Author: winepleasures

The world’s largest and most relevant sparkling wine competition for bubblies made under established rules by Spain’s Cava Regulating Board, the 50 Great Cavas 2021 competition by Wine Pleausres is delighted to announce that a total of 3 Gold & 47 Silver medals have been awarded in this year’s competition to 18 different Cava producers.

Understandably, Spain’s Catalonia region with just over 95% of the total Cava production, gained the largest haul of medals with 37 medals, with 13 medals coming in from Calatayud, Extremadura, and Utiel- Requena (Valencia),

The judges all commented that this has been a strange year with only 3 Gold medals being awarded when in 2020 a total of 14 Gold medals were awarded.

Anthony Swift, Founder and Competition Director, declared “I hope that readers of the results gain more insight into the nature of Cava – it’s clear to me that whilst there are, of course, excellent young Cavas, it’s often best to look to the Premium Cava category, those which are termed Reserva and Gran Reserva. Mostly, these Cavas, which have had extra aging on their lees, continue to satisfy consumers’ refreshing, celebratory requirement whilst also adding extra dimensions of depth of flavour, complexity and character”

The results of the 2021 edition of annual competition 50 Great Cavas can be viewed at https://www.winepleasures.com/50-great-cavas-2021 and contains all the Gold and Silver medal winners with photos for each. 50 Great Cavas 2021 is a useful resource consulted by both the on and off trade and the end wine consumer/wine traveller.

50 Great Cavas is an annual competition organised by Wine Pleasures

Whilst nothing compares to face-to-face interaction, virtual and hybrid meetings and events are proving to be an effective way to reach a broad audience, maximise investment and allow both wine producers and wine importers to stay connected to their markets.

Welcome to a new era!

Covid-19 has given birth to the digitalisation of the wine import – export industry. One of the few upsides to have emerged from the crisis lies in the role that technology is increasingly playing in the way we work and interact.

Some businesses may find that they are struggling to figure out how one can import – export without attending a trade fair or B2B Workshop. Help is at hand. 

Now wine importers can source everything they needed for their markets all in one place and in the space of only three days from the safety of their own home and/or office. Wine producers too benefit by making huge savings on costly trade fairs, travel and accommodation by meeting active wine importers looking to source new wines from around Europe.

Wine Events Worldwide under the well known brand name Wine Pleasures has adapted their annual B2B in person Workshop events to online allowing wine producers to connect with wine importers globally and for wine importers to source new wines from Old World countries

The programme is designed to make sure that wine importers can not only discover new and exciting Old World wines, but also get in front of the producers who provide them. With a bespoke matchmaking system, wine producers will be able to meet with the wine importers, distributors, and retailers that interest them and learn more about what they’re looking for.

Participating in the Wine Pleasures B2B Workshop Global may be the best “business trip” both wine importers and wine producers can go on in 2020!

Producer information and registration here>>

Buyer Information and registration here>>

We’re excited to share that Giampiero Nadali and Liz Palmer will be appearing as keynote speakers at Sparkling WINE Week by Wine Pleasures.

Giampiero, co-creator of Fermenti Digitali (“Digital Yeasts”), will deliver an inspirational session on The Sparkling Wines of Italy from north to south, exploring specific terroirs and production methods.

Liz is a well-respected award-winning author and wine journalist since 2004 and has an international reputation as a critic and judge. Liz has had the pleasure of interviewing and tasting with some of the industry’s leading winemakers, professors and personalities. At Sparkling WINE week she will be presenting Champagne popping out of Covid-19

Also in the 2 day programme will be a talk titled Adventures in Fizz with host Anthony Swift. Champagne, Cava, Franciacorta and Prosecco may dominate the sparkling wine world, but there many other exciting top tier options to consider for import. Anthony will be reviewing the gold medal winners in the annual sparkling wine competition 50 Great Sparkling Wines of the World.

Also in the programme and looking to connect with international wine importers are several live interviews with bubble producers from diverse regions such as Champagne, Piemonte, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Penedès and Mendoza.

