PENEDÈS, Spain – After attending my first Barcelona Wine Week (BWW), I was extremely grateful to be invited to stay for an extended period of time for an exhaustive cava re-education program courtesy of ICEX (Instituto Español de Comercio Exterior), or Spanish Institute of Foreign Trade.
ICEX is an agency under the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade, which aims to promote Spanish companies and products around the world. In this case, it was a program created specifically to promote Spanish cava.
Cava DO's offices are in Vilafranca del Penedès, just an hour's drive from Saintes-Montjuic, Barcelona where BWW was held.
Cava DO is already Spain's largest wine region export, yet there is a widespread belief that volumes, especially for export, could still be better. Currently, about 64% of Cava production goes to export, while more than 80% of Italy's vast production of Prosecco is exported.
Kava on the global stage
When it comes to sparkling wine, three regional names dominate the global stage: Champagne, Prosecco and Cava. They are the world's largest sparkling wine regions, each with its own identity and tradition.
Italy's Prosecco, from the two neighboring regions of Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia, leads the way by volume, producing an astonishing 667 million bottles in 2025, while France's Champagne is in second place with 266 million bottles, and Cava is in second place with 218 million bottles, despite the challenges of recent drought. Yet size alone doesn't tell the whole story. Champagne, with its historical heritage, will soon expand after adding 40 villages to its appellation as approved in 2008, while Cava has turned over a new leaf with strict classification to reinforce quality and trust. In this dynamic landscape, the competition is not just about the numbers, but also about how each region defines excellence in sparkling wine. And Cava DO is very aware of this.
Few wines capture Spain's celebratory spirit quite like Cava. Made using the traditional method invented in Champagne, Cava is enjoyed globally – it is Spain's number one wine export, far outweighing products from the equally popular Rioja wine region. But in recent years, Cava DO has faced challenges to its reputation. Nine awards in 2017-2018 bodegas broke away to form CORPINAT (it received EU recognition in 2019), a new collective group pushing terroir– Sparkling Wines operated from Penedès, citing concerns that standards for Cava were too broad and weak.
The formation of Corpinat reminds me of Germany's VDP (Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingutre), an association of wineries that has its own classification separate from the official German Wine Institute classification, although in Germany the VDP is not competing against non-VDP members.
Corpinat's departure raised questions: can Cava DO maintain its reputation and consumer trust?
The answer, now that we're in 2026, is a resounding yes. With the full implementation of the new Cava classification system introduced in 2022 (although this was widely discussed in the Cava DO Regulatory Council several years ago), the denomination has redefined itself with strict, transparent and quality-focused standards.
Sherwin A. Lao is the first Filipino wine writer member of both the Bordeaux-based Fédération Internationale des Journalists et Ecrivains du Vin et des Spiritux (FIJEV) and the UK-based Circle of Wine Writers (CWW). For comments, inquiries, wine event coverage, wine consultation and other wine-related concerns, e-mail the author wineprotege@gmail.comOr check out his wine training website https://thewinetrainingcamp.wordpress.com/services/. Also check out his YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/@winecrazy.
'Premiumized' classification
The classification defined a clear two-tier quality structure: Cava di Garda and Cava di Garda Superior. Garda is a non-classical version that has a minimum bottle age of nine months, while Garda Superior is the premium version, vintage-specific and has strict guidelines that include the wine having to be 100% organic, coming from vineyards 10 years or older and having a maximum yield of 10,000 kilograms per hectare.
There are three further quality levels within Cava de Garda Superior, depending on their bottling age, as in other Spanish wine regions.
So, the kava classifications (and their descriptions) are:
cava de garda (nine months old) – fresh, young, and fruit-inspired
cava de garda superior – no crianza level
•Reserve (aged 18 months) – greater depth and aromatic complexity
•Gran Reserva (aged 30 months) – intense personality, layered aromas
•Paraje Calificado (aged 36 months) – Roughly translated as “qualified estate or place”, hence exceptional wines from single, prestigious terroirs with strict yield limits and manual harvesting.
This two-tier quality structure was designed to “premiumize” kava, moving from a focus on high volume to longevity and high quality. This hierarchy is not just aesthetics, it guarantees origin, aging and production integrity, reinforced by individual quality stamps at each level, and traceability from vineyard to market. By codifying these standards, Cava DO now provides clarity and assurance to consumers around the world.
indigenous species
While Cava DO has allowed for more variety to be created in Cava over the years, including Champagne staples Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, I'm glad that the original Cava trio of Macabéu (spelled with U not O in this region), Xarello, and Parellada still account for 82% of all Cava blends. For me it's the difference between Cava and Champagne or other sparkling wines.
During our visit to eight amazing Cava DO houses, the consensus was that the most beloved variety has always been Xerello, and it is no coincidence that Xerello is also the variety with the oldest vineyards in the Penedès region. This variety is appreciated for producing wines with a good acid backbone, excellent aromas that include green apple, white flowers, almond and ginger, and even a good sherry-like complex nose when the Cava is aged for a long time in lees.
Some of the best cavas I enjoyed on this trip were made mostly from blends of Xarello.
During this visit I also learned that one of the best cavas I had previously, Crypta, with its unique amphora-shaped bottle, had just last year joined Corpunit, and the winery, Agustí Torello Mata, rebranded as Cellar Crypta, and is no longer a Cava DO.
a bright future ahead
Kava's journey was not without ups and downs. The separation of Corpinat highlighted the tension between quantity and quality, but it also inspired Cava DO to evolve and address some concerns. Now, with its fully implemented classification system, Cava DO shows that it is committed to excellence, authenticity and consumer trust.
For wine lovers, this means that every bottle of Cava makes a promise: whether a young easy-drinking Garda or a well-crafted Garda Superior Parze Calificado, this is a sparkling wine with a new dedication to integrity, tradition and quality. In turning this new leaf, Cava has reclaimed its place not only as Spain's most famous sparkler, but as one of the world's most dependable and exciting sparkling wines.
The adage much promoted throughout Barcelona Wine Week is that “Spain produces the best quality to price ratio wines,” and this statement could not be truer in the case of Cava. Salud!
Sherwin A. Lao is the first Filipino wine writer member of both the Bordeaux-based Fédération Internationale des Journalists et Ecrivains du Vin et des Spiritux (FIJEV) and the UK-based Circle of Wine Writers (CWW). For comments, inquiries, wine event coverage, wine consultation and other wine-related concerns, e-mail the author wineprotege@gmail.comOr check out his wine training website https://thewinetrainingcamp.wordpress.com/services/. Also check out his YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/@winecrazy.