I can’t help feeling sorry for Cava sometimes. It has produced high quality sparkling wines by the same method as Champagne since the 1870’s. The region has pioneered some great technological advances such as the gyropallet, which mechanises the very labour intensive ‘*riddling’ process of Champagne and Sparkling Wine.
And then all of a sudden Prosecco comes waltzing along, hasn’t been a delimited production region for more than about 5 minutes, isn’t produced by the much more intensive and expensive Champagne method, and becomes the ‘people’s choice’ of sparkling wine.
Prices are going through roof, speculation about shortages and Prosecco is the talk of the town. Bottle sales of Prosecco now significantly out-strip Champagne. All that effort promoting the hell out of Cava for the last 20 years, at the most important trading time, Christmas, and yet again its bubbles seem relegated to third best.
Cava is a style of sparkling wine, made by the Champagne method, which can be produced from a number of different regions in Spain, however 95% of all Cava is produced in Catalonia from 159 different towns and villages. Most production houses are based around the town of San Sadurni d’Anoia, just a few miles west from Barcelona.
So it is with heart that the Cava region has woken up to the idea that they can’t just talk about quality in their own cellars, they have to demonstrate that to the world outside. Validating just 450,000 bottles, the new classification of Cava de Paraje Calificado (certified single estate Cava) might look like a small scale initiative bearing in mind that in 2014/2015 they sold 244 M bottles declining at 4.3% p.a.
There are strict quality boundaries for being allowed to apply this new classification to your labels. The vineyards must be at least 10 years old, the grapes of which must be hand harvested and produce a maximum of 8,000 kg per hectare. Having been harvested, the fermentation has to be done on the estate, yielding just 48 hectolitres per hectare. The resulting base wine must then be aged in the bottle for a minimum of 36 months and has to be finished as a ‘Brut’ or almost completely dry wine.
The UK** is the third biggest market for Cava in the world, albeit going backwards at a rate of knots 9.7%** by volume in the last year. Much of that market has been driven by supermarkets, which have been selling cut price Cava especially during the Yuletide festivities. It perhaps also shows a frailty of strategy. With no quality ladder to step on to Cava’s impression with the mass market has been one of £4.99 or £5.99 on offer.
So the implementation of the ‘Cava de Paraje’ standard we can expect to lever up the quality and the quality perception of Cava and therefore be a value added inclusion to a wine list of the hospitality sector. It provides an opportunity to sell something different demonstrating your knowledge and your outlet’s integrity.
Many Cava producers have been making this quality level for some time, so finding them shouldn’t be too difficult, although it may take some time for them to be labelled as such on the market. Some current examples are (distributors in brackets) Gramona (Beery Bros & Rudd), Codornui (Codornui UK), Freixenet (Freixenet UK), Juve & Camps (Ehrmanns).
Just one note of caution. There have been several reasons why consumers have backed away from Champagne. The softer style of Prosecco, the expense of Champagne during a recession, availability and being in right moment at the right time. If Cava de Paraje carries forward and is to gain momentum it does need to find its place in the market and will need concerted push and determination by the ‘Consejo Regulador Cava’. For the novice Cava Sommelier a good start is the free Cava Masterclasses, of which Manchester and Edinburgh are in September and October.
With some momentum behind Spanish gastronomy across the hotel and restaurant sector, then it would be good to see Cava promoted as quality and find its place in the market possibly between Prosecco and Champagne. However it will take time for the fruits of this initiative bear on the rather bare Cava market vine.
So maybe I am not so sad and perhaps it is time for a glass of the Cava to celebrate!
Alistair Morrell
Hospitality & Catering News, Wine Content Executive
*riddling – the process which follows the second fermentation inside a bottle produced by the Champagne method, which gently shakes the resulting deposit down to the neck before ‘disgorgement’
**Consejo Regulador Cava 2015