What Is Cava? Spanish Sparkling Wine, Styles & Pairings

What Is Cava?

I love any opportunity to celebrate, whether a birthday, a holiday, or getting together with old friends. Any occasion is a good one for sparkling wine. That being said, Champagne can be quite a splurge. That’s why I love Cava as my celebratory drink of choice. A Spanish sparkling wine, it is much closer in profile to Champagne than Prosecco, offering a fantastic value for its quality. Chef José Andrés calls it “the best-kept secret in the world.” In this article, I will outline everything you need to know about Cava, including its production methods, how to select the right bottle, and the best ways to serve it.

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The History and Origins of Cava

Sparkling wine arrived in Spain in the 1870s when Josep Reventós brought Champagne production methods back to his region of Spain, Catalonia. Not long after, Phylloxera, the vineyard plague, reached Spain. Catalan farmers were forced to rip out their vineyards, mainly planted with red wine varieties. Upon replanting, many local growers opted for indigenous white varieties that produced refreshing sparkling wine, giving it a unique style and helping it gain popularity throughout the 19th century. They named their product ‘cava’ after the caves where they store and age the wine, adding unique charm and history.

Cava Regions and Regulations

Catalonia is home to the heart of Cava production, specifically Penedès, right outside Barcelona. This area’s temperate climate and Mediterranean influence make it perfect for producing fresh, sparkling wines. However, the ‘DO Cava‘ designation is not limited to a specific region, allowing producers to make this sparkling wine in many of Spain’s wine regions, such as Rioja, Navarra, Valencia, Aragón, and Extremadura. Within Cava, different aging requirements and sweetness levels produce distinct wine profiles, all overseen and monitored by the Cava Regulatory Board to ensure quality. 

In the past decade, some Penedès producers have looked beyond DO Cava to seek greater regional identity and stricter quality rules. Clàssic Penedès is part of DO Penedès and is reserved for traditional-method sparkling wines made from organically grown grapes, with a minimum of 15 months’ aging. Corpinnat is a separate collective brand for traditional-method sparkling wines made in the heart of Penedès, with rules covering organic or biodynamic viticulture, manual harvesting, estate vinification, and at least 18 months’ aging on the lees.

Cava vs Champagne vs Prosecco

Cava is made using the méthode traditionnelle.

• Making the Base Wine: Producers separate grape varieties and ferment them in stainless-steel tanks until the wines are dry.
• Blending: Also known as coupage, the winemaker blends the different base wines with the desired proportions of each variety. Each Cava producer has their own style, and the blend can also depend on the vintage’s growing conditions.
• Tirage: The winemakers bottle the newly blended base wine and add the ‘tirage,’ a calculated combination of yeast and sugar, to re-ferment the wine. The bottles are then sealed with bottle caps.
• Second Fermentation / Aging: As the wine ferments a second time, the carbon dioxide produced during fermentation has nowhere to escape, so it dissolves into the wine. This creates bubbles. As the yeast dies off, it forms solid particles called ‘lees,’ which settle at the bottom of the bottle. As the wine ages with the lees, the interaction produces smaller, finer bubbles and complex aromas we associate with sparkling wines, such as toasted bread or hazelnuts. 
• Riddling: Towards the end of the aging process, winemakers begin turning and tilting the bottles downward so the lees collect in the bottleneck, either by hand or with a machine called a gyropalette. 
• Disgorgement: Once the sediment has collected in the bottleneck, it is time to disgorge. This is done by freezing the neck of the bottle, then carefully opening it so that only the solids shoot out. 
• Dosage and Corking: Once disgorged, the winery adds a dosage to replace any liquid lost during disgorgement. Additionally, they add the appropriate amount of sugar if the wine is destined to become a ‘Brut’ or ‘Seco.’ Finally, they cork the bottles, place the wire cage and foil, and the Cava is ready for release.

This technique matches the one used for Champagne, while Prosecco undergoes the second fermentation in a pressurized tank. The traditional method produces finer bubbles and a finer structure than you’ll find in Prosecco, making Cava an excellent, high-quality, more economical sparkling wine.

Grape Varieties Used to Make Cava

What differentiates Cava from Champagne are the grapes. In Champagne, the blend typically consists of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. Cava commonly uses grape varieties native to the region, so in Penedès, the blend often consists of Macabeo, which adds floral aromatics; Xarel·lo, providing structure and body; and Parellada, which adds fruit and acidity. It wasn’t until 1986 that the Cava Regulatory Board permitted international varieties. Now, some Cava brands, especially the more prestigious ones, use Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in some of their wines, such as Codorníu’s Gran Codorníu Chardonnay.

