Cava
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about a type of wine. For other uses, see Cava (disambiguation).
Cava is the name of a type of white or pink sparkling wine, produced mainly in the Penedès region in Catalonia, (the Catalan Countries), 40 km to the south west of Barcelona. Its name is derived from the Catalan word for cellar.
The region of Penedès is an area of predominantly rocky terrain, and has been home to vineyards since the Greeks settled here in antiquity. It has an ideal climate for wine-making; the north and eastern winds of the levanter help to cool the region, while the chalky top soil over clay allows the vines to establish deep roots.
The sparkling wine of cava was created in 1872 by Josep Raventós. The vineyards of Penedès were devastated by the phylloxera plague, and the predominantly red vines were being replaced by large numbers of vines producing white grapes. 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. In the past the wine was referred to as Spanish Champagne but this is no longer permitted under EU law, or colloquially as champaña or xampany.
The annual production of cava is around 12 million cases, second only to Champagne in quantity of production for a sparkling wine. The wine is made by the traditional method Méthode champenoise, and uses a selection of the grapes macabeo, parellada, xarel·lo, Chardonnay, (all white) and trepat, monstrell, garnatxa tinta, (rosé). Pinot Noir is not currently permitted under the Cava name, but increasingly it is being used in sparkling wines sold under brand names. Upcoming legislation is likely to allow the inclusion of the grape as it adds quality and structure to the wine.
Segura Viudas, Codorníu and Freixenet are famous producers of this wine.
Cava is produced in varying levels of dryness of the wine which are: brut nature, brut (extra dry), seco (dry) and semiseco (medium).
[edit] External links
- Codorniu
- Freixenet
- Raventos i Blanc
- Cava Bertha
- Photographs of Freixenet and Codorniu Cava wineries
- The wine region DO Cava
| Wine styles | Red/White | Rosé/Blush | Sparkling | Dessert | Fortified | Fruit | Ice Wine |
| Well known wines/regions |
Amarone | Asti | Barolo | Beaujolais | Bordeaux | Burgundy | Chablis | Champagne | Chianti | Dão | Egri Bikavér (Bull's Blood) | Madeira | Marsala | Port | Retsina | Rioja | Rhône | Sancerre | Sauternes | Sherry | Tokaji | Valpolicella | Vermouth | Vinho Verde | Vouvray |
| Well known Varietal grapes |
Red — Cabernet Franc | Cabernet Sauvignon | Carmenère | Charbono | Gamay | Grenache | Malbec | Merlot | Muscadine | Négrette | Petit verdot | Petite sirah | Pinotage | Pinot Noir | Sangiovese | Syrah/Shiraz | Tempranillo | Valdiguié | Zinfandel/primitivo
White — Albariño | Chardonnay | Chenin Blanc | Gewürztraminer | Muscat | Pinot Blanc | Pinot Gris/Grigio | Riesling | Sauvignon blanc | Sémillon | Viognier |
| See Also | List of grape varieties | List of wine-producing regions |
