The name Cava is relatively new (1970) when Spanish sparkling wine makers abandoned the name champaña. Cava was first made in Spain in the late 1800’s.

Cava is made with a mix of grapes varieties with Macabeo making up about half of the blend and Xarel-lo, Parellada and increasingly Chardonnay making up the remainder. Cava must have an alcohol content between 10.8 and 12.8 percent by volume and at least 4 atmospheres of pressure. Freixenet and Codorníu are the best known producers of Cava and in fact are two of the largest producers of sparkling wine in the world.