Cava types and varieties

Eva Pizarro

Sumiller en restaurante Fierro y formadora en Tandem Gastronómico.

Cava types and varieties

The traditional time of year for celebrating with Cava, our most representative sparkling wine, is just around the corner.

We should set one thing straight before moving on. Cava is a Designation of Origin which covers and regulates sparkling wine made within the territory covered by the Designation, that we know as Cava. It is a supra-regional designation, meaning that it covers several different regions within our country, rather than being limited to just one, as is normal in most other cases. This is because when it was created to protect these wines, namely all sparkling wines made according to the criteria of the D.O. were covered. Therefore we can find D.O. Cava wines made in Catalonia, specifically in the Penedés region, which is considered the heart of Cava, Requena in Valencia province and also in some towns in the Rioja and Badajoz regions.

It was agreed to delimit the origin of Cava to sub-regions in 2020. This means that the origin of the wine is more precise, accurately identifying where it is made. Therefore, drinking a glass of Cava will be a much more enjoyable experience, identifying its nuances conferred by the land and the micro-climate where it is made.

Cava Regions:

- Comtats de Barcelona

Valle del Ebro
Viñedos de Almendralejo
Requena

These wines are also classified according to their sugar content, which is a useful clue as to which one to choose to pair best with the food we are going to serve.

For example, Brut Nature, Extra Brut and Brut are the driest, which pair well with savoury dishes, from shellfish, fish, rice dishes and even some meat dishes depending on how long the cava is aged. The next ones have higher sugar content, and therefore they pair better with desserts, fruit and are also ideal for toasting at the end of the year with the traditional grapes and cake. The following classification is a guide to the sugar content.

Depending on the sugar that is added in the tirage, the sparkling wine will be:

Brut Nature less than 3 grammes of residual sugar.
Extra Brut, from 0 to 6 grammes of sugar.
Brut less than 12 grammes of sugar.
Extra dry from 12 to 17 grammes of residual sugar.
Sparkling dry, from 17 to 32 grammes of sugar.
Semidry, from 32 to 50 grammes of sugar.
Finally, sweet cava which is sparkling wine containing over 50 grammes of residual sugar per litre.

As mentioned earlier, cava wines are aged for different lengths of time, and this ageing process affects the end result of the wine. This is the length of time that wineries age their cava, leading to fresher, more direct tones to pair with fish and simpler dishes, through to more complex wines with hints of wood, confectionery, butter, mushrooms, etc., which can pair perfectly with more complex dishes such as stews or barbecued meat.

Cava is classified as follows according to how long it is aged:

Cava de Guarda: + 9 months
Cava Reserva: + 18 months
Cava Gran Reserva: + 30 months
Cava de Paraje Calificado: + 36 months

The grape varieties that are used also confer personality to sparkling wine. The classic coupage has always been Xarel.lo, Macabeo and Parellada, although there are some single variety cavas and other combinations.

The following are some of the grape varieties that have been authorised to make cava: