page_title: Catalan wine
section_title: Cava
hierarchical_section_title: Catalan wine / Grapes and wine / Cava
caption_attribution_description: Polski: Piwnice producenta szampana w Reims
context_page_description: Catalan wines are those that are produced in the wine region of Catalonia. Occasionally, the appellation is applied to some French wine made in the Catalan region of Roussillon also known as Northern Catalonia or the Pays catalans. The city of Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia and despite not being in a wine region it is the focal point of the Catalan wine industry: a primary consumer market, its port provides export functions and a source of financial resources and investment.
  The area has a long winemaking tradition and was the birthplace of the sparkling wine Cava, invented in the early 1870s in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia by Josep Raventos of Codorníu Winery. At the turn of the 20th century, the Catalan wine industry was at the forefront of Spain's emergence as a world leader in quality wine production, being the first Spanish wine region to adopt the use of stainless steel fermentation tanks. The area is also an important cork production region, with output aimed primarily at the region's Cava houses. Today Catalonia is the second largest producer of wine in Spain, producing over 5.5 million hectolitres.
context_section_description: A Spanish sparkling wine was first made as early as 1851, although the roots of the Cava wine industry can be traced back to Josep Raventos' travels through Europe in the 1860s, where he was promoting the still wines of his Codorníu winery. His visits to the Champagne region sparked an interest in the potential of a Spanish version, using the same sparkling wine production methods.
  The local Macabeu, Parellada and Xarel·lo have since become established as the most popular grapes for producing cava. Early versions were called Catalan champán or xampany after Champagne but this practice ended when the EU awarded Champagne Protected Geographical Status. Catalan main sparkling wine producers agreed and adopted the name Cava after the Catalan word for cellar, where the wines were traditionally stored.
  According to Spanish wine laws, Cava can be produced in six wine regions (such as Aranda de Duero, Navarra and Rioja) but 95% of Spanish Cava production takes place in the Penedès region. In order for the wines to be called 'Cava', they must be made in the traditional méthode champenoise. Wines made via the low-cost Charmat process may only be called 'Spanish sparkling wine'. A rosé style of Cava is also produced in small quantities by adding still red wines from Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha or Monastrell to the wine. The first Cava to use the Chardonnay grape was produced in 1981. Catalan Cava producers pioneered a significant technological development in sparkling wine production with the invention of the gyropallet, a large mechanized device that replaced hand riddling, in which the lees are consolidated in the neck of the bottle prior to disgorgement and corking.
caption: Cava aging.
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