To view the event programme and register for free here>>

On the 1 & 2 July 2020 Wine Pleasures is launching Sparkling WINE Week – an online trade fair aimed at helping sparkling wine producers to pitch to wine importers from around the world when travel is virtually impossible. Event host Anthony Swift explains how it is going to work.

Tell us about Sparkling WINE Week.

As we organise not only B2B Workshops in Spain, Italy and the UK but also we organise two annual Sparkling Wiine competitons – 50 Great Cavas and 50 Great Sparkling Wines of the World,  it made sense in these challenging times to look at how to keep wine producers and wine buyers connected and doing business while simultaneously providing useful content to help the wine importer with their businesses. Having just completed Spanish WINE Week and Italian WINE Week in May organising the Sparkling WINE week was an obvious next step.

Delivered in English, the Sparkling WINE Week 2 day programme offers cutting edge professional education opportunities for the wine buying professionals at all levels. Attendees can take advantage of influential, expert led sessions and enhance their knowledge, grow their business and in their profession and be inspired! The programme also contains live interviews with boutique sparkling wine producers to enable wine buyers to make great sparkling discoveries from diverse terroirs in countries such as Argentina, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the UK.

That seems like a good blend of  tools to help both producers and buyers in what is a difficult time. How did Spanish WINE Week and Italain WINE Week go?

Went great!  We had Masters of Wine Fernado Mora and Sarah Jane Evans as keynote speakers for Spain and Richard Baudains and Giampiero Nadalli for Italy and we had an excellent range of boutique wine producers from around Spain and Italy. The event was well attended by wine importers and distributors from Japan to the USA and from Scandinavian countries to Australia. Over a 100 buyer appointment requests were received.

So how will Sparkling WINE Week work? 

Much the same as Spanish and Italian WINE Week but with a greater attendance of wine importers – we are expecting around 500 buyers to sign up for the event.

5 live daily sessions will be run with a program that includes  talks delivered by expert speakers, interviews with producers, and some videos of different regions from around the world.  We’re also providing a tool to set up private meetings between producers and buyers to create new business opportunities.

Sparkling Wine producers interested in participating in the programme can view more info here: https://www.winepleasures.com/workshop/sparkling-wine-week/

What happens if a buyer signs up but misses a live session?

No problem. If an attendee misses any or all of the live sessions he or she will be able to view a replay whenever convenient. 

How do buyers get involved if they want to participate?

The event is free for wine buyers, distributors, retailers, agents, journalists and bloggers. Buyers wishing to participate in the event should register here: https://www.winepleasures.com/workshop/sparkling-wine-week-2020/

If you would like to find out any more about Sparkling WINE Week then contact Anthony Swift on info@winepleasures.com or T. +34 93 897 70 48
W. www.winepleasures.com

The Cava Regulatory Board is the governing body that established the rules for growing the grapes used to produce Cava and the production of Cava. This regulatory board is under the Ministry of the Environment, Rural and Marine Affairs. In previous centuries, sparkling wine in Spain was referred to as Champagne. In the late 1950’s regulations for sparkling wine were established and the term “Cava” was used to designate a sparkling wine made in the traditional method.

The Cava Regulatory Board has several functions. The board’s first task is to guide, supervise and monitor Cava production and quality. Further, the board is charged with safeguarding the prestige of the term “Cava” and prosecuting improper use of that term. From a marketing point of view, the board promotes Cava and expands its market.

Regulations for Growers

Growers have to follow rules in the vineyards. The Regulatory Board makes sure that grapes used for Cava production only come from vineyard plots that are entitled to grow grapes for Cava production. There are 159 municipalities in several provinces that can grow grapes used to make Cava. These provinces include:

            Barcelona (63 municipalities), Tarragona (52 municipalities)

            Lleida (12 municipalities), Girona (5 municipalities)

            La Rioja (18 municipalities), Alava (3 municipalities)

            Zaragoza (2 municipalities), Navarra (2 municipalities)

            Valencia (1 municipality) , Badajoz (1 municipality)

Growers need to register with the Cava Regulatory Board. They must report the grape varieties they are growing and the size of the vineyard. They are required to report harvest yields when grapes are harvested and again at a winery at time of delivery. Current yields are capped at 12,000 kilograms per hectare. Growers are not permitted to harvest more than this number. There are exceptions though. To take in account the weather in a particular year, the number can be raised or lowered by 25%. This is infrequent though and has occurred only a few times in the last two decades.

