'Why isn't the best kava called kava anymore?'

Spanish sparkling wine Cava is the country's answer to Champagne. Unfortunately, in most markets around the world, Cava is becoming a race to the cheap. It is most often compared to cheap Prosecco rather than expensive Champagne, and even in Spain, Cava is considered a cheap wine, with 90% of it selling for less than €10. To say that there is a lot of average quality amongst Cava would be an understatement.

The problem is that Cava, as it is currently defined, has no true geographical designation. Although it is protected as a Denominación de Origen (D.O.), Cava can be produced in more than 20 different regions of Spain, provided they are made in the traditional fermentation method. Two huge wineries''enterprises, which account for more than 75 percent of the country's total production, are virtually c��ncontrolled by D.O. Cava.

In recent years, smaller handmade producers in Penedès, the region of Catalonia south of Barcelona that is the spiritual home of Cava, have finally lost patience with the situation. "We thought something had to be done," says Ton Mata, Recaredo's executive director. "People around the world thought Cava was just a huge cheap wine. But we can compete with any sparkling wine in the world.

"Sparkling wine in this region has always had to be fruity and fun," says Ana Lopez Lydon, Gramona's export manager. "But we know it can be a serious wine." In 2019, after several years of life under control''Big Cava, producers like Recaredo, Gramona and others were tired. Nine wineries from Penedes cut ties and left D.O. to bottle their wines under the Corpinnat brand (roughly means "heart of Penedes" in Latin).

"We all quit at the same time," Lydon says. - "Drama with Cava!"

Now Corpinnat has 11 members. It's not an official D.O. yet, but rather a trade group, as Big Kava has the ability to block the official designation. You should look for the word "Corpinnat" on the label, not "Kava". But the name Corpinnat carries weight, pot