Cava Flashcards
(14 cards)
Cava
History and general info
- Since the late 19th century
- Cataluñia, near Barcelona
- Early pioneers included members of the Ferrer and Raventos families, founders of Freixenet and Codorníu (biggest producers today)
- Word cava informally used since the 60’s / enshrined in spanish law in 1972
- 1986 Cava was recognised as a quality sparkling wine froma specific region / Sapin joined the EU
- 1989 the EU authorities gave it PDO status named after a wine, rather than a place / grapes can be sourced from a number of different areas
- Wine production regulated and overseen by the Cosejo Regulador del Cava
- Taditionally made from 3 local varieties: Macabeo, Xarel-lo, Parellada / Chardonnay is increasingly used in blends
Cava
Location
- Most grapes are grown within the area of Cataluña known as Comtas de Barcelona (95%) / also Valle del Ebro, Viñedo de Almendralejo
- Most important areas: Penedès, Lleida, Terragona
Cava: Location and climate
Cataluña
Main area around Sant Sadurnì d’Anoia in Comtas de Barcelona zone:
- Mediterranean climate / bright sunny summers, mild winters / moderate rainfall (540mm) spread through the year
- Range from the coast to higher altitudes inland (200-300mm) / a minority of vineyards at 700-800m asl (cool summer night = higher acidity + more intense flavours)
- Alluvial soils and clay at lower altitudes / stony clay and granite subsoils at higher altitudes / all soils relatively poor in nutrients with adeguate drainage and water retention
- Principal towns: Sant Sadurnì d’Anoia / Vilafrance de Penedes (headquarters of the Cosejo)
Pla de Ponent subzone of Comtats de Barcelona:
- Lleida/Lerida province
- rises up to the mountains (range is 100-700m)
- Mediterranean climate near the coast / incrementing continental influence further inland
- Irrigation system with water from the Pyrenees transformed this former semi-desert into productive vineyard land / also used to provide frost protection in spring
- Riper fruit flavours from lower altitudes / Fresher flavours and higher acidity at higher altitude
Conca the Barberà:
- Between the coast and Lleida
- Home of Trepat = Black variety increasingly valued for Cava Rosado (rosè)
Cava: Location and climate
Other areas of Northern spain
Valle del Ebro:
- Cantabrian mountains protect the region from excessive rainfall from the Atlantic
- High altitude (Rioja Alta at 425m asl)
- Only variety used for Cava is Viura (Macabeo) and Chardonnay
- Macabeo ripens much later than in Penedes (where is grown at lower altitude)
Cava: Grape varieties
Macabeo
- 37% of vineyards registered for Cava
- Typically planted at 100-300m in Penedes / Higher plantings in Rioja and Lleida
- Late budding = less risk from spring frost
- Picked first / high yealding
- Susceptible to botrytis bunch rot and bacterial blight
- Light intensity apple and lemon aromas and flavours
- Only spanish indigenous white variety planted in areas outside of Cataluña
- Incresingly blended with Chardonnay
Viura in Rioja
Bacterial blight = serious disease associated with warm, moist conditions which reduces yields and for which there is no cure
Cava: Grape varieties
Xarel-lo
- 26% of vineyards registered for Cava
- Typically planted at sea level and up to as high as 400m in Penedès
- Indigenous to Cataluña
- Mid-budding = prone to spring frost
- Mid ripening = prone to powdery and downy mildew (otherwise as good disease resistance)
- Greengage and gooseberry notes /. herbal notes (fennel) / hearthy when over-ripe
- Reasonable affinity to oak
Cava: Grape varieties
Parellada
- Makes up 19% of the vineyards registered for Cava
- Typically planted on higher sites (500m) in Penedès
- Indigenous to Cataluña
- Lowest yealding / Latest ripening (of the 3 indigenous variety)
- Best vineyards are planted at highest altitudes (needs altitude for a long-ripening season to reach flavour maturity without excessive potential alcohol)
- adds finesse and floral notes
- Early budding (prone to spring frost) / susceptible to powdery mildew
Cava: grape varieties
Black grape varieties
Garnacha tinta: tends to oxidise (used less and less) / contributes ripe red fruit and spice notes
Trepat: variety local to Conca del Barberà / strawberry flavours + high acidity / legally only used for Rosado
Pinot Noir: used for Rosado blends and as single variety / often made into Blanc de Noir
Monastrell: allowed but little used
Tempranillo: not permitted
Cava
Vineyard management
- Typically low to moderate intensity (1500-3500vines/hectare)
- bush vines or single/double cordon
- low-density vineyards with moderately high yealds (no need for intense primary flavours)
- Irrigation is permitted though strictly controlled
- Lime tolerant rootstocks (when needed) / vigour control rootstocks (particularloy important for Macabeo: excessive green growth when on wrong rootstock)
