Cava: The perfect match with food

Before heading to Spain to visit the vineyards of Sant Sadurní d'Anoia in Catalonia, I didn't know all that much about cava. To me, it was the celebratory drink that's cheaper than champagne, but still fizzes and comes in a pretty bottle. It's enough of a treat, but it's not a massive extravagance. Certainly not one I would ever have spent much more than £5 on and not one I would ever have associated with food.

That such an opinion appears to be widespread is cava's big problem. But it couldn't be further from the truth. Over in Spain, complex, long-aged, carefully crafted, high-quality cava is being produced. But it remains a bit of a mystery to us Brits.

In the sun-soaked valleys of the Alt Penedès region, the complexity and quality that can be achieved in a cava is being pushed by producers. Some are creating wines that have aged for more than 20 years, while others are using new environmentally friendly production methods, low-yielding vines that are more than 70 years old, or are harvesting by hand. Whatever their production methods or style of wine, they all agree on one thing. That cava is the perfect accompaniment to food.

In the deep, dusty cellar of Cavas Recaredo I tried a cava as old as I am, from 1984. It tasted great. At the vineyard of Raventós i Blanc, they pick grapes from 50-year-old vines by hand. Their Elizabet Raventos 2001 Cava is just about the most beautiful sparkling wine I have ever tasted. The range of cava being produced and indeed the prices they can command are vast.

Breaking Britain​

However, many Spanish producers are struggling to 'break' the UK market, with a number unable to find an importer to put their wines in front of UK consumers.

"I make a few very important bottles. But in the UK no-one cares about the aging or our methods," says Xavier Gramona, owner of Cavas Gramona. "No-one knows which ones to drink with lunch or in the evening with friends.

"The wine market in London is mad. They have all the wines possible. Champagne has led the culture. People don't know about our history."

Changing perceptions​

So where do pubs come into all of this? According to the Institut del Cava, the association of Cava producers, pubs are the frontline when it comes to changing people's perception of the drink. They have been running a campaign for the past three years in which 20 London food-led pubs are given four or five different cavas to sell on a buy one, get one free promotion by the glass. Staff also receive product knowledge training.

Institut director Maria Del Mar Torres says: "One of the Cava Institute's objectives for this three-year EU and government-backed campaign was to shift cava consumption from a celebration only to a food accompaniment alternative to the other wines and quality sparkling wines available.

"So far, gastropubs have offered high-quality sparkling wines, but very few have offered cava. The Institut del Cava aimed for them because of their gastronomic angle and their accessibility to all kind of consumers who appreciate good food and a nice tipple to match. The general feedback has been very positive, with some of the gastropubs now featuring cava on their wine lists."

Has it worked? Will cava become a must-have product for pubs? Camille Hobby-Limon, licensee of the Charles Lamb in Islington, North London, says cava has been a good seller while the two-for-one deal has been running, but that changing people's perceptions of the drink is hard work. The pub matches the cava with different dishes on its menu boards.

"It is difficult to convince people who come in for a meal that cava is the way forward," she says.

"People come in for beer and wine. I think the message that it's a good match for food needs to be pitched at the higher end of the market and will then trickle down to customers like ours, and cava will get the reputation it deserves. It is about educating consumers and getting that awareness."

However, one of the cavas Hobby-Limon tried, the Maria Casanovas Brut Nature Grande Reserva, went down so well that the Charles Lamb will soon be stocking it permanently.

There is certainly work to be done in pushing cava products as a perfect match for food, but the consensus is that it deserves to be recognised as more than a celebratory drink.