Marketing cava as "Spanish champagne" is no longer permitted under European Union law, since Champagne has a protected geographical status (PGS). Colloquially it is still called champán or champaña in Spanish or champú in Argentinian Spanishxampany in Catalan.[1] Today it is defined by law as a "quality sparkling wine produced in a designated region" (Vino Espumoso de Calidad Producido en una Región Determinada, VECPRD).[4]
The word champán in Spanish is not to be confused with achampañado, a colloquial term for the non-traditional sparkling wines. These achampañados wines are generally cheaper, are served by the bottle at bars or restaurants specializing in them and hence these establishments are called by the same name, i.e. achampañado. This is not cava, but it is a somewhat popular drink as well.
Name
A semi-seco (semi-dry) rosado cava
The Spanish word cava (pl.: cavas) means "cave" or "cellar", as caves were used in the early days of cava production for the preservation or aging of wine.[2]: 143–144 Spanish winemakers officially adopted the term in 1970 to distinguish their product from French champagne.[1]
History
Catalan sparkling wine was first made as early as 1851,[5] while 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 wine 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 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 with the invention of the gyropallet, a large mechanized device that replaced hand riddling, in which the lees are consolidated in the neck of the bottle prior to disgorgement and corking.[6] In the 21st century it started its international expansion, being exported to several economies.[7]
To make rosé cava, blending is not allowed. The wine must be made via saignée method using garnacha, pinot noir, trepat or monastrell. Besides macabeu, parellada, and xarel·lo, cava may also contain chardonnay, pinot noir and subirat grapes.[2]: 144–145 The first cava to use chardonnay was produced in 1981.[1] Like any other quality sparkling wine, cava is produced in varying levels of sweetness, ranging from the dryest, brut nature, through brut, brut reserve, seco, semiseco, to dulce, the sweetest.
