Cava

The origins of Cava date back to the mid-19th century around the village of Sant Sadurni d'Anoia, just south-west of Barcelona. Sparkling wine in Spain that calls itself Cava can be made in one of five different regions in the country, making the variety of potential styles very wide indeed.

Cava shares the same traditional production method as Champagne, undergoing a second fermentation in the bottle to create a high quality sparkling wine we know and love. Traditionally using a combination of three indigenous grape varieties (Macabeu, Xarello and Parellada), Cava has its own distinctive flavours of zesty, citrus notes, mouthwatering acidity, balanced with touch of salinity. But as is the case with all fine sparkling wines, like Champagne, Cava ages particularly well, with older wines boasting tertiary flavours of brioche and toasted nuts.

For those who love drinking excellent sparkling wine but don't want to pay Champagne-level prices, we highly recommend giving Cava a try. It can be great for celebrations (some are great value!) and wonderful for very special occasions (the quality seems to carry on going up and up), while being perfect on its own as an aperitif, or pairing wonderfully well with food... an excellent, classic wine to have on hand!

In recent years there has been a dissatisfaction in the industry, of Cava producers themselves, that they had lost the ability to reach seriously high quality levels, or to clearly celebrate the delineation of place of origin in the wines. Or, perhaps more acutely, that there was a sense of a big melting pot called Cava that made poor wines look better than they were and wonderful wines appear to be average. The creation of new appellations such as Corpinnat by groups of producers who have removed themselves from Cava, has focused the world's attention and though Cava hasn't done anything to change its own broad regulations, the excitement and activity around the are has had the desired effect of growing sales and lifting the quality being sold.

Spanish Sparklers are very much on the up, and we couldn't be happier!

Customer reviews

★★★★★

Excellent service, lovely wine, choosing online is so easy with Chris’ excellent tasting notes and the fun of opening a wine for the first time adds to the experience.

Gerry R

★★★★★

I ordered some sparkling Cava from Chris which arrived so promptly! A really delicate delicious wine that I haven't seen anywhere else. A great selection of quality wines at really good prices!

A. O'Neill

★★★★★

I must say the wine list here is amazing. Top quality and what I like the most is a rich info on every presented bottle. Pure example when someone puts their heart and knowledge into it. I had a few Burgundy ones and they were delicious! Superb packaging and delivery as well.

Bosnae

★★★★★

My first purchase with Allotment and it was a really positive experience - from their website, product range , price range and professional follow up.

Anne K.

★★★★★

I stumbled across this wine merchant while searching online for a particular Spanish wine. I'm glad I did as I discovered an excellent selection of wines from that country, as well as from other regions, all at competitive prices. Excellent personal service and prompt delivery made for a great overall experience. Highly recommended

John H.

★★★★★

The owner Chris provides an incredible customer experience. After I had ordered online, he contacted me separately to offer additional insights into all the wines I had chosen and to give me a voucher for next time.

Sean G

★★★★★

A great experience ordering from The Allotment Wine Company. A wide variety of wines to try something new and at good prices with super quick delivery! Really convenient too as opposed to trying to find parking!

Nicola D.

★★★★★

Good range of interesting wines. Good personal attention to their orders. Very customer focused. I would be happy to recommend this company to any prospective customer.

Jim D

★★★★★

Wonderful wines from a wonderfully wise wine man! Have discovered some cracking vino thanks to Chris’ educational and entertaining videos and can’t wait to try more. My favourite kind of special delivery!

Kate W.

Hi, I'm Chris Gifford.

Welcome to The Allotment Wine Co.

When you buy wines from The Allotment Wine Co. you're supporting a small Irish business which in turn supports small, sustainable wine producers, as well as other small, dedicated Irish wine importers.

When selecting wines, I look for partners who share a deep respect and connection with the land and its traditions, witnessed in a firm commitment to quality and sustainability. All of which makes for better wines.