Bottle for the elaboration of cava

The first step of the elaboration of cava consists on filling up the bottle with wine, leavens and sugars, and put a stopper on to shut it hermetically. This first step is known by the name of tipping. This bottle is the one that arrives at the hands of the target consumer and must have the necessary resistance to stand the 6 atm. of pressure there will be inside when the process has ended. The wine which serves as a base to elaborate the cava is the product of the mixture of wines coming from several grape varieties. The most used varieties in Catalonia are: Macabeu, Xarel•lo and Parellada. In some cases, the variety known as Chardonnay is used. Each producer elaborates the mixture according to the proportion they consider most adequate to obtain the desired cava. This combination of wines is known by the name of coupage.

Bottles on racks

What comes next is to bring the bottles down to the cavas, where they will rest horizontally on a rime, and the second fermentation starts which is produced inside the bottle itself. This fermentation is caused by the action of the leavens on sugar: it turns itself into alcohol and carbon dioxide, which forms the bubbles and the subsequent foam. This way, the pressure inside the bottle rises until reaching the 5 or 6 atm. The minimum time of aging is nine months, time required by the norm of the Consell Regulador del Cava, but some usually remain more time so as to strengthen as much as possible the qualities of the product. There are even cavas the aging of which lasts several years; it is the case of the Grand Reserve.

This resting time is known by the name of aging. When it ends, the bottles are placed up-side-down on an inclined support full of wholes which is colled rack. This operation is done intending to have the sediments from the leavens go down and settle side-to-side with the stopper. During some time, the bottles will be shaken manually, without abandoning the inclined position, so as to help this settlement process.

Degorge

After the shaking on the racks, the process called degorge is carried out. This important operation consists on uncovering the bottle so as to eliminate the sediments settled on the bottleneck. Finally, a little amount of expedition liqueur can be added, always depending on the kind of cava that is being produced. This is a sweet wine which is added to give it the desired hint of sweetness. To compensate the little amount of liquid lost during the degorge, a little bit of cava must be added of that same kind that is being produced. Depending on the final amount of sugar, the cava will be rated from the least sweet to the sweetest as follows: Brut Nature, Extra Brut, Brut, Dry, Medium-dry and Sweet.