Captivating Cava: top quality sparkling wines from Spain - Charity wine tasting

Cava is the classy sparkling wine from Spain, always is made by the traditional method (as in Champagne) with a secondary fermentation in bottle and considerable ageing but usually from the classic local grape varieties. (Being made by the traditional method makes it very different from Prosecco which gets its fizz from the much cheaper 'tank method'.)

Cava can be made in several areas of Spain (each with strictly defined boundaries) but the vast majority comes from the Penedès area of Catalonia, just south of Barcelona. There are now four separate quality levels of Cava based on the period of ageing and the specific vineyards used, and organic production is now compulsory for all Cavas labelled 'riserva' and above.

In February 2026 Gareth Morgan was privileged to attend a specialist programme for wine educators organised by the regulatory body for Cava, including visits to a wide range of top-quality Cava producers. Following a quite demanding exam at the end he is now an accredited Cava Educator! He will be using that experience to share some really up to date insights about Cava and reports from a number of top Cava producers that he visited.

For this event we will taste 8 Cavas (probably six white and two rosé) from leading producers at different levels from Cava Guarda going up to a Cava de Paraje Calificado produced from a specific named vineyard with many years in bottle - these wines are equivalent in status to the Grands Crus of Burgundy.

The evening will end with a light supper of bread and specially selected cheeses (mainly from Spain) and there will be chance to retaste the wines with the food.