If you are planning a trip to Catalonia and enjoy wines just as much as I do you may want to consider a visit to Penedès wine region. Located close to Barcelona (less than an hour drive), Penedès is famous for its production of Cava. Penedès covers 95% of the Spanish Cava production, a sparkling wine produced following the traditional method of champagne production.
Strict rules guarantee that Cava production is only of the highest quality, defining the areas where it can be produced and the grapes that can be used (these being Parellada, Macabeo and Xarel.lo).
Although Cava production is very important for Penedès wine region, this is not the only wine produced in the region. Grapes such as Grenache, Macabeo, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, Chenin Blanc or Chardonnay are grown in Penedès, along with many others, and used for the production of, both red and white, wines.
Penedès is one of the best known DO (Denominación de orígen) in Spain. Vilafranca del Penedès and Sant Sadurní d’Anoia are the best known cities in this wine region. Some of the wine producers in this region are known internationally they work under names such as Miguel Torres, one of the leading Spanish wine companies, or Jean Leon, along with the Cava companies like Freixenet and Codorniu with wine cellars dating back to the 19th century.
If travelling to Barcelona you wish to visit Penedès, you can easily book a tour in one of the main wine cellars. If you are looking for a visit to a small producer, this is also a good region to make contact with independent wine producers as there are hundreds registered in this wine region, they also produce high quality wines but in smaller quantities.
