What wineries to visit near Barcelona -

What wineries to visit near Barcelona - What wineries to visit near Barcelona -

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One of the best options to spend a day while in Barcelona is actually to leave the city itself and explore the beautiful wine country. A short getaway near Barcelona can also be a good idea. At only a little over half an hour from the city, the surroundings of Barcelona are quite impressive with a magnificent landscape of vineyards stretching out as far as the eye can see. Some of the wineries in Barcelona are amongst the best wineries in Spain in terms of architecture and design.

Barcelona is especially famous for its cavas, Spain’s iconic sparkling wine that is mostly produced in this region. Cava is the only Denomination of Origin that allows for its wines to be produced in other areas (to do so, a winery needs to be accredited as a producer). Therefore, it is possible, although not very common, to find wineries that produce cava in other regions of Spain.

The truth, however, is that more than 90% of cava is produced in the area to the south of Barcelona. Sant Sadurní de Ainhoa is the capital of cava. Its people live from and for the production of cava wine. Sant Sadurní is home to the two largest and best-known wineries in the world of cava: Freixenet and Codorníu. Many more cava wineries, however, are also present in this town.

Winery and wine tasting tour from Barcelona

This is an 8-hour group bus tour in English from Barcelona, which will take you to 3 local wineries for wine tastings and tours of the wineries. This tour is a great way to get to know the wine region of Barcelona and visit 3 very different wineries to really appreciate Cataluña´s wine production history. This winery tour also includes light tapas at each winery. A great group bus tour and fantastic value for money. This is a cava tour which includes cava tasting and also tasting of still wine … Read More

Views of Montserrat from a winery and vineyards

Catalan tapas, wineries & Montserrat

On this half-day tour to Montserrat, you will visit the magical Mountain of Montserrat, an iconic mountain near Barcelona, and experience its majestic beauty. You will then visit a beautiful, family owned winery estate for a guided tour with wine tastings and several tapas. Perfect for seeing the beautiful landscapes of the wine region near Barcelona and visiting a special winery. This is a guided bus tour. Small groups of up to 20 people per tour guide … Read More

Sant Sadurní is also known for its Phylloxera Festival. Strangely enough, the Phylloxera was the plague that was once on the verge of destroying the vineyards of Europe, and yet it receives a special celebration in Sant Sadurní. Thanks to the Phylloxera, many wine regions in Spain profited greatly by selling their wine to France when the French vineyards were largely affected by this plague. What was first good news turned sour fast when the plague advanced to different wine regions in Spain, leaving behind a sense of uncertainty and a crisis for an entire industry.

Sant Sadurní is very well connected to Barcelona, and anyone who wishes to visit wineries from Barcelona simply needs to take the highway towards Tarragona and exit at Sant Sadurní. Once there, a large roundabout welcomes you to the world of Spanish sparkling wine. Another recommended option is to take the Cercanías train. The station is located very close to the Freixenet winery which welcomes visitors with its enormous facilities. The easiest way, of course, is to enjoy a guided wine tour by minibus from Barcelona.

The Freixenet and Codorníu wineries offer visits that are of great interest. They are also winery visits that are suitable for children since a good part of the visit consists of a small train ride that runs through the parts of the winery where the cava rests.

Both wineries stand out for their impressive installations and they each welcome visitors with a video that portrays the essence of their family business. Freixenet and Codorníu have very interesting architectural elements as well, with Codorníu’s standing out a bit more.

There are other cava wineries in San Sadurní that we can mention. Cavas Gramona has all the charm that one looks for in a traditional cava winery. Gramona has more modern facilities outside of the center of Sant Sadurní, however, it retains its original traditional facilities for the delight of its visitors.

Another example of a cava winery, incomparable in size to that of Freixenet or Codorníu, is Conde de Valicourt. It is the smallest winery in the town in which you can find a style of cava that is very different from that of the big name brands.

If you are looking to visit a cava winery surrounded by vineyards, we recommend leaving Sant Sadurní for Cavas Nadal winery. Nadal welcomes visitors with the concept of a chateau winery and inside, just like the majority of cava producers, you can find a secret cave where the sparkling wine is aged.

Moving on from our discussion of cavas, the other great wine city to the south of Barcelona is Vilafranca del Penedés. Vilafranca is a city with a lot of history and with an important chapter during the Spanish Civil War. Vilafranca is home to the Wine Culture Museum of Catalonia (Vinseum). Located in Vilafranca’s main square in front of a beautiful church, Vinseum is an interesting visit for information-hungry tourists. Its different floors have a large number of informative panels which provide all kinds of information relating to viticulture and wine-making. If you prefer wine tasting, Vinseum has a wine bar as well where they offer a large variety of local wines that can be ordered by the glass.

In the same way that we mentioned Sant Sadurní as the capital of cava, we can define Vilafranca as the capital of Penedés. Bodegas Torres plays an important role in the Penedés wine landscape. Torres has a similar size to that of the Freixenet and Codorníu wineries but, in this case, as a producer of quality still wines.

If you prefer visiting smaller wineries, the outskirts of Vilafranca has a good number of family wineries. The already mentioned Bodegas Nadal is a good example between Sant Sadurní and Vilafranca. Not very far, in the town of Torrelavit, is the chateau-style winery called Jean Leon which pertains to the Torres group. Pares Balta is a family winery closer to Vilafranca that is strongly committed to producing organic wines.

To the north of Barcelona, you can find the wine region with the most proximity to Barcelona: Alella. It is a small production area with very few wineries that have managed to preserve the wine tradition despite their proximity to Barcelona. To the east, you can find Pla y Bages which offers wines with very different personalities. This area is higher in altitude than Penedés and the climate is less Mediterranean giving it a distinct style compared with the wines of the Alella wine region.

For more information about places to visit near Barcelona, check out our section on Wine Tourism in Catalonia and Penedés.

Barcelona market and cooking experience

This is a top-selling paella cooking class in Barcelona and a highly rated class. The activity starts at La Boquería market where guided by a local chef, you will enjoy the stands of this iconic market in Barcelona. You will then proceed to the kitchen class for a very interactive class where you will prepare some simple tapas and superb seafood paella. Enjoy sangria while you prepare and learn to cook paella with a chef and then get ready to enjoy your preparation for either lunch or dinner! … Read More

Barcelona to Madrid via Rioja and Ribera del Duero

Probably the best way to travel from Barcelona to Madrid. This is a fantastic 3 day private vacation package to travel from Barcelona to Madrid. We have selected fantastic hotels, meals and amazing wineries. Travel in style with our luxury vehicles and relax and enjoy while you learn from our senior and friendly guides. This will be a highlight in your trip for sure! … Read More

Guided Wine & Cheese Tasting in Barcelona

Discover the wine world in Barcelona without leaving the city. The wine course is located ten minutes walking distance from some of Barcelona´s top tourist attractions. During this wine and cheese tasting session, you will learn about local wines and cheese and about the importance of pairing them together. Have fun during your stay in Barcelona and enjoy in a small group with an expert in a relxed atmosphere. … Read More

Best rated tapas tour in Barcelona

This tour is the best rated tapas tour in Barcelona and good value for money. It can be enjoyed at different hours so it can be enjoyed either for mid-day lunch or dinner. The amount of food served in the tour is enough to serve as a full meal. You will enjoy several local restaurants that serve traditional tapas. The tour will also include regional Catalan wines: a glass of wine at each stop! … Read More

What wineries to visit near Barcelona