The quality and quantity of grapes are also controlled, as is the destination of the grapes. Cava production takes place in different regions of Spain; however, 97,54% of the production is in and around the Capital of Cava, Sant Sadurní d’Anoia. The Cava Regulatory Board governs where Cava grapes can be planted and where Cava is produced.

According to the Cava Regulatory Board, only certain grape varieties are allowed for Cava production. See chapter previous chapter on “Cava Grape Varieties”

Regulations for Producers

Cava producers must report to the Cava Regulatory Board how many kilos of grapes they are receiving from growers. They should not accept grapes from a grower that has exceeded the limit. If so, the producer may not call his product Cava. Inspectors from the board test grapes for acid, brix or sugar content and overall condition.

In addition to registering with the Cava Regulatory Board, Cava producers must follow specific winemaking protocols. For example, only 66% of the juice from the first press may be used in Cava production. This includes the free run juice and juice obtained from gently pressing the grapes. The additional juice from the pressing may be used for table wine production or sold to other industries such as the spirits industry, rubbing alcohol industry or vinegar industry. Although additionally pressed juice may be used for a table wine, it cannot be used for a wine that has a DO designation. If a producer only takes juice from the first 50% of the first press, the producer is not permitted to press to 66% to make another DO wine. Only one DO wine can be made from a pressing of each grape.

Once the wine is made there are a number of regulations that producers must meet prior to the start of the secondary fermentation. These include:

• An alcohol level between 9.5% and 11.5%
  • Overall acidity greater than 5.0 grams per liter
  • Real volatile acidity less than 0.6 grams per liter
  • Overall sulphur dioxide greater than 140 milligrams per liter
  • pH between 2.8 and 3.3

The Board inspects a producer’s base wines and analyzes it in order to ensure quality and the above data. If for example, a producer makes a base wine that is 13% alcohol, the regulatory board will refuse the wine and it cannot be used to make Cava. Likewise if the acid is off, the board will also refuse to allow the wine to be made into Cava, although the producer has a second chance to correct the acid levels bringing them into acceptable ranges.

Producers blend the base wines and add a mixture of sugar, yeast and wine to the coupage in each bottle. This sugar and yeast ferment to produce the carbon dioxide gas. Since the gas cannot escape the bottle during this secondary fermentation, it diffuses into the wine causing the bubbles when the bottle is opened. Pressure levels in the Cava bottle are over 3.5 bars and for half bottles, 3.0 bars. The final alcohol level of the Cava will increase to between 10.8% and 12.8%.

Another control point is the cap placed on the cava bottles prior to the secondary fermentation. These caps must be date stamped to ensure that minimum monthly aging is followed.

Regulations Help Consumers

The regulatory board has to approve labels, which in turn helps consumers purchase the type of Cava they want to purchase. Particular words on a label provide consumers with information about what is in the bottle. All these rules enable Cava to be the only sparkling wine in the world to have the name “Cava” on the label.

Consumers should take a moment to read the label on a bottle of Cava they plan to purchase. There is a great deal of information about the Cava in the bottle. Consumers can learn about the minimum amount of time the Cava was aged before disgorgement and the sweetness level ranging from no sweetness to sweet. Key terms identify these concepts.

Consumers learn that some Cavas are aged, during secondary fermentation, for a shorter time than others. Rules govern the minimum amount of time for aging. A Cava with simply the label “Cava” was aged for a minimum of nine months. This aging refers to the amount of time during secondary fermentation and aging on the lees before the wine is disgorged. A “Reserva Cava” has been aged a minimum of 15 months. A “Gran Reserva” has seen a minimum of 30 months. The designation of a Gran Reserva may only appear on a dry cava such as Brut Nature, Extra Brut or Brut. If Gran Reserva is on the label, the label must also list the year of the harvest. Cava is the only sparkling wine in the world which holds the Gran Reserva category.

