The positive collaboration with the sector and the increase in resources have been key to guaranteeing compliance with the demanding quality standards required by the D.O. Cava

Vilafranca del Penedès, 6th October 2020 – The Cava Regulatory Board declared the end of the Cava harvest on Monday 5th October, one of the earliest dates in recent years. The 2020 harvest ended with good quality grapes, but with a significant drop in production due to the effects of mildew in some areas, both because of the heavy rain and humidity in spring and the yield limit of 10,000 kilos per hectare approved unanimously by the Regulatory Council for this year. According to data from the Cava Regulatory Board’s Technical Services, it is estimated that overall production in the region will fall by an average of 25% compared to 2019, with a particular impact on the Alt and Baix Penedès regions and on organic vineyards. Thus, the D.O. Cava harvest amounted to 240 million kilos of grapes, compared to 322 million last year.

“The drought of the last two months before the harvest helped to mitigate the effects of mildew and to obtain small fruit with moderate degree and acidity, ensuring a good quality grape” states the Director of the Technical Services of the Regulating Council, Luis Marco.

In addition, the weather conditions have brought the harvest forward by two weeks over the usual average.

It is important to highlight the great collaboration with the winegrowers and winemakers and the record number of 90 verifiers that the Regulating Council has made available as success factors to certify the demanding quality standards and guarantee the excellence and origin of the grapes. In addition, the creation of a coordination centre to ensure and speed up the tasks of the verifiers has proved to be essential. These verifiers, in turn, have taken advantage of new technologies to develop applications specifically designed for the grape harvest. It has been possible to validate in real time, with daily declarations, the entries of grapes, the kilos, their quality, the variety, its degree, its origin and plot of origin.

Finally, a high quality harvest has been achieved, based on rigorous criteria that guarantee the traceability of the grapes and a quality that will culminate in some extraordinary Cavas.

DO CAVA

With more than 60% of international sales, CAVA is the Spanish D.O. that exports the most. It has more than 38,000 hectares of vineyards and more than 6,800 winegrowers. Its 370 associated wineries are present in over 100 countries. CAVA, a universal harmony for gastronomy, is made using the traditional method with a strict commitment to origin, land and sustainability.

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