Quality /

Designation of Origin.

Although 95% of the production of cava comes from the Penedés district (Barcelona), the wine is also made in various municipal districts in Girona, Tarragona, Lleida, La Rioja, Álava, Navarra Aragón, Valencia and Badajoz.

32,000 ha of vineyard and an annual production of 160 million kg.

Highly varied soils, even in the Penedés area.
Mainly Mediterranean climate.

Sparkling whites and rosés made according to the traditional (or champenoise) method, which consists of the following stages:

·Tirage: addition of sugar and yeast to the bottles with the base wine to bring about a second alcoholic fermentation.

·Ageing: period between the second fermentation and the rousing, in which the resulting wine remains in a horizontal position in the bottle (on top of each other) together with the lees (yeast) and carbon dioxide.

·Rousing: the yeast is brought to the neck of the bottles.

·Disgorging: the yeast sediments are removed by pressure when the bottle is opened.

·Topping up: the bottles are topped up with the same cava (Brut Nature) or with wine and sugar, depending on the sweetness to be given to the cava.

Macabeo (Viura), Xarello and Parellada. Pinot Noir and Trepat for making rosé cavas only.

Chardonnay and Subirat (Malvasía Riojana), and Garnacha and Monastrell for rosés.

According to the sugar level:

~ Sweet: more than 50 g per litre.
~ Medium-dry: between 33 and 50 g per litre.
~ Dry: between 17 and 35 g per litre.
~ Extra-dry: between 12 and 20 g per litre.
~ Brut: up to 15 g per litre.
~ Extra-Brut: up to 6 g per litre.
~ Brut Nature: between 0 and 3 g per litre.

According to the ageing (period from the tirage to the disgorging):

~ Joven: 9 months in the bottle (minimum required by the Wine Regulation Board).
~ Reserva: more than 9 months in the bottle.
~ Gran Reserva: minimum of 30 months in the bottle.
Chardonnay: for cavas made exclusively with this variety.