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Last week, Josep Maria Albet i Noya, the newly elected President of the Penedès DO Council, set the wheels in motion to divide the Penedès region into six sub regions: Garraf, Ordal, Alt Penedès, Central Valley A, Central Valley B, and a sixth yet to be decided.

In a recent article on Decanter.com, Albet argues that the current label of origin system doesn’t do enough to showcase and demarcate the distinct climates, terrains, and soil types within the growing region.

As he explained, “We have two mountain ranges and a valley through the middle of the Penedès region, which results in many microclimates and soil compositions. Because of this diversity in the landscape, the Penedès region has five or six subzones that produce very different wines.”

An abundance of bureaucratic red tape means that this undertaking could last more than two years, which begs the question: Will it be worth the cost in time and money?

In this case, I’d say yes — it will be an  endorsement of the rise in quality and diversity that Penedès wines have seen over the past few decades. An abundance of run-of-the-mill Cava has limited Penedès’s appeal in the international wine market.  This regional reconfiguration will give ambitious producers the chance to differentiate themselves from the masses.

While Penedès has some shining stars, it isn’t (and never will be) Champagne.  Yet two of my favorite producers, Huguet and Raventos i Blanc, make complex, affordable, terroir-focused wines, but get little recognition internationally.  These top-tier producers have shown that there is room for improvement for Cava.

In the best case scenario, consumers would use the Penedès overhaul as an occasion to re-examine its wines, and producers would take the opportunity to make improvements, innovations and to re-think Cava’s potential.  Maybe they can even change Eric Asimov’s mind!