Spanish Sparkling

CAVA IS A SPARKLING WINE, WHICH CAN BE WHITE OR ROSE, MADE UP OF THREE GRAPE VARIETIES: MACABEU (THE PRIMARY GRAPE), XAREL-LO AND PARADELLA. ITS NAME IS DERIVED FROM THE STONE CELLARS (CAVAS), IN WHICH THE WINE IS MATURED.

WORDS RACHEL STEVENSON

SPANISH LAW STATES THAT SPARKLING WINE MAY ONLY BE CALLED CAVA IF IT IS PRODUCED IN THE REGIONS OF Aragon, the Basque Country, Castile León, Catalonia, Extremadura, Navarra, Rioja or the Valencian Community. While Spanish sparkling wine was first made in 1851, the Cava industry can be traced back to one man; Josep Raventós, who travelled through Europe in the 1860s, promoting still wines. It was on these travels that he came across Champagne, which inspired him to create his own sparkling, using the same method. Today, only wines produced using the Champenoise traditional method may be called Cavas, with wines produced using other methods referred to as sparkling. However, only producers in the Champagne region of France may officially use the term “Méthode Champenoise”. Therefore, in Spain it is named the “Método Tradicional” or Traditional Method. An important part of Spanish tradition, today Cava is used in Spain (and across the globe), to toast many special occasions. ❧