Cavas Marevia – Interview With Diego Jiménez

One of the biggest regions in the world of sparkling wine, Cava stands as its own style of bubbly, from the historic country of Spain, with so many brilliant producers utilising tradition and innovating for the future, there’s a lot to explore, so Glass of Bubbly is on a mission to highlight this wonderful region and some of the incredible minds producing Cava today.

In this exclusive feature on Glass of Bubbly, we speak with Diego Jiménez, the Executive Director of Cavas Marevia, let’s discover a little about his life, his journey into the industry and one of his most memorable Cava memories.

It’s Great To Speak With You, Diego, Can You Tell Us A Little About Yourself & How Your Incredible Journey Into The Wine Industry Began?

“I belong to a family that are pioneers in developing sparkling wine from Spain in export markets. My great grandparents were the founders of Freixenet. My first job in the company was actually in Reims, Henri Abelé. One summer I asked if I could go to France and I worked as a winery worker loading trucks, packaging bottles and any other thing that was required at the winery. Later, when I finished my MBA I had positions within the Freixenet group in the US, Argentina, Australia and Spain. I bought the property in Gualtayari, Mendoza when there was nothing there. Only Catena and Chandon had small vineyards. I love the vineyard side of winemaking as it is key to making great products.

Sadly (or luckily, depending on the point of view) in 2018 our side of the family sold our shares to Henkell and invested in this project in Requena, a less well known Cava region but with great potential.”

Do You Remember Your First Experience With Sparkling Wine? When It Was And What Kind Of Label It Was?

“This was at my grandparent’s home. It was a bottle of Carta Nevada Semi Seco which at the time I thought tasted great (I still do). I can say I was definitely not of legal drinking age at the time.”

How Rewarding And Challenging Is Managing Your Own Winery?

“It is rewarding because it is a family project. With my brothers, cousins, aunt and my mom, we are involved and have a passion for it. Wineries are cash intensive long term projects and like a family, this vision is required.

When you do not have a well-known powerful brand, it is very challenging to sell your products. The reward is to see that we are gaining customers when they try the wine and see we have an outstanding value for money.”

When It Comes To Pairing Your Sparkling Wine With Food, Do You Have Any Favourite Combinations That You Would Personally Recommend?

“This depends on the occasion and your personal mood but my favorite occasion is just by itself. A glass of Marevia Brut is great sitting on a terrace. When with food, sparkling wine with spicy food combines very well and our local paella is a very good combination. I personally think the Brut style fits better in the preference of the consumer and it is less intimidating than some of the more complex Brut Nature wineries produce.”

Can You Share With Us Some Of The Countries And Locations Around The World That You Can Enjoy A Glass Of Cavas Marevia?

“We sell in over 20 countries. Some are not as big for Cava as Armenia, Peru, Thailand, or Vietnam. Our best country is Sweden and one I feel very proud of is Norway for the difficulty of entering the market.”

What Future Plans Can Enthusiasts Of Cavas Marevia Look Forward To In The Coming Years?

“We have invested more than €5 million since 2019 when we acquired the winery to grow in production capacity, improve processes and be more sustainable. Next two years we are focusing on our Marevia Reserva range and bottling with light glass which requires big investments.”

Can You Share With Us One Of The Most Memorable Experiences You’ve Enjoyed With A Glass of Bubbly?

“For me, the recent most memorable experience was in a trip to Stockholm in late Autumn. I was on a terrace and saw some young people drinking Cava. Coming from Spain where the average age of Cava consumers is over 50 years old this brought tears to my eyes and a reminder that this can also be done in the domestic market.”

Thank you, Diego, for sharing your story and experiences with us and we at Glass of Bubbly wish you the very best for the future!

Images belong to Cavas Marevia. Glass of Bubbly was granted permission to use them.