- misty humid mornings = botrytis and downy mildew can be a threat / powdery mildew can be an issue during dry weather (copper and sulfur to counteract them)
- Canopy management measures: aid air circulation (removing leaves from the north side of the row) and reduce shade
- Grapevine moth is an issue (sometimes treat with sexual confusion techniques)
Cava
Harvest
- Grapes typically tested for sugar levels, acidity and pH (to decide picking date)
- Full phenolic ripeness not needed (juice will be extract quickly to avoid phenolic pick up)
- low potential alcohol and high acidity are important criteria in setting a harvest date (earlier than for still wines)
- Test for gluconic acid values (indicator of botrytis infection): high levels might have a negative effect during secondary fermentation resulting in drop in wine stability / grapes with high levels are rejected
- Mechanical harvest or by hand (90%)
- Mechanical harvest can deliver 80% whole berries / grapes picked at night
- Hadpicked grapes are selected in the vineyard / transported in 25kg crates
- Premium fruit transported in smaller 10kg crates to avoid grape splitting
- Whole bunch pressing /
- Big companies press fruit in the region where they are grown to reduce oxidation and mantain quality / juice is refrigerated and transported to the main wineries in Sant Sadurnì d’Anoia
Cava
Winemaking
- Pneumatic press = soft press = to avoid extraction of phenolics
- Rosado = 25% black grapes / skin contact rather than blending
- Yield restricted to 79hL/ha // max 100L from 150kg of grapes
- Grapes picked early enough = no need for adjustments
- cultured yeasts used by larege producers (Freixenet = they propagate strains themselves / Codorníu = choose appropriate strain according to the vintage conditions)
- 1st fermentation in stainless steel tanks with controlled temperature (14-16C) to preserve fruity aromas
- MALO typically prevented to preserve acidity
- Typically from fruit from one season / use of reserve wine not common (vintage variation is limited + storing reserve wines would add cost)
- Historically desgorged manually / early adopters of the gyropalette on an industrial scale / now even faster thanks to an automated rotating drum (entire proces in as little as 80 min)
- 8-9g/L typical dosage level / medium-dry (semi-seco) is popular in certain markets (Spain, Germany) / quality producers focus on Brut Nature style
Cava
Wine law
Cava DO (now “Cava de Guarda”):
- min 9 months lees ageing
- light to med intensity lemon, apple, herbal notes, light brioche and/or biscuit autolytic notes / med to med+ acidity
- acceptable to good quality / inexpensive to mid-priced
- Reserva = more autolytic notes / good to very good quality / mid-priced
- Gran Reserva = min 36 months / pronounced toasty, smoky autolytic notes / very good to outstanding quality / premium price
Cava de Paraje Calificado:
- from 2017
- single estate cava
- from 2022 = merged with Cava Reserva and Cava Gran Reserva into Cava de Guarda Superior
Cava de Guarda Superior:
- From 2022
- Includes Cava de Guarda Superior and Cava Reserva, Cava Gran Reserva and Cava de Paraje Calificado
- from min 10yo vines
- from certified organically grown grapes
- max yields of 10 tonnes per ha (8 T/ha for Cava de Paraje Calificado)
- must be tracable from vineyard to bottle
- must state year of harvest
- 100% Integral Producer = Elaborado Integral = if the company carries out the winbemaking process
- may state the zone of origin (either a large area or a subzone)
Consejo Regulador del Cava administer 4 separate registers regarding the production process of Cava:
- grower
- producers of base wine
- storekeepers of base wine
- Cava producers
(good deal of cross flow between all four entities and across all geographical regions)
Cava
Wine business
- Huge scale of the biggest companies (Freixenet + Codorníu = 75% of all finished cava)
- Cevipe co-operative = 55 million kilos of grapes a year (no finished product, but sells base wine to other companies)
- total shipments of Cava in 2019 = 250 million bottles (1/3 in Spain / rest exported)
- Shipment grew rapidly from 80’s to 2010 / plateaued since
- High volume export markets = Germany, Belgium, UK and USA
- Cava = 88% of sales // Reserva = 11% // GR and Paraje Calificado = 2% // Rosado = 9%
-
Cava
Other sparkling wine regions of Spain
Penedes DO
- Classic Penedes (sparkling)
- Since 2014
- certified organic grapes grown in the DO
- traditional method
- min 15 months ageing on lees
- e.g. : Albet I noya, Loxarel
Corpinnat
- Producer group founded in 2019 (includes Gramona and Recaredo (both left Cava DO)
- traditional method
- 100% organic / grown in Penedes
- hand harvest / vinified entirely on the premises
- 90% grapes must be local varieties
- 18, 30, 60 months on lees
Rioja DOCa
- since 2017
- Espumoso de Calidad de Rioja (implemented in 2019)
- hand harvested grapes
- traditional method
- 3 tiers: Crianza (15 months on lees), Reserva (24 months), Gran Añada (min 36 months)
