Sparkling wine from Spain “Cava” re-released

Cava, the Spanish sparkling wine, has embarked on a new journey to improve the image and quality of its wine. Although known among many consumers for offering a very affordable bubble, some think it lacks identity. Will stricter quality standards and improved marketing help wine consumers realize that Cava can also be quite enjoyable?

Cava, Champagne and Prosecco are the most important sparkling wine brands in the world. Even though they may not have the same customer base, they are fierce competitors. Therefore, when talking about strategy, cava needs to look carefully at what the other two are doing.

Cava’s sales in 2023 are promising, showing an increase compared to 2022. But quantity isn’t everything. The price must also be right. Consumers are happy to enjoy kava at a bargain price. However, many grape growers suffer from poor profitability and are not sustainable in the long term.

“We need to increase our value and visibility,” said Javier Pagés, president of the Caba Regulatory Council. “Don’t compare us to Champagne. Cava is different. We have sun, light, the Mediterranean, our culture and our own grapes.”

Yes, it is. These things are worth mentioning. But it will be difficult to get people to stop comparing cava and champagne. More or less, sparkling wine can be compared to champagne, for better or for worse. Champagne has an advantage due to its prestige. But the price is high. All comparisons with Champagne are not favorable to Champagne. Low prices are an asset, as long as they are not too low.

The kava industry faces challenges and difficult questions regarding its future. At the end of November 2023, the Regulatory Council held a major Cava conference in Barcelona. Journalists, sommeliers, and wine educators from all over the world, including myself, gathered to explore the future direction of cava.

First of all, what is the story behind Cava?

It all started in Penedès, a town in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, Catalonia, near Barcelona. Penedès has traditionally been a red wine region. But in the late 1800s, phylloxera (vine louse) changed everything. When producers replanted their vineyards, they chose local white grapes, Macabeo, Xarello, and Parellada, instead. These pair well with sparkling wine, they noted. And so began the story of Cava.

In 1872, Josep Raventos Facio went to Champagne and learned the traditional method of secondary fermentation in the bottle. Penedes growers have adopted this technique. Production increased, and Cavahaus built an impressive wine cellar (some called it a wine cathedral), inspired by the modernist architecture that was popular at the time. An example of this is the beautiful cellar of Codornu.

This is what the sparkling wine produced at that time was called. Champanchampagne in Spanish, or Zanpan, Catalan. At the time, no one cared, but eventually things changed. In 1928, the Mestre family (experts in long-aged Cava) began calling their wine “Cava” instead of “Cava”. Zanpan. In 1959, the word kava was first officially used.

In 1972, the Consejo Regrador de los Vinos Espumozos was established and authorized to call Spanish sparkling wine “Cava”. In 1986, the same year Spain joined the European Union, the boundaries of the Cava region were established and traditional methods became mandatory. DO Cava was born.

Cava vineyards total approximately 95,000 acres and produce approximately 250 million bottles annually. Large houses dominate the industry. They often own the vineyards, but among the approximately 6,000 grape growers, he also must buy grapes from one or more companies. Currently, his three locally grown grapes, Macabeo, Xarello and Parellada, account for nearly 82% of his planted area.

(For comparison, Champagne has an area of ​​84,000 acres and has produced just over 300 million bottles, while Prosecco has an area of ​​69,000 acres and produced about 600 million bottles. If you think it’s essential, then you shouldn’t drink prosecco.)

In recent years, there has been frequent criticism from within and outside the kava industry. That the quality requirements for cava are not high enough, that there is not enough emphasis on terroir, that large houses are hindering the success of smaller houses, and that grape prices are too low. is. Some (a few but well-known) producers left DO CAVA in protest in 2018 and launched their own brand Corpinnat.

DO Cava had to look at himself. New, stricter rules have been introduced for premium cava to incentivize producers to raise quality standards and, in turn, the reputation of their wines. New regulations emphasize extended aging on the lees to provide complexity and greater overall aging potential.

Currently, there are two types of kava: Cava de Guarda and Cava de Guarda Superior. The latter fall into his three categories: Reserva, Gran Reserva and Paraje Calificado.

Cava de Guarda It accounts for 86% of sales. Within this category, producers vary in their ambitions and philosophies, and while you can certainly find some very cheap cavas, there’s more to it than that. You can find a lot of great, high-quality cava for a little more money on a bottle. Cava de Guarda is aged on the lees for a minimum of nine months.

Cava de Guarda Superior It requires a longer aging period on the lees and other requirements. The vines must be at least 10 years old. The permitted yields will be lower and all wines must indicate the vintage on the label. All Guarda Superior must be certified organic starting with the 2025 vintage.

