Catalonia, located in the north east of Spain, is an important wine producer region with a long winemaking tradition. The Catalan wine region includes not less than 9 Denominación de Origen (DO) and a Denominació d’Origen Qualificada (DOQ), Priorat, wine production areas recognized by Spanish law.
Catalonia is internationally known in regards to wine for being the birthplace of a famous sparkling wine, Cava. This sparkline wine was invented in the 19th century in Sant Sadurí d’Anoia by Josep Raventós from the Codorniu winery. Besides Cava, in Catalonia dry white wines and intense reds are also produced. Some of the most popular grapes used in this region include white grapes such as Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel·lo and red grapes as Garnacha, Monestrell and Tempranillo.
Cava is the head of wine production in Catalonia and, in terms of international recognition, Cava is the second sparkling wine preferred around the world after French Champagne. Although other regions in Spain produce Cava, 95% of the total production comes from Catalonia.
Some of the different wine production regions in Catalonia are Alella, Penedes, Priorat, Tarragona, Montsant or Terra Alta. If you travel to Catalonia don’t miss the opportunity to visit one of the most famous wineries such as Alella, Codorniu or Torres.