Type of Cava	Minimum Aging
Cava	9 months
Cava Reserva	15 months
Cava Gran Reserva	30 months
Cava de Paraje Calificado	36 months

The words Cava, Reserva and Gran Reserva tell consumers the minimum time the Cava was aged.Other phrases on the bottle label indicate the range of sugar or sweetness in the Cava. The driest of all Cavas is a Brut Nature that has between 0-3 grams of residual sugar per liter. Almost as dry is the Extra Brut with between 0-6 grams of residual sugar per liter. Brut refers to a Cava that has between 1-12 grams of residual sugar per liter. Extra dry has a range of 12 to 17 grams of residual sugar per liter. Of these four classifications, some consumers find it difficult to pick out any sweetness in the taste. A Dry Cava has between 17 and 32 grams of residual sugar per liter. Some people may notice a hint of sweetness. Most wine tasters can recognize the sweetness in a semi-dry and sweet Cavas. A Semi-Dry Cava has a range of 32 to 50 grams of residual sugar per liter while a sweet Cava has over 50 grams of residual sugar per liter. Sparkling wines made during the nineteenth and most of the twentieth centuries were sweet. The very dry sparkling wines are a more recent trend of sparkling wine enthusiasts who enjoy Cava with food. Note that these regulations are the regulations by the European Union for all sweetness levels of sparkling wines.

Cava Sugar Content

Name	Grams of sugar per liter
Brut Nature	0 – 3
Extra Brut	0 – 6
Brut	0 -12
Extra Dry	12 – 17
Dry	17 – 32
Medium Dry	32 – 50
Sweet	Over 50

Other information on a Cava label includes the brand or bodega where the Cava was made and data such as harvest year, alcohol content and whether the Cava is a rosé. The capacity of the bottle is also stated. The back label also contains useful information for the consumer and contains a legal notice such as “contains sulphites.” Look for information about the grape varieties in the blend. Some bodegas also list the percentage of the grape varieties in the blend such as Xarel.lo 60%, Macabeo 20% and Parellada 20%.

Other information on the back label may include disgorging date, tasting notes and serving temperature. The disgorgement date is important for consumers; however, this is relatively a new consumer demand and the sparkling wine industry is slow to respond. Generally, after a Cava is disgorged, it is corked, labelled and sold. The disgorgement date gives consumers an idea of how long the bottle was in the distribution channel including on a wine shop’s shelf.

Some consumers may notice a four-pointed star on the bottom of the cork. The star is an indication that the Cava was made using the traditional method. The star on the cork is not compulsory and does not necessarily mean quality.

Promoting Cava

One of the regulatory board’s missions is to promote Cava. There are a number of activities and events that the Cava Regulatory Board undertakes to promote Cava both on a national and on an international level. The majority are aimed at traditional and online media, sommeliers, restaurants and boutique wine shops. Activities include Press Trips, Cava and food matching events, Master Classes and gastronomy events. Another strategy underway is to appeal to the young (25 + year old) market by creating Cava cocktails for evening enjoyment.

The Future

The Cava Regulatory Board is not a static organization. New rules are considered. In 2014 a new category of Cava was suggested – “Cava de Paraje Calificado” (Single State Cava) – and has since been approved.

Under this new category the DO Cava aims to group only those Cavas which are produced in specific settings “small area especially licensed as extraordinary and unique due to its climate and soil characteristics”

Cavas produced from wines in such estates and comply with the quality requirements in both the production and making process will be able to use the term Cava de Paraje. Such Cavas will be branded as “having renowned excellence, be of remarkable standing and be successful in the market”. The regulations governing the production of this new Cava are very strict in terms of number of hectares, time on the lees and so on.