Reservas are aged in bottle for at least 18 months, while Gran Reservas are aged for at least 30 months. Paraje Calificado is a specific category within Guarda Superior, where the wines are made from carefully selected vineyards whose names are often mentioned on the label. The wine is aged for over 36 months. This is currently the most prestigious category of kava.

Guarda Superior accounts for 4.5% of Cava sales. Even if it’s a small portion, these wines are essential. They command a higher price, so a wine region needs high-priced wines to gain respect. “Guarda Superior has a small production volume, but it has a positive effect on Cava DO,” says Javier Pagés.

The kava industry is dominated by companies such as Codornu and Freisenet (now owned by Germany’s Henkel). Three kava houses account for over 50% of production. Some people see this as a problem, but if there is a problem, it’s not limited to kava. Are big manufacturers preventing small producers from succeeding?

Indeed, the low prices of major companies in the export market are the reason for the decline in wine’s reputation. And the power struggle in negotiations at the Kava Regulatory Council is likely to be uneven. It can also be compared to champagne (except for the lower price).

However, major companies have volumes that can be delivered to countries and markets around the world. They are brand builders. Without them, Cava would not be as well known. “A strong brand has value. We need a strong brand,” says Pedro Ferrer, CEO of Freixenet Group.

Small producers attract a different group of consumers who seek story, individuality and long aging. Today’s sommeliers and wine lovers are always on the lookout for new and interesting niche wines. This is where small-scale talent comes into play. The smaller you are, the more specialized knowledge you need to stand out. Perhaps pair it with 100% Xarello Cava, a grape with all the makings of a new star.

Low grape prices are a big problem. Cava houses that buy grapes from growers pay too little because they can’t sell the kava at a high enough price. Profitability is poor for grape growers, and low prices damage Cava’s reputation. There has to be a way out of this situation, but what? Cava exports 70% of his production and the numbers speak for themselves. In terms of value, Spain is far behind Italian and French sparkling wines.

The low value of Spain applies not only to sparkling wine but to Spanish wine in general. According to statistics, in 2023 Spain exported 21 million hectoliters of wine, worth 3 billion euros. Italy also exported the same amount, at 7.8 billion euros. And France exported 14 million hectares of wine worth 12.3 billion euros.

The Spaniards must get better at marketing themselves and improve their export value.

“DO Cava doesn’t believe in ourselves. We’re too humble,” says Marc Morillas of Morillas Brand Design. “We are very bad at promoting ourselves, and that applies to other products as well. Italians are good at telling stories. We invest in things that make us different. I have to.”

He’s right. Spaniards have something to learn from Italians. Thanks to clever marketing, they have achieved incredible success with Prosecco, especially in the United States.

“Prosecco has a firm grip on the American market,” says Doug Frost, M.A., M.A., an expert on the American wine industry. Prosecco sales to the US increased by 6% in 2022 to 134 million bottles. In the same year, 21.6 million bottles of Cava were shipped, down 8.85% from 2021. “Cava is now being seen more in grocery stores, and Prosecco and Champagne in restaurants.” Young people aren’t into wine, but they drink sparkling, and Cava is a great way to reap the benefits. I haven’t received it,” Doug continues.

Looking around different countries, we find that low-cost cava sells for as much or less than prosecco, even though cava is made using the more expensive traditional method of secondary fermentation in the bottle. It is clear that Aged for 9 months. Prosecco is essentially a bulk product, produced quickly with very high yields and subjected to secondary fermentation in pressure tanks. But do consumers know or do they care? Probably not. Prosecco has an image and packaging that appeals to young people. It’s all about marketing.

If large quantities of cheap Cava are no longer sustainable, is the solution to drastically reduce production, resulting in higher prices? This idea came to me during a Cava meeting. It’s an interesting idea, but it’s based on accepting the loss of a large number of customers who won’t pay a higher price.

“We have to decide what to sell,” says Cava Mestre sales manager Jaume Vial. “Right now, we’re trying to make everyone happy.”

For Jaume Vial and many others in the cava industry, the path to success is gastronomy.

Italian restaurants are everywhere in the world, so Italians have a big advantage here too. But Spanish cuisine doesn’t need cava. “One of our main goals, and our current challenge, is to show that cava is an outstanding gastronomic drink, with infinite versatility that can be combined with any cuisine,” says Javier Pagés.

With more and more sommeliers and top restaurateurs offering cava reserva and gran reserva in their restaurants, influential wine lovers are likely to discover these more ambitious cavas. They will spread the word of kava and improve its image in the process. At least that’s the idea. And maybe spread Spanish culture as well. Rafael Antoine, a food influencer and Kava ambassador, says, “We haven’t been able to show people our Kava culture. It doesn’t exist among young people.” Well, a reminder to them. It’s time to let it go.

Check out more Cava articles here, including grower recommendations.

—Britt Carlson