production

According to Spanish law, cava may be produced in eight wine regions

Spanish wine regions

The mainstream quality wine regions in Spain are referred to as Denominaciones de Origen and the wine they produce is regulated for quality according to specific laws....

: Aragon

Aragon

Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...

, the Basque Country

Basque Country (autonomous community)

The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....

, Castile and León

Castile and León

Castile and León is an autonomous community in north-western Spain. It was so constituted in 1983 and it comprises the historical regions of León and Old Castile...

, Catalonia

Catalan wine

Catalan wine is wine made in the Spanish wine region of Catalonia. More rarely, the term may also be used to refer to some French wines made in the Catalan region of Roussillon, once joint with the southern territories that currently are part of Spain...

, Extremadura

Extremadura

Extremadura is an autonomous community of western Spain whose capital city is Mérida. Its component provinces are Cáceres and Badajoz. It is bordered by Portugal to the west...

, Navarra

Navarra (DO)

Navarra is a Spanish Denominación de Origen for wines that extends over practically the entire southern half of the autonomous community of Navarre...

, Rioja

Rioja (wine)

Rioja is a wine, with Denominación de Origen Calificada named after La Rioja, in Spain. Rioja is made from grapes grown not only in the Autonomous Community of La Rioja, but also in parts of Navarre and the Basque province of Álava. Rioja is further subdivided into three zones: Rioja Alta, Rioja...

 or the Valencian Community

Valencian Community

The Valencian Community is an autonomous community of Spain located in central and south-eastern Iberian Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Valencia...

. The Penedès is located in Catalonia, and there is only one Castilian producer, in the town of Aranda de Duero

Aranda de Duero

Aranda de Duero is a Spanish town and municipality in the south of the province of Burgos, autonomous community of Castile and León. It has a population of roughly 33,000 people. The post code for the town is 09400. The closest airport is in Valladolid....

.

To make rosé cava, small quantities of still red wines from cabernet sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...

, garnacha

Garnacha

Garnacha is a Spanish name that may refer to:*Grenache, a red wine grape*Garnacha Blanca, a white wine grape*Garnacha Tintorera, a synonym of Alicante Bouschet...

 or monastrell are added to the wine. Besides macabeu, parellada and xarel·lo, cava may also contain chardonnay

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...

, pinot noir

Pinot Noir

Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...

 and subirat grapes. The first cava to use chardonnay was produced in 1981. Like champagne, cava is also produced in varying levels of dryness

Sweetness of wine

The subjective sweetness of a wine is determined by the interaction of several factors, including the amount of sugar in the wine to be sure, but also the relative levels of alcohol, acids, and tannins. Briefly: sugars and alcohol enhance a wine's sweetness; acids and bitter tannins counteract it...

, namely: brut nature, brut, sec (seco), semisec (semiseco), and dolsec (dulce).