DO Cava Approves 3-Tiered Zoning and Quality Segmentation for the DO

The DO Cava Regulatory Council has announced some big news: it unanimously approved new 3-tiered zoning and quality-based segmentation of the DO. According to the President of the Regulatory Council, as a result of these new measures “Cava is at the forefront of the designations of origin for top quality sparkling wines made under the strict traditional method.”

Based on the new system, cavas that are over 9 months old will now be called Cava de Guarda, while those over 18 months will be called Cava de Guarda Superior. The latter includes Reserva, Gran Reserva and Paraje Calificado cavas.
The new system aims to go beyond identifying the provenance and seeks to highlight other aspects such as vineyard registrations and ageing times, and guarantee traceability. Additionally, organic cavas will be heavily promoted and bottles will bear new stamps and additional information on the label.

The system also aims to recognize wineries that produce wines entirely on-site. Their wines will include information on the labels that recognize their production models and “underscore the relationship between the vine, the winemaking and the final product on the one hand, and the terroir on the other.”

The members of the Council are extremely pleased with the new system, which will “allow [them] to attain even higher levels of quality and prestige, together with a territorial classification system that had become one of the main aspirations of the sector.”