La vintage of the digging has stomped this year. Even having experienced a great decrease in production in the year 2020 due to the covid-19 pandemic, cava has recovered. It was to be expected from one of the wines Sparkling higher quality in Spain. What if a RiojaWhat if a RiberaWhat if a WheelWhat if a Cava… The world of wines in Spain it is immense. Being an expert in wines seems to us the most complicated. So if you are entering the world winery and you're a little lost or, you just adore cava you should keep reading this article.
The cava harvest
300 millones de kilos Of grapes nothing more and nothing less have been harvested in the cava harvest this year. The result of a great effort on the part of the farmers and the Council Regulator for specifying the plans de maturation and the delicacy in the care de la vid. The origin of cava and the exploitation of the land occurs in the area winegrowing of the Penedès, Catalonia. And, we know that all grapes come exclusively from this territory thanks to the registration of cava wine as DOP (We will explain later).
However, the latest reform of the Regulatory Council has allowed wineries to distinguish their wines by the territory of origin of the grapes. Thus, they have distinguished three production zones defined: "Comtats of Barcelona", "Ebro Valley" y "Vineyards of Almendralejo", and 7 subzones: "Valls d'Anoia-Foix", "Conca del Gaià", "Serra de Mar", "Serra de Prades", "Pla de Ponent", "Alto Ebro" y "Valley of the Cierzo".
La vintage of cava It is a critical step in the making of this wine. The harvest takes place between early / mid August and early / mid October, although it is variant. In fact, this year has ended a little later than usual due to climatic factors. The harvest occurs when the grape has reached the maturity phenolic (skins and seeds of the grape). The maturity of the grape will be a key factor in the concentration of aromas and compounds.
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Protected Designation of Origin, what is it?
Although many will know that he cava is a wine sparkling of high quality, many will not know that it is a PDO (Protected Designation of Origin). A PDO is a quality scheme for the European Union of agricultural products, food and wines. In fact, the products under this quality seal are those that have the stronger bond with the geographical place in which they occur. Regarding wine, grapes must proceed exclusively of the place where the wine is made.
The cava, as explained on the official website of the DO Cava It differs from the rest of the sparkling wines in the world due to its production method. Thus, they use the traditional method which consists of carrying out the second fermentation en bottle. In this way they manage to give the cava that unique touch. The history of cava is curious since at first the foam was very innovative and it was not to the liking of many. The first bottles of Cava following the traditional method of second fermentation in the bottle were made in Sadurni d'Anoia en 1872.
Although the origin of the inspiration to produce it is found in Champagne, it was the enthusiasm and dedication of a whole group of farmers and producers from the Penedès area, and more specifically from Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, who promoted the birth of Cava and of its future internationalization. DO Cava
Wine tasting, what are you waiting for?
There are many types of cava ... Cava (minimum aging of 9 months in bottle), Cava reserve (minimum of 18 months), Grand Reserve Cave (more than 30 months of aging) and the pink cava. Within each type of cava there are even more differentiations depending on the variety of grape used. A good option to try various typologies is to attend a wine tasting.
If you have not been to any yet, we recommend that you do not wait much longer to do so. It will be a fun and very enriching gastronomically experience. In addition, many of them also offer a visit to the wineries. If you have ever tasted a good cava, Tell us about your experience in the comments!
