Cava takes its name from the stone cellars—cavas—where Spain’s traditional-method sparkling wines were historically aged, a style first developed in the 1870s after Josep Raventós returned from Champagne and began producing Champagne-method wines in the Penedès. We had his family’s rose sparkling wine in the club way back in December 2019 and we explained then that the quality of most Cava had become so bad that the Raventos i Blanc family had left the very denominacion they had helped create. Well, in 2020 the rules of the DO were changed markedly for the better and while the DO still includes scattered zones across Spain, the better zones are allowed to identify themselves on the label. In this case the Valls d’Anoia Foix refers to the limestone hills between the Anoia and Foix rivers, in the traditional homeland of Cava, the Penedès. Vins el Cep is a partnership among four historic Penedès families—the Carreras (Can Prats), Masana (Can Castany), Parera (Can Miquel de les Planes), and Esteve (Can Simón)—who joined forces in 1980 to farm their ancestral estates sustainably, some of whose masias date as far back as the 14th and 15th centuries. The 2022 ‘Kila’ is certified organic and estate grown and the grapes are gently pressed to roughly 50 percent extraction before fermentation in small tanks, followed by secondary fermentation in bottle and 18 months on the lees. The result is fine bubbles, citrus and orchard fruit, and a subtle almond and herbal note typical of the regional varieties. The dosage is right at the 6g/L dividing line between Brut and Extra Brut, making it a natural partner for seafood, tapas, or simple vegetable dishes. It bears mentioning that with a proper sparkling wine stopper a sparkling wine will preserve itself very well in the fridge for a week or two, so with these prices there is absolutely no reason to not have sparkling wine ALL THE TIME. Not just for splurge-worthy occasions, but to celebrate that you’ve reached a resting point on a random Tuesday.