Cava Categories and Sweetness Levels

Within the world of Cava, a range of aging requirements and sweetness levels gives each wine a unique profile. Let’s start with aging, a key factor in Cava’s quality. As the wine matures and interacts with the lees, it develops smaller, more integrated bubbles, a finer texture, and complex aromas that are a hallmark of high-quality Cava.

• Cava de Guarda: From tirage to disgorgement, the wine must be aged at least nine months in bottle. These wines are bright, fruity, and floral, with a touch of yeasty aromas. 
• Cava de Guarda Superior: This title appears on Cava bottles aged 18 months or longer. Within this category are distinct tiers.
• Reserva: Cava Reserva is aged for more than 18 months in bottle. These wines have smaller bubbles that rise more slowly than those of Cava de Guarda, notes of riper fruit, and slight aromas of brioche and dried fruit.
• Gran Reserva: aged for more than 30 months in bottle. These wines express more robust, savory aromas of toasted bread, almonds, and hazelnuts. The bubbles are much finer-textured and have a creamier, velvety finish because they are more integrated into the wine. 
• Cava de Paraje Calificado: As the name suggests, these are very high-quality Cavas from specific vineyard sites aged at least 36 months in bottle. They express flavors and aromas similar to Gran Reservas but have a finer structure and a greater expression of their vineyard site. 

Along with the various aging requirements and tiers of Cava, there is also a categorization based on sweetness level. This doesn’t indicate quality but rather the wine’s style. Listed below are the types of Cava, from driest to sweetest, with their permitted sugar content. 

• Brut Nature: no added sugar, 0–3 g/L
• Extra Brut: Up to 6 g/L of sugar can be added to the wine.
• Brut: Slightly more sugar added, with a maximum of 12 g/L.
• Extra Seco: 12–17 g/L
• Seco: 17-32g/L of added sugar.
• Semi Seco: 32–50 g/L
• Dulce: Dulce: more than 50 g/L

What Does Cava Taste Like?

Cava usually sits somewhere between the fruitiness of Prosecco and the toasty complexity of Champagne. Young Cava de Guarda tends to be crisp, citrusy, and refreshing, with green apple, pear, white flowers, and a light almond note. Reserva and Gran Reserva styles become creamier and more savory with longer lees aging, picking up brioche, toast, hazelnut, dried fruit, and a finer mousse.

Selecting & Tasting Cava: What to Expect

Given all the information above, choosing a bottle of Cava might seem overwhelming. It’s a lot to handle, with Cavas produced in different regions, Corpinnat, Clàssic Penedès, and varying sweetness or aging requirements. If you are looking for a lighter, crisper style of sparkling wine, Cava de Guarda is the way to go with its bright citrus acidity and notes of stone fruits. If you want a more-bodied, bready/nutty profile, a Reserva or Gran Reserva will provide a more complex profile due to longer aging on the lees. Regarding sweetness level, Extra Brut and Brut Cavas will be your most versatile choices; however, depending on what you are eating, try a sweeter or drier bottle.

Vintage vs. Non-vintage?

Another factor to consider is vintage. José María Ferrer, the owner of Familia Ferrer, joked in an article with SevenFiftyDaily that “We used to say that the difference between Champagne and Cava is that Champagne has a very exceptional vintage every ten years, but with Cava, it’s the other way around; we have a bad vintage every ten years.” However, this is changing with the onset of climate change, with droughts and unexpected weather events. He goes on to say that he is excited about the challenge of expressing the harvest conditions in each vintage of Cava, treating it more like a wine than a sparkling. You will also find some Cavas that are ‘non-vintage,’ meaning a blend of wines from several years. These are often cheaper, un-aged options with light profiles.