The Cava industry may well seem heavily regulated with rules applying to the vineyard, to the winery and bottle labeling. Ultimately, these rules help the consumer. When a Cava is purchased, the buyer has information about the Cava before the cork is popped.

Wine Pleasures organises the only annual wine competition exclusively for Cava – 50 Great Cavas. Discover the top Cavas for this year here>>

We are thrilled to announce that Master of Wine Sarah Jane Evans will be joining us as our keynote speaker for Spanish Wine Day 9 June 2020!

Sarah Jane Evans is an award-winning writer, international keynote speaker, wine judge and Co-Chairman of the world’s largest wine competition, the Decanter World Wine Award.

Spanish Wine Day is a business, educational and networking online for the trade. Sarah Jane will uncork the event with a talk titled: New Wave Spanish whites where she will uncover the treasure trove of Spain’s white varieties. This will be followed by Live interviews with producers from diverse terroirs such as Priorat, Ribera del Duero, Rias Baixas, Rioja and the Penedès just to name a few. Sarah Jane closes the one day event with a seminar titled: Mencía and the Fresh Red Wines of the North-West where she will introduce the new-wave fresh reds of North-west Spain.

Registration for the trade is free and wine trade professional can register at Spanish WINE Day>>

As a global community, we are going through a time of unprecedented change and disruption. Together, we will get through it! For many of us in the wine industry, we’re having to adapt not only to a new routine of working from home but also having to deal with the uncertainty of the future. Our next Wine Pleasures event is looking to help wine importers connect with boutique wine producers when travel is virtually impossible.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve discovered that virtual events aren’t a “nice-to-have” anymore, they’re a must-have.

Respected wine event organsier Wine Events Worldwide under their brand Wine Pleauares is, on the 26 – 28 May going to lauch the first edition of Italian WINE Week – an online trade fair to give wine producers the chance to pitch their wineries and wines to wine buyers from around the globe. Event host Anthony Swift explaiins how it is going to work.

Tell us about Italian WINE Week.

As we organise B2B Workshops in Spain, Italy and the UK it made sense in these challenging times to look at how to keep wine producers and wine buyers connected and doing business while simultaneously providing educational content to help the wine importer with their businesses. Having just completed Spanish WINE Week, organising the Italian WINE week was a obvious next step.

Delivered in English, the Italain WINE Week 3 day education programme offers cutting edge professional education opportunities for the wine buying professionals at all levels. Attendees can take advantage of influential, expert led sessions and enhance their knowledge, grow their business and in their profession and be inspired in these challenging times! It also contains Live interviews with boutique wine producers to enable wine buyers to discover the surprising terroirs & Wines of Italy. Each producer will have a profile page where buyers can request a B2B online meeting.

That seems like a good blend of  tools to help both producers and buyers in what is a difficult time. How did Spanish WINE Week go?

Apart from a few techincal hitches it went very well. We had Master of Wine Fernado Mora as one of the keynote speakers and we had a good range of boutique wine producers from around Spain. The event was attended by wine importers and distributors from Japan to the USA and from Scandinavian countries to Australia.

So how will Italian WINE Week work? 

Much the same as Spansih WINE Week but with a greater attendance of wine importers – we are expecting betweeen 500 and 1000 buyers to sign up for the event on 26 – 28 May 2020.

5 live daily session will be run with a program that includes  talks delivered by expert speakers, interviews with producers, and some videos of different regions of Italy.  We’re also providing a tool to set up private meetings between producers and buyers to create new business opportunities.

Wine producers interested in participating in the programme should register here:  https://www.winepleasures.com/workshop/italian-wine-week/

What happens if a buyer signs up but misses a live session?

No problem. If an attendee misses any or all of the live sessions he or she will be able to view a replay whenever convenient. 

How do buyers get involved if they want to participate?

