Cava producers ‘must rally together’

Cava producers need to take a leaf out of Champagne’s book and promote their wines collectively in order to effectively compete with Prosecco, according to one top estate.

Meritxell Juvé of Juvé & Camps

Speaking to the drinks business during a base wine tasting in London, Juvé said: “The Champagne houses have been very savvy at joining forces to tell their story – Cava producers should be working together more to tell the Cava story.

“A lot of consumers don’t know that Cava is made in the traditional method with second fermentation in bottle, which is a failing on the part of producers to communicate what the Cava category represents.

“We need to keep an eye what the Prosecco producers are doing and learn from them. Cava is a different proposition though; our products are more complex.”

Looking on the bright side, Juvé pointed out that the Prosecco boom has created interest in the sparkling wine category.

“The positive aspect for Cava regarding Prosecco’s success is that it has raised international awareness about alternative sparkling wines to Champagne.

“People are keen to delve deeper into sparkling wine and once they’ve learnt about Prosecco they start to explore the Cava category,” she said.

Juvé & Camps is something of a lone star in the region as it focuses on gran reserva cavas, producing five million bottles a year; 35% of gran reserva production. Sales are booming in the US – the estate has a 70% share of gran reserva cava sales in the states.

“We’ve invested a lot in the US and it has paid off. With their sweeter palates, we thought our Reserva de la Familia zero dosage cava would flop there but the Americans have really taken to it, which is a pleasant surprise,” Juvé told db.

Peru is also a big market for J&C, with 40,000 bottles sold there, while only 20,000 bottles are sold in the UK, though the company is keen to make an impact in Britain this year.

“We haven’t focused on the UK before as there is so much competition there with Champagne, Prosecco and English sparkling wine but the UK is a barometer for what’s going on in Europe so it’s important that we have a presence there,” Juvé said.

“We’re currently on sale at Vinoteca, Cambio de Tercio, Harrods and Fortnum & Mason and are about to close a deal with Fino, Barrafina and Quo Vadis.

“We’re going to focus on restaurants, bars and independent merchants. We’re an on-trade brand and are on sale in restaurants like Ferran Adria’s Barcelona tapas bar Tickets and the three Michelin-starred DiverXO in Madrid,” she added.

Juvé admitted that top-end Cava is a “tough sell” as you’re asking a consumer to pay the same price as a bottle of Champagne.

Due to its focus on longer aged cavas, the house shines a light on the Xare.lo grape as it’s the best for ageing due to its high acidity and high resveratrol content.

“We don’t use any oak as we want to express the character of the grapes and the vineyard,” Juvé said, adding, “We’ve got 40 hectares of Chardonnay and we make a 100% expression, but we mainly use it to complement the other Spanish varieties in the blend.”