Top Cava Producers

• Codorníu: One of the oldest family businesses in Spain, Codorníu is credited with pioneering Cava production. They are renowned for their Anna de Codorníu, a benchmark for high-quality Cava.
• Freixenet: Perhaps the most globally recognized Cava brand, Freixenet is famous for its iconic black bottle for Cordon Negro. They offer a wide range of Cavas to suit various tastes and preferences.
• Juvé & Camps: This producer is known for its premium Cava, made exclusively from grapes grown in its vineyards. Its Cava is celebrated for its elegance and intensity.
• Vilarnau: A smaller boutique producer with a modern twist on Cava production, Vilarnau is noted for its stylish bottles and equally impressive contents.
• Mestres: Known as the artisans of Cava, Mestres emphasizes traditional methods and was the first to label their bottles as “Cava,” showcasing a deep respect for heritage.
• Agustí Torelló Mata: This winery is famous for its high-quality Cavas, particularly its Kripta, a unique bottle-shaped Cava known for its exceptional aging capability.
• Pere Ventura: Founded in the early 1990s, Pere Ventura has quickly made a name for itself, focusing on innovation and quality, offering distinctively crisp and aromatic Cavas.

Corpinnat and Penedès Sparkling Producers Outside DO Cava

• Gramona: A family-run winery with a long history, Gramona is known for its long-aged sparkling wines. They use lengthy aging processes, sometimes up to 10 years, to produce complex and refined bubbles.
• Recaredo: Focused on biodynamic farming, Recaredo produces some of Spain’s most respected long-aged sparkling wines. Their commitment to quality and sustainability sets them apart in the Cava scene.
• Llopart: Another producer with deep historical roots in the Penedès region, Llopart has produced traditional-method sparkling wines in Penedès since the 1880s. They focus on small production but with high-quality output.
• Raventós i Blanc – Although no longer a Cava producer, they are a leading maker of high-quality sparkling wines from their own appellation, Conca del Riu Anoia, with a focus on expressing their unique terroir.

How to Store Cava

Properly storing your Cava will make it even better when you are ready to enjoy it. Ideally, you should store Cava at 50–60°F / 10–15°C in a place with minimal light and little vibration. Additionally, if you are storing the Cava long-term, we recommend keeping the bottle on its side rather than upright so the cork does not dry out.

How long should you store Cava? That depends! Due to the aging requirements, most Cavas are released to market when they are ready to be consumed, so there isn’t a real need to age your bottles at home. However, if you are interested in aging Cava, you should do so in ideal conditions and with a quality bottle. 

Serving Cava

Before serving Cava, chilling it is a great idea, even if it’s been in a fridge. I recommend filling a bucket with half ice and half water, then chilling the bottle for 15 minutes. Next is choosing the appropriate glassware. I think the best glassware is simply the one you enjoy using most. If a Champagne flute or coupe makes you feel celebratory, by all means, use those. However, if you want to further appreciate the wine’s aromatics, a ‘tulip’ wine glass is the ideal choice, as the narrow bottom retains the bubbles and the wider top allows more aromas to develop. A standard wine glass also works for this! In the end, use what you have and what you like! 

Another fun way to serve Cava is in a cocktail! Its light, crisp profile makes it the perfect bubbly component that does not compete too heavily with the spirits and other elements of the drink. I love using Cava when making a French 75 or an Old Cuban. Another Spanish option is Aigua de València, which combines fresh-squeezed orange juice, Cava, vodka, and gin. It’s like a mimosa but packs a serious punch. 

Food Pairings with Cava

Young Brut or Extra Brut Cava: oysters, anchovies, fried calamari, pan con tomate, sushi, and light tapas
Reserva Cava: jamón ibérico, roast chicken, croquetas, grilled prawns, rice dishes, and mushroom dishes
Gran Reserva Cava: richer seafood, aged cheeses, roast poultry, truffle dishes, and creamy sauces
Rosé Cava: charcuterie, tuna, salmon, duck, and dishes with red-fruit sauces
Sweeter Cava: spicy dishes, fruit desserts, and brunch dishes

Enjoying Cava: Beyond the Celebration

While special moments call for sparkling wine, you can and should enjoy Cava on many more occasions. Its versatility allows for casual sipping as a light and refreshing drink on a hot day or as a serious wine to pair with an elegant dish. Moreover, because its price point is more reasonable than Champagne’s, you can open it more often, even in a cocktail!

Final Thoughts

Cava is an incredible sparkling wine for any occasion. There are many options, whether a picnic in the park or an extraordinary celebration. The terroir-driven Corpinnat wines and Clàssic Penedès showcase Spain’s excellence in winemaking, and the variety of Cavas, in terms of quality, price, and flavor profile, makes it easy to choose the right bottle for any moment.

References:

• https://daily.sevenfifty.com/the-growing-importance-of-vintage-in-cava/
• https://www.cava.wine/en/
• https://joseandres.substack.com/p/why-cava-is-so-much-better-than-champagne