The event is free for wine buyers, distributors, retailers, agents, journalists and bloggers. Wine importers can sign up for free here: https://www.winepleasures.com/workshop/buyers/

If you would like to find out any more about Italian WINE Week then contact Caterina Longhi on caterina@winepleasures.com or T. +39 347 6785162

We are delighted to announce our first keynote speaker for the first edition of Italian WINE Week, Richard Baudains who will be joining us on Day 1 of Italian WINE Week (26 May 2020) at 13.00 delivering a talk titled The Surprising Terroirs & Wines of Italy.

Italian wines taste different. Italian grape varieties give flavours that you don’t find anywhere else. The vineyards are planted on rock, on limestone, on volcanic ash, on clay, on sand, or on mixtures of all these. To fashion these raw materials into modern, exciting wines, there is a generation of young winemaker who have travelled the world and learned all there is to know about winemaking. The results are incredibly varied in style, from delicate, low-alcohol whites to the richest imaginable reds, from gentle rosés to the great sparkling wines. It will be an introduction to open your eyes to a new world of very different wines

About Richard

Richard Baudains was born and bred in Jersey in the Channel Islands and trained to be a teacher of English as a foreign language. After several years in various foreign climes, Baudains settled down in beautiful Friuli-Venezia Giulia, having had the good fortune to reside previously in the winemaking regions of Piemonte, Tuscany, Liguria and Trentino-Alto Adige. Baudains is a regular contributor on Italian wines for the Decanter magazine. His day job as director of a language school conveniently leaves time for a range of wine-related activities including writing for the Slow wine guide, leading tastings and lecturing in wine journalism at L’Università degli Studi di Scienze Gastronomiche and for the web-based Wine Scholars’ Guild.

Looking ahead to October Richard will be taking part in the upcoming International Wine Tourism Conference (IWINETC) leading a wine tasting titled Vines and Wines of Friuli-Venezia Giulia on the 27th October 2020.

More info at www.winepleasures.com

We are delighted to announce our second keynote speaker for the first edition of Spanish WINE Week, Clara Antúnez, who will be joining us on Day 1 of Spanish WINE Week at 14.00 delivering a talk titled The Surprising Terroirs & Wines of Spain  

View the complete Spanish WINE Week programme here

Spanish wines taste different. Spanish grape varieties give flavours that you don’t find anywhere else. The vineyards are planted on rock, on limestone, on volcanic ash, on clay, on sand, or on mixtures of all these. To fashion these raw materials into modern, exciting wines, there is a generation of young winemaker who have travelled the world and learned all there is to know about winemaking. The results are incredibly varied in style, from delicate, low-alcohol whites to the richest imaginable reds, from gentle rosés to the great sparkling wines. It will be an introduction to open your eyes to a new world of very different wines.

About Clara

With a long career and wide recognition as a sommelier, she has been in the industry for over 12 years.

She possesses an education and an integrated vision where nutrition, cuisine and wines complement each other in order to provide added value and differentiation to her great passion.

Besides having written many articles, she has published 1 book about nutrition and 3 books about wines.

She is an expert in training and she knows the territory both in food products and in wines.Nowadays is running her own company called La Gastronòmica, she is responsible for the design and creativity of the services and the operations management

REGISTER SPANISH WINE WEEK FOR FREE HERE

We are thrilled to announce our first keynote speaker for the first edition of Spanish WINE Week, Fernando Mora, Master of Wine, who will be joining us on Day 1 at 18.30 delivering a talk titled Why Spain’s Garnacha is on everyone’s lips and Day 2 at 14.00 Old Vines, Better Wines? of Spanish WINE Week.

View the complete Spanish WINE Week programme here

Fernando Mora studied BSc Mantenance and Production Management, 1st in the year and worked in the industrial sector for 10 years, he complemented his studies with an MBA. In 2009 became in love with wine and started producing wine in Valdejalón region, north east Spain, founding Bodegas Frontonio. He gained DipWSET title, Viticulture Expert by La Rioja University, and in 2017 he obtained the prestigious Master of Wine, first attempt. Today, his life is all about making wines from his old dry faring vineyards, he conducts semminars for profesionals and consults sporadically with other wineries.

REGISTER FOR FREE HERE