Cava DO Flashcards
Qualifications for Cava de Guarda superior
Find at least 10 years old
farmed organically
Max yield 10 tons/ha
vintage dated
traceable from vine to bottle
18 mos on lees from day of tirage
authorized grapes for Cava
Blanco:
Parallada
Macabeu
Xarel-lo (recommended)
Chardonnay Malvasia (authorized)
Tinto:
Monastrell
Pinot Noir
Garnatxa Negre
Trepat (only used for rosé)
Zones of Cava
Comtats de Barcelona
Valle del Ebro
Vinedos de Almenralejo
Zona de Levante
places other than Penedes DO for Cava
Emporda (Catalonia)
Terragona
Carinena (Aragon)
Campo de Borja (Aragon)
Utiel-Requena (Valencia)
Ribera del Guadiana (Extremadura) (Bodegas Inviosa)
La Rioja
Granada (Andalucia)
Biggest producer of single vineyard sparkling wine
Freixenet
What year did Raventos introduce metodo tradicional sparkling to spain
1872
Birthplace of Cava
San Sadurni d’Anoia (Alt Penedes)
styles of cava produced
Escumos/espumoso (Blanc and Rosat)
Cava de Guarda
Cava de Guarda Superior
Reserva
Gran Reserva
Cava de Paratge Qualificat
Main town of Cava
San Sidurni di Anoia
Qualifications for cava de paratge qualificat (Cava de Paraje Calificado)
Hand harvested
Vintage dated
Vines must be 10 years old
36 months tirage
TA is 5.5 g/l
no acidification
brut, extra brut, brut nature
Basic aging requirements for Cava
Cava: 9 mos lees
Reserva: 18 mos lees (Cava de Guarda Superior also)
Gran Reserva: 30 mos lees
Cava de Paratge (Paraje) 36 mos lees
Max Alc for Cava DO
10.8%-12.8%
Raventos is founding winemaker for this house
Cordoniu
Widest spanning non contiguous appellation DO in Spain
Cava
Zones of Cava map
What was the gyropalette called in the 1970s Spain when it was first employed by Coroniu?
Girasol: still required a person to turn it
This grape is only permitted in cava for Rosé
Trepat
What is Corpinnat?
Producers of Corpinnat:
Means “Heart of Penedes”
Formed in 2015
Corpinnat producers must make wines from 100 percent organic, sustainable vineyards that have been harvested by hand. The wines must be made within the Corpinnat territory, entirely vinified on their winery premises, aged for a minimum of 18 months, and they must contain a minimum of 90 percent indigenous grapes.
Producers: Gramona, Mas Candi, Recaredo, Torello, Illopart, Sabaté i Coca
Who makes “D. Kripta”
Agusti Torello Mata
Original name for Cava
champaña
second half of the 19th century also saw the birth of Spanish traditional method sparkling wine—champaña, now known as Cava—at San Sadurní d’Anoia.
1872 Raventos
When did Manuel Raventós purchase his land for the Raimat estate in Costers del Segre (Catalonia)
1914
over sixty years later, after a transformation of the parched land through canal construction and agricultural restoration, his estate produced its first commercial vintage.
This grape does best in Alt Penedes
Parellada grape, one of the principal grapes in the Cava sparkling blend.
__% of Cava is produced in the region of Penedès
95%
Cava’s authorized white grapes
Parellada, Xarel-lo, Macabéo (Macabeu), Malvasía (Subirat), and Chardonnay
This grape of Cava thrives in the Medio Penedes
Ull de Llebre (Tempranillo) thrives in the Medio-Penedès
These grapes are planted in the lower vineyards of the Baix-Penedès
Sturdier Mediterranean red grapes like Garnacha (Garnatxa) and Monastrell
In the Baix Penedes, Malvasía de Sitges is a historical specialty of the region nearly consigned to the dustbin of history. As a sweet fortified wine, Malvasía de Sitges recently received the coveted Slow Food “presidia” status. What producers are championing this category?
Vega de Ribes and the charity Hospital de Sant Joan Baptista
These grapes are authorized for Cava (red and white)
Parellada, Xarel-lo, Macabeu, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Garnacha Tinta, Monastrell, Trepat (rosé only) and Malvasia (Subirat)
Bottles of Cava always have this on the cork
Four pointed star
In Allela DO (Catalonia) Xarel-lo is known as this
Pansà Blanca
Full name of Josep Raventos
Josep Raventós i Fatjó (of Cordoniu Raventós)
Made the first traditional method sparkling wine using Macabeo, Xarel-lo
In Catalonia, early iterations of Cava would bear this name
Xampany
or Champán
in this year, the term “Cava” meaning cellar, was born and implemented
1970
Cava can be vinified in these 7 autonomias in Spain
Catalonia
Valencia
Aragon
Basque Country
La Rioja
Navarra
Extremadura
This grape of Cava is primarily seen in Valencia
Monastrell
Most planted grape and most common component of Cava
Macabeo
What is Parellada used for in Cava?
To soften acidity, add breadth and structure
What does Xarel-lo do to a blend in Cava
strengthens the wine, adds earthy flavors, broadens mid palate, extends aging potential
Producers of Corpinnat
Gramona, Sabaté i Coca, Mas Candí, Ilopart, Torelló, Nadal, Can Feixes, Recaredo, and Julia Bernet.
President of the The Association of Wine Producers and Growers Corpinnat (2015)
Ton Mata, director at Recaredo
What year did Penedes become a DO
1960
What is Penedes Martím?
Baix Penedes
(up tp 250 meters)
What is Penedes Mitja
(Middle Penedes)
250-500 meters
All Cava grapes plus Tempranillo and Bordeaux varieties are successful here
Another name for Alt Penedes
Penedes Superior
500-850 meters at Monserrat mountain range
First 100% Organic sparkling wine DO in the world
DO Penedes (2014)
“Clàssic Pénedes”
Also must be reserva level: 15 mos on lees
Ancestral method is a variant: aged at least 4 years, natural cork
Aging requirements for Classic Penedes
(Penedes DO, for organic grapes with 3.5 bars of pressure):
Classic Penedès: min. 15 months prior to disgorgement (all vines are technically “Reserva”)
Reserva3, Reserva4, etc. to Reserva15 can be used on the label to indicate a longer lees aging period of 3 to 15 years.
Ancestrale Method: min. 15 months. Wines aged on lees for 4 years or more can be release without disgorgement with “No Dejorhat” or “No Degollat”.
