Cava bottle boycott
Catalonia wants more autonomy, boycott Catalan cava!
Such apparently is the rallying cry in Spain (ex-Catalonia) these days according to an article in today’s NYT. A separatist politician in Catalonia urged a boycott of Madrid’s failed bid to secure the 2012 Olympics, which sparked a cava boycott. When the Catalan regional assembly passed a measure for greater autonomy, the rest of Spain apparently seized on this to further the boycott of cava. Sales are down by seven percent.
Pity the poor wine maker who seems to always bear the brunt of diplomatic tensions! When the French announced nuclear tests in the South Pacific in 1995, what did the Australians do? Why boycotted French wine, of course.
Maybe Freixenet, the number one cava producer, needs to upgrade their marketing campaign from the 2005 use of Demi Moore–even though she does like ‘em young and cheap (the cavas!).
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The Times story included this unusual sentence: “The wine is Cava, which Catalonians describe as identical to Champagne, except for the source of the grapes.” Um, or the grape varieties for that matter! Champagne = Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay. Cava = Xarel-lo, Macabeo, Parellada.
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On March 13th, 2006 at 5:10 pm ,Ryan wrote:
Another take on the Boycott. In the end these boycotts are never as clean cut as you want them to be.
On March 15th, 2006 at 3:41 am ,Steven Tolliver wrote:
In defense of Cava and its grape varieties, I find that when done right, they can yield a softer, more inviting taste than many Champagnes (some so dry they can crack a tooth), and also the prevelance of Brut Nature dosages in Cava (that is to say, next to no added sweetner), makes for a more pleasant morning-after if I’ve overextended the invitation!
And for more on the boycott: Cava sales 2005