Are we heading for a Cava dry spell?

With drought taking its toll on volumes, and producers warning of shortages in certain markets, Cava producers may have no option but to premiumise. Eloise Feilden finds out more.

SHRIVELLED GRAPES languish under the burning sun as vines in Penedès vineyards lay there, parched and dry. For Cava producers, low rainfall and high temperatures have led to a challenging harvest this year, and volumes are suffering.

Cava Guilera, a small family winery in Penedès founded in 1927, admits that “it’s been difficult”. In vineyards that usually produce a maximum of 8,000kg of grapes per hectare, this year’s yield has been closer to 4,500kg.

Bad weather and a lack of rainfall have created a ripple effect, impacting every part of the Cava supply chain.

In April, Freixenet, the DO’s largest producer, temporarily laid off 615 staff – nearly 80% of its workforce – as a result of the drought.

“The measure … is aimed at guaranteeing the viability of the business and preserving employability in order to face external causes and force majeure caused by the severe drought,” Freixenet said at the time.

Henkell Freixenet CEO Andreas Brokemper tells db he is concerned about the “challenging environment for the future development of Cava”.

He says: “Due to climate change and extreme weather conditions, including rainwater shortage, Catalonia, especially Penedès, has been facing a long and extreme drought and challenges in agriculture and viticulture.”

Cava’s 2023 harvest told a similar story, and family winery Cava Guilera says last year’s yields were just as low as 2024. Javier Pagés, president of the Cava DO, said at the time: “This year’s harvest serves as a warning about the future of viticulture, which will require considerable effort and dedication from all those involved in the Cava production process.”

Pere Ventura has fared similarly over the past few years. David Rovira Parker, assistant general manager at the winery, notes that some remaining vines have survived on the moisture of the grapes alone, due to the severe lack of available water in the soil.

“Vineyards have a memory,” he says, before adding that, in recent years, the vines have “focused on survival rather than producing”.

Freixenet estimates that production was down 60 million bottles in 2023, based on data shared by the Consejo Regulador in industry meetings.

Consistently low harvests are therefore making it “impossible to meet the global customer demand”, Brokemper says. “The sharp decline in the grape harvest for Cava production will have an impact on all markets around the world,” he warns. “This is a huge challenge that affects the entire wine sector and the whole production chain in the region: from the farmers to the Cava and wine producers, the glass companies, the cork manufacturers and the transport.”

Challenges are already trickling down the supply chain. Peter Wallbridge, head of wine buying at importer Enotria & Coe, says he knows of Cava producers currently exporting to the UK “who are wondering whether they’re going to have any wine to sell”.

He adds that he has heard rumours that Cava producers will begin pulling out of markets, including the UK, as a result of reduced yields.

“They’re just going to have to spend all their time managing demand and supply, and making sure that key accounts have wine,” he says. As a result, “pricing is going to go up considerably”, Wallbridge adds.

Faced with lower yields which, according to Wallbridge, are unlikely to improve in the next five years, the DO has its work cut out for it. “It’s in the DO’s interest to premiumise as much as it can,” he says.

REGULATORY REVAMP

The Cava DO revamped its regulatory system in 2020 in a bid to differentiate between entry-level and higher-end Cavas. The new tiered system is divided according to ageing: Cavas over nine months old fall under Cava de Guarda, while those over 18 months old are Cava de Guarda Superior. Reserva and Gran Reserva are sub-categories under Superior, as is Paraje Calificado – the strictest quality designation, of which there are currently only 10 wines produced.

Cava’s new regulations were introduced at a time when the DO was still reeling from a big loss. In January 2019 nine producers announced that they were leaving the DO to form the Corpinnat group (which translates as “heart of Penedès”). Their main impetus was dissatisfaction with the DO’s perceived focus on volume over quality.

Catriona Felstead MW, Spanish buyer for UK merchant Berry Bros. & Rudd, describes Corpinnat as “a terroir-led marketing brand”. She says: “The aim is for customers to understand the difference between these beautiful, complex, terroir-driven, high-quality wines versus the brands that are widely seen in the supermarkets.”

The DO’s revamped regulations went some way towards challenging this from 2020 onwards, and producers loyal to the DO support its new specifications.

Delfí Sanahuja, chief oenologist at Perelada Cava, believes extending the ageing period for premium Cavas is “a positive step”.

However, the lack of zoning which triggered the Corpinnat producers to leave the DO remains. The new system still “doesn’t give any indication of regionality”, says Wallbridge. “A multi-regional DO does present some fairly significant problems for people wanting to talk about authenticity, regionality, provenance and terroir,” he adds.

The DO’s Paraje Calificado sub-category does put some emphasis on terroir. Wines in this sub-category must be single vineyard, single-vintage, from vines at least 10 years old, and produced and bottled on site. However, only 10 Paraje Calificado wines are currently permitted by the DO.

Total sales of this category were 15,000 bottles in 2023, down 26% from 20,300 bottles the previous year. The decline came from the domestic market, which retracted 48%, while international sales grew by the same percentage.

Wallbridge laments the timing of Cava’s premiumisation push. “Since Covid, everything has been premiumising, but this year, for the first time, retail is going the other way,” he says. “For the first time in a long time, the off-trade is trading down in terms of price per litre.”

Cost-of-living pressures and economic downturn around the world have meant “people want a bargain more and more”, he adds, making it a tough market within which to premiumise.

But Cava producers are not to be deterred, and individual wineries have taken it into their own hands to elevate their offering. Pere Ventura has delisted its younger Cavas in favour of its more premium expressions. The winery’s production for 2024 is up 15% year-on-year, but this is as a result of heavy investment, and working with more farmers to ensure volumes remain stable.

Juvé & Camps is one of Cava’s larger producers, and has bet big on premium categories. The winery is responsible for 1% of the DO’s total Cava production, but makes 75% of the Gran Reserva Cavas produced by the whole denominación. Each of these two producers is responsible for one of the 10 Paraje Calificado wines permitted by the DO.

PROVING FRUITFUL

Cava’s wrestle with other sparkling categories is also proving fruitful. Wallbridge says: “Prosecco has been on a slightly downward trend, and Cava’s been on an upward trajectory.” The task now is to “try and manage that when people don’t have as much money to spend and they want a bargain”.

The DO will have to work harder if it wants its premium categories to grow. Total sales of the Spanish sparkling wine were up 1.09% year-on-year in 2023, but this was all thanks to the Guarda category (+3.8%). Reserva (-18.4%), Gran Reserva (-5.4%) and Paraje Calificado were all down.

Berry Bros. & Rudd’s Felstead says Cava “has always struggled with an image issue in the fine wine spectrum”.

She explains: “The word ‘Cava’ makes people think of cheap, supermarket brands. There are lots of them about.” Berry Bros. & Rudd has opted to list its wines under a ‘Spanish Sparkling Wine’ label rather than ‘Cava’.

Cava’s battle between volume and quality continues, and the two ends of the price spectrum are moving further and further apart. For those committed to premium Cavas, this means looking elsewhere for entry-level Spanish wines. Enotria & Coe is due to launch a Spanish tank method sparkling wine in its entry-level price range, which Wallbridge argues will “deliver much better value” because of lower production costs. Its Cavas will therefore sit higher in the range. “I want to keep Cava as premium,” he says.

Entry-level Cavas are likely to suffer most as the ongoing drought cuts yields in winemaking regions and pushes up prices. As such, promoting premium Cava may come down not only to want, but to need.