Cava producers want to ‘up their game’

Cava Discovery Week will take place from today (5 July) until 14 July in the UK, with more than 30 venues organising events to celebrate the diversity of the Spanish fizz, and the trend towards sustainability and premiumisation.

Cava has been relegated on the third place of the sparkling podium long enough. With sales reaching a record of more than 250 million bottles last year, the king of Spanish sparkling wines is ready take things to the next level.

Today marks the beginning of Cava Discovery Week in the UK, held ahead of International Cava Day on July 12. From 5-14 July, some of the most prestigious restaurants and wine retailers in London will be showcasing Cava’s versatility and prestige, from tasting flights to specially paired menus and Cava happy hour offers.

This week, db attended the press launch at Trivet Restaurant in London Bridge, hosted by top sommelier and Cava brand ambassador, Salvatore Castano.

Traditional method

The traditional method sparkling wine has been made since the late 19 th century, and the Cava D.O. (Designation of Origin), created in 1989, has gradually been implementing changes to shape a more cohesive and comprehensive identity.

In 2017, a group of Cava producers decided to separate from the D.O. to create their own umbrella brand, Corpinnat, with a focus on high quality sparkling wines and longer lees ageing times.

Two years later, the D.O. decided to follow in their footsteps by introducing two new categories: Cava de Guarda and Cava de Guarda Superior. The latter is sub-divided between Reserva, Gran Reserva and Paraje Calificado, which has stricter requirements both in the vineyard and the cellar for single estate vineyards. In line with this reclassification, the D.O. created new labels to help consumers clearly identify the origin and style of Cava.

Sustainability also plays an increasingly important role in the D.O.: organic Cava production grew by 24.59% in 2024, and Penedès, Cava’s main producing region, announced its goal of reaching 100% organic production by 2025.

With Cava Discovery Week, the D.O. seeks to reflect those changes and highlight Cava’s diversity in terms of regions, altitudes, grape varieties, soils, and inherently wine profiles.

“Cava D.O. wants to up their game and follow up with Prosecco and Champagne”, said Salvatore Castano, echoing the declarations of the D.O.’s president Javier Pagés last March, who argued the new segmentation of Cava gave a boost to the sector.

“We have seen a growing interest from venues for Cava Discovery Week” said Sophie Manson from Hopscotch Season (formerly Sopexa), the PR agency handling the event.

“Most of the venues which took part in the 2023 edition were Spanish establishments, but the diversity this year makes it even more exciting, from gastronomic Japanese restaurants to 5-star hotels”, she added.

Flagship events include a 6-course seafood menu at Pizarro, a Japanese pairing lunch at Kioku by Endo and a Spanish music and Cava pairing at Battersea Store.

Taster

The press launch gave us a taster of Cava Discovery Week, in the form of a 4-course meal paired with six Cava de Guarda Superior, from small growers looking for distribution in the UK as well as major players.

This illustrates the D.O.’s wish to push for Cava premiumisation both from large wineries, such as Freixenet or Codorníu and artisan producers.

As an amuse-bouche, we tasted gougères with goats curd and lemon: the zesty feel was an ideal counterpart to Roger Goulart’s Gran Reserva Josep Valls 2019, a Cava displaying lively acidity, citrus and apricot flavours on the palate.

The main dish was plaice – a classic, but with a twist: the cherry tomatoes added a lovely, sweeter note to the dish while the pickled shimeji gave it a touch of umami.

Two Cavas were paired with the fish, including Cava Guilera’s Musivaria Cava de Guarda Superior Gran Reserva aged for 16 years on the lees, which showed complexity but an impressive freshness still. The retail price? A mere £16.

“That’s the beauty of Cava,” said Castano, “you can taste long-aged sparkling for a very reasonable price”.

To find out more about Cava and the events organised around you, head to the Cava Discovery Week’s website.