D.O. Cava, Spain’s premier sparkling wine denomination, announces U.S. marketing and communications campaign with a focus on generating awareness through press and trade initiatives
New York, NY, September 24, 2019 – Consejo Regulador del Cava is pleased to announce their 2019-2020 marketing and communications campaign for the United States. An integrated program with the mission of increasing awareness and quality perception of cava among trade and consumer audiences. Part of a global strategic plan launched by the D.O. in its top five international markets, the U.S. program will comprise of a series of educational masterclasses, press and trade events, in partnership with leading wine experts.
D.O. Cava was created in 1972 and its regulatory council, Consejo Regulador, oversees and controls the production and quality standards of the registered wines; protects the name Cava, initiating legal proceedings in cases of improper use; and promotes Cava for growth and expansion in both domestic and international markets. The diversity of its sub-regions provides richness and complexity to its bottle-aged sparkling wines.
To accomplish its mission, the campaign is to emphasize the highest quality of Cava, concentrating the efforts around the classifications of Reserva, Gran Reserva and Cava de Paraje Calificado. “Our main objective is to get Cava into the spotlight as a versatile and quality bottle-aged sparkling wine, capable of competing among the best top-quality sparkling wines. Not just bubbles.” Javier Pagés Font, D.O. Cava President, said.
Cava aims to play an increasingly prominent role within the premium sparkling wine category in the U.S., the leading wine-consuming country in the world. The sparkling wine segment continues to outpace total industry growth, gaining a 3% share (21.6 million cases) in 2018, marking their tenth consecutive annual increase, and projected to expand by 14% (25 million cases) in 2020, according to the 2018 edition of The U.S. Wine Market: Shanken’s IMPACT Databank Review & Forecast.
With its diverse terroir, range in styles, use of native grape varieties, ageing capability, and ‘Traditional Method’ production, there is great potential for wineries to showcase the richness and complexity of Cava to trade and consumer audiences in the U.S.
D.O. Cava promotional activities include educational seminars, trade promotions, comprehensive walk-around tastings, and more. The campaign’s 2019 trade activities will include stops at Spain’s Great Match events in New York and Miami, and SommCon San Diego. Cava will also be present at consumer events, including Spain’s Great Match New York consumer event at Mercado Little Spain and the renowned San Diego Bay Food & Wine Festival Grand Tasting.
The program will also see three major events and activations during the first quarter of 2020: Cava Academy, Cava Discovery Week and Cava Summit.
The Cava Academy is a multi-day training and certification program. This in-depth course is designed for wine industry professionals who wish to become approved educators/ambassadors by the Consejo Regulador. Fifty aspiring candidates will participate in this program and those who complete the rigorous course and pass the exam, will attain the official Cava Educator/Ambassador accreditation.
Cava Discovery Week is a promotional activity developed to encourage the adoption of Cava wines among new consumers. Restaurants, lounges and wine bars from New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Houston and Chicago, will participate in this celebration and host events that encourage trial and discovery. Promotions will include ‘by the glass’ specials, Cava and food pairing selections, and other initiatives to excite and educate.
Lastly, Cava Summit will consist of a full day event that includes a discussion panel led by key figures from the D.O., wineries and U.S. trade, tastings, and an awards ceremony celebrating the newly minted official Cava educators/ambassadors, best Cava wine lists, and best trade partners. The event will feature Cava’s top sparklers and personalities.
“We are thrilled to be launching such a strategic and comprehensive communications campaign in the United States,” Javier Pagés said. “Part of our uniqueness is the result of the integration of the vastly different territories and smaller sub-regions that make up the D.O. With this campaign, we will be able to highlight the aspects that make our wines so special, and present them to our US consumers and critics in an educational format that allows them to learn about our terroir, native grapes, winemaking and rigorous quality control measures, thus learning more about our denomination.”
To learn more about D.O. Cava, please visit the website at http://www.docava.es/en, as well as following D.O. Cava on Facebook (@crcava), Twitter (@ DO_Cava) and Instagram (@cava.do).
About D.O. Cava: With more than 60% of international sales, D.O. Cava exports more wine than any other Spanish appellation. It brings together about 38,000 hectares of vineyards and more than 6,800 winegrowers. Its 380 associated wineries are present in more than 100 countries.
About Parallel36: Parallel 36 focuses on marketing and communications providing strategic advice and execution for brands in the beverage alcohol category. A ‘business results’ oriented agency, Parallel 36 integrates business development, trade marketing, and consumer activations expertise with digital marketing, content creation and media relations. Leveraging relationships across the U.S. beverage alcohol industry, Parallel 36 accelerates success of clients.
