Cava

Question 1

when did cava get PDO status?

Answer 1

1989

Question 2

what is the governing body for cava?

Answer 2

consejo regulator del cava

Question 3

what are the traditional varietals for cava?

Answer 3

macabau, xarel-lo, parellada

Question 4

what is the hub for cava viticulture and production?

Answer 4

comtats de Barcelona in Catalunya

Question 5

how does altitude influence the style of a cava

Answer 5

high altitude plantings of macabeau particularly are more flavour some and higher in acid making them more age worthy and of higher quality than those grown at sea level

Question 6

what grapes are used in rose cava?

Answer 6

trepat, Grenache, pinot noir

Question 7

where is the Valle del Ebro?

Answer 7

near the cantabrian mountains off the atlantic

Question 8

what grapes are used for cava in Vallee de Ebro?

Answer 8

macabeo and chardonnay

Question 9

what are the characteristics of Macabeo?

Answer 9

late budding, early ripening, high yielding.
susceptible to botrytis and bacterial blight
apple and lemon notes

Question 10

what are the characteristics of xarel-lo?

Answer 10

mid budding and ripening, susceptible to mildews but good disease resistance
gooseberry, fennel notes
affinity for oak

Question 11

what are the characteristics of parellada

Answer 11

typically planted at higher elevations
low yielding
late ripening

Question 12

what are the traditional trellising methods for cava production?

Answer 12

bush vine
single cordon
double cordon

Question 13

what are the factors influence choice of rootstock for cava production?

Answer 13

• drought tolerance
• lime tolerance
• vigour control

Question 14

how do Root stock choice influence Macabeo in the vineyard?

Answer 14

on the wrong rootstock, macabeo grows excessive canopy and produces little fruit

Question 15

what are the main threats to vineyards for cava production?

Answer 15

botrytis
powery and downy mildew
frost
drought

Question 16

how to cava producers navigate environmental pressures in the vineyard?

Answer 16

effective canopy management
irrigation
copper and sulphur treatments
sexual confusion techniques

Question 17

what is a new method of testing for botryis?

Answer 17

gluconic acid value testing. high levels indicate the grape is not healthy enough for sparkling wine production

Question 18

is cava hand or machine harvested?

Answer 18

either, though 90% is by hand due to the difficult terrain and scattered ownership

Question 19

what crate sizes are used for hand picked fruit in cava?

Answer 19

25kg for standard
10kg for premium

Question 20

how is rose cava made?

Answer 20

saignee with minimum 25% red grapes

Question 21

which producer propagates their own yeast strain? (cava)

Answer 21

Freixenet

Question 22

which major producer buys their yeast strains? (cava)

Answer 22

Codorniu

Question 23

is reserve wine used in cava? why/not?

Answer 23

no. vintage variation is limited and storing wines adds significant costs.

Question 24

how have new technologies influence the rate of production in cava?

Answer 24

the first use of gyro palettes, the use of smooth glass to increase flocculation, and the automated rotating drum mean the entire disgourgement process can take 80 minutes, allowing producers to more quickly meet raises in demand

Question 25

where is medium dry (semi seco) cava most popular?

Answer 25

Germany, spain

Question 26

what are the different quality levels for cava?

Answer 26

Cava de Guarda
Cava de Guarda Superior
- cava reserva
- cava Gran reserva
- cava de paraje calificado

Question 27

what are the requirements for cava?

Answer 27

9 months on lees minimum

Question 28

what are the requirements for cava de guarda superior?

Answer 28

• 10 year old vines (minimum)
• organic certification
• traceable from vineyard to bottle
• vintage dated
• 10t per ha

Question 29

what is the ‘100% integral producer’ label?

Answer 29

for cava de guarda superior producers who do the winemaking themselves

Question 30

what is the minimum ageing for cava reserva?

Answer 30

18 months

Question 31

what is the minimum ageing for cava Gran reserva?

Answer 31

30 months

Question 32

what is the minimum ageing requirements for cava de paraje Calificada?

Answer 32

36 months

Question 33

what are the 4 registers recognised by consejo regulator del cava?

Answer 33

growers
producers of base wines
storekeepers of base wines
cava producers

Question 34

what is the largest selling category of cava?

Answer 34

basic cava, 88%

Question 35

what sparkling wine comes from penedes-?

Answer 35

classic penedes- DO
traditional method
15m lees ageing
100% organic

Question 36

what is corpinnat?

Answer 36

a producer group which makes its members sparkling wine by traditional method with 100% organic grapes grown in penedes. wines can be labelled ‘Corpinnat’ and have 3 quality levels for lees ageing: 18, 30, and 60 months.

Question 37

what is the Rioja sparkling wine DO?

Answer 37

Espumoso de Dalidad de Rioja.
crianza- 15m lees
reserva- 24m lees
Gran anada- 36m lees