ES: Cava and other Spanish sparkling Flashcards
What 3 companies producer 90% of Cava wine?
Freixenet, Codorníu, and García Carrión
What are the recommended white varieties for Cava?
Parellada
Macabeo
Xarel-lo
What are all of the white varieties permitted for use in Cava? (5)
Parellada, Macabeo, Xarel-lo
Chardonnay, Malvasia
What red varieties are permitted for production of Cava?
Pinot Noir, Monastrell, Garnacha, Trepat
What town is the birthplace of Cava?
Sant Sidurní di Anoia
What is the Spanish term for a gyropalette?
girasol
What 7 autonomous communities can Cava be produced in?
Catalonia
Extremadura, Valencia
Aragon, Navarra
Basque Country
La Rioja
What is the most planted Cava grape?
- Macabeo
- Xarel-lo
- Parrelada
What does the Cava de Guarda Superior designation indicate?
- Vintage dated
- organic
- vines at least 10 years old
- max yield at 10 tons/ha
- wine traceable from vine to bottle
What does a green label on a bottle of Cava indicate?
Cava de Guarda
(macharmo)
What color label for Cava Reserva?
Silver macharmo
(18 months on lees)
What color label for Cava Gran Reserva?
Gold Macharmo
(30 months on lees)
Macharmo for Cava Paraje Calificado
Antique gold/rhomboid shape macharmo
Cava de Guarda would carry what color macharmo?
Green macharmo
9 months aging
How long does Cava Paraje Calificado stay on the lees?
Min. 36 months from date of tirage
Cava Paraje Calificado is limited to what 3 styles?
Brut Nature, Brut, Extra Brut
What is Freixenet’s best selling Cava?
Cordon Negro Brut aka the “Black label”
Who makes Carta Nevada? What is it?
Cava
Freixenet, debuted in 1941
Who is the largest producer of Cava?
Freixenet
Who is the 2nd largest producer of Cava?
Codorniu
Who is credited with producing the 1st Spanish traditional method wine and when?
Josep Raventos
1872
When was the Classic Penedés designation introduced?
2013/2014
How long must a Classic Penedés sparkling be aged on the lees?
15 months - for Ancestral Method too
* Reserva3, Reserva4, etc can indicate lees aging up to 15 years
(essentially, starts at Cava’s reserva level)
Name a producer of Classic Penedés sparkling wines.
Albet i Noya
Colet
AT Roca
* these were the 3 pioneers behind the movement.
** don’t forget this is part of the Penedes DO; not Cava
What does Corpinnat translate to?
“Heart of the Penedes”
When did Corpinnat gain EU approval?
2017
What percentage of grapes in a bottle of Corpinnat sparkling must be indigenous?
90%
How long must a bottle of Corpinnat sparkling age on its lees?
18 months from date of tirage
Name 3 Corpinnat producers.
The founding 6:
1. Gramona
2. Sabate i Coca
3. Torello
4. Recaredo
5. Llopart
6. Nadal
the 5 joiners…..
7. Can Feixes
8. Julia Bernet
9. Mas Candi
10. Can Descegut
11. Pardas
Can a Corpinnat producer use the Cava designation? Can they label as Penedés DO?
Penedés yes, Cava no
What is a “marchamo”?
Found above the main back label on a bottle of Cava - the labels are color coded to indicate aging
Name 3 of Corpinnat’s 7 subzones?
- Alta Penedes
- Alta Campo
- Anoia
- Baix Llobregat
- Baix Pendes
- Garraf
- Tarragones
Who produced the first Cava and in what year?
José Raventos (Codorniu) 1872
What option does a Classic Penedes producer have to indicate that their wine has aged on the lees for longer periods of time?
Reserva3, Reserva4, etc - can use this to indicate lees aging from 3 to 15 years
How long does a gyropalette take vs hand riddling?
Gyropalette/girasol = 3 days
Hand riddling = up to 6 weeks
Name 3 of Corpinnat’s founding wineries?
- Gramona
- Llopart
- Recaredo
- Sabate i Coca
- Torello
- Nadal
What is the Conca del Riu Anoia designation?
Est. 2012 by Pepe Raventos upon his departure from the Cava DO. Not legally recognized and they are the only to partake.
- 100% organic, indigenous grapes only from vines at least 10 years old, rests on lees for at least 18 months
- a subzone of sorts - the name references the Anoia and Foix Rivers
labelling thing that designates grower-producer Cava
Cava DO - stamp to indicate producers who complete the entire process on estate, from vine to bottle
Cava’s single vineyard category
Cava de Paratge Qualificat
Single vyd, hand-harvest fruit
* min 10yr old vines
* min 36-month tirage
* min TA is 5.5 g/l
* No acidification
* vintage-dated
ONLY Brut, Extra Brut, or Brut Nature.
What is a macharmo
the quality label on a bottle of Cava that guarantees the bottle’s origins and authenticity by the Cava Regulatory Council
