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Cava
Like Champagne, cava undergoes a second fermentation in the bottle. The difference is that it comes from Spain and costs a lot less. Here you’ll learn what’s in the bottle, what reserva and gran reserva mean, and which glass shows off the bubbles best.
Wine by type
Cava belongs with the other sparkling wines and with Spanish wines. Below are the bottles it’s most often compared with, each with its own page.
Champagne
It also undergoes a second fermentation in the bottle, but comes from France, is made from three different grapes, and has sharper, fresher acidity.
About Champagne →Prosecco
The bubbly from Italy, made from one grape, Glera. The second fermentation takes place in a tank, which makes it lighter and fruitier.
About Prosecco →
Crémant
The name for French sparkling wine made outside the Champagne region, which is why it cannot be called Champagne.
About Crémant →
Rioja
The Spanish region that Faustino, among others, comes from. Best known for still red wine.
About Rioja →Made like Champagne, with a Spanish flavor
Cava is sparkling wine from Spain. It is made in the same way as champagne, which is why people sometimes call it Spanish champagne. Most of it comes from the Penedès province in Catalonia. However, cava is not tied to one region; it is also made in Girona and Rioja. Usually, it is made with three Catalan grapes, each of which brings something different. Parellada makes it creamy, xarel-lo gives it body, and macabeo adds fresh acidity. Other Spanish grapes, such as trepat, garnacha and monastrell, are used to make rosé cava. These grapes and the warm Mediterranean climate give cava a very different taste from champagne. In 1872, Spaniard José Raventos made the first bottle. He wanted to recreate France’s success in Spain.
The method is the same. With the méthode traditionnelle, yeast is added to each bottle and the wine ferments a second time. This creates the carbon dioxide. The wine is then left on the lees for at least nine months. The bottles are sealed with crown caps. By hand or in a gyropalette, they are turned a little at a time until they are almost upside down and all the sediment has collected in the neck. The neck is then frozen. When the crown cap is removed, the pressure pushes out the plug of yeast. Some sugar is added, depending on how acidic the wine is, and then the bottle is sealed with a cork and muselet, the wire cage. If the cava has spent eighteen months on the lees, it can be labeled reserva. After thirty months, it is called gran reserva.
In brief
Six bottles, from bone-dry to sweet
Cava ranges from brut nature with no added sugar to sweet dulce with more than fifty grams of sugar per liter. These six show you just how broad that range is. All six are 11.5%.
Las Dalias Cava Brut
A Catalan blend of 35% macabeo, 35% xarel-lo and 30% parellada. Refined, with yellow apple, peach and lemon.
Pere Ventura Coleccion Privada Brut
Lively, with white fruit and lime and a soft mousse. It finishes crisp and fresh.
Privat Cava Brut Reserva
This is a reserva, so it spent at least eighteen months aging on the yeast. Made with xarel·lo, parellada, macabeo, and chardonnay. You’ll taste peach, lime, and toasted bread.
Pere Ventura Gran Reserva
Chardonnay with xarel·lo and extra-long aging. That makes this cava intense and creamy. It has the most character of the bunch.
Privat Cava Rosé Brut Nature
Salmon-pink cava made with pinot noir and chardonnay from Perelada in Girona, not Penedès. Bone dry, with strawberry, grapefruit, and brioche.
Faustino Cava Semi Dry
This is the sweeter end of the shelf. The label says semi dry, and it comes from Rioja, made with macabeo and chardonnay. You’ll taste apricot, hazelnut, honey, and orange blossom.
Champagne also undergoes a second fermentation in the bottle, but it ages longer and can only come from the Champagne region.
Soft and round, with a scent of bread
Apple, pear & biscuit
Fresh, with apple and pear and a hint of spice underneath, sometimes a little earthiness. If the bottle has aged longer, you’ll also smell biscuit, dough, and toasted bread.
Soft and round
The acidity is mild. Softer and rounder than champagne, with fine bubbles. In a brut, the sweetness stays in the background. A semi seco tastes noticeably sweeter.
Slightly savory
Aging on the yeast gives it a slightly savory taste, with notes of bread and a hint of spice. Smooth and approachable, never sharp.
This is what a regular brut tastes like. A semi seco is much sweeter, while a brut nature is less sweet.
How to pour cava
Cava is served colder than champagne. The rest is simple. Chill it well, open it gently, and don’t overfill the glass.
Chill to 6 to 8 degrees
Put the bottle in the fridge for a few hours. In a hurry? Put it in an ice bucket with water and ice. If it’s too warm, the cava will taste flat. Too cold, and you won’t smell much. Champagne is served a little warmer, at 8 to 10 degrees.
Glass: flute or tulip →Opening and pouring
The bottle has the same cork and muselet as champagne. Untwist the wire cage, hold the cork firmly, and turn the bottle instead of the cork. It will come out with a soft sigh. Tilt the glass, pour down the side, and fill it about two-thirds full.
More about serving →In a cocktail
Cava is great on its own, straight from the bottle, and it’s also great for mixing. Add orange juice for a mimosa, or peach for a smooth Bellini. Or add a splash of elderflower liqueur or bitters for an instant festive drink.
Go to the cocktails →Cocktails with cava
You can use cava instead of champagne in almost any sparkling cocktail. Kir Royal, Mimosa, and French 75 recipes even call for it by name. Many people also make Bellinis with cava, but we don’t have a set ratio for that.
Kir Royal
Pour crème de cassis into the glass and top up with cava. Garnish with a blueberry.
Mimosa
Half fresh orange juice, half cava, finished with a splash of Cointreau.
French 75
Shake gin, lemon juice, and sugar syrup, strain into a flute, and top up with cava.
Bellini
Peach at the bottom, then slowly top up with bubbles. Just as good with cava as with prosecco.The right glass for cava
It’s all about the bubbles. If you can’t see them, you’ve got the wrong glass on the table. In a flute, they stay visible for a long time. A tulip glass gives the aromas more room. Choose a coupe mainly because you like the look of it. These are the glasses we recommend ourselves.
What else you’d like to know about cava
Can’t find your question here? Browse our cocktail recipes or get in touch.
Go to the cocktail recipes →What is the difference between cava, champagne, and prosecco?
What percentage alcohol is in cava?
Where does cava come from?
Which grapes are in cava?
What do reserva and gran reserva mean on the label?
What temperature should you serve cava at?
Which glass is best to use?
Buy Cava
Want the bottle delivered straight to your door? Order Cava online from Gall & Gall. Gall & Gall has 19.
Las Dalias Cava Brut Rosé
Prices as of November 10, 2026, as reported by Gall & Gall. You can see the current price and stock at Gall & Gall. Glazen.nl receives a small commission if you buy something through these links; it costs you nothing extra. No 18, no alcohol.
