Best Day Trips from Barcelona For Wine Lovers
Looking for the best vineyard visits and wine tours from Barcelona? A visit to Alella and Penedes is a must!
Barcelona is truly a fantastic world-class city, with top fashion, gastronomy, architecture, history, and beach on the Mediterranean a stone’s throw from downtown. However it also is a short distance away from two wine regions, one being the largest region for wine production, Penedes. and the other one of the smallest, Alella.
By car you can reach Alella in 25 minutes, and you can find yourself in the heart of Penedes in 40 minutes. Both regions have spectacular views, incredible terroir, critically acclaimed wines, and distinctive history, making them both worthy stops outside of your travels in the city of Barcelona proper.
Alella as a wine region holds two distinctions. First, it is the only region in the world that is within reach of a major metropolitan area. In fact, if it were part of a North American city, it would be considered one of the first suburbs to a said city, or possibly included in the great metropolitan area of that city. Second, it has one of the oldest documented mentions of wine in historical texts, with Roman Empire era historian Pliny the Elder commenting about the characteristics of wine from the area.
Today, Alella is home to 8 wineries recognized by the appellation, or DO Alella, as its known in Catalunya. The “denomination origin” or DO ensures proper winemaking methods, appropriate grapes varietals, and strict “kilo per vine” ratios, and many other rules to protect the consumers against inferior wines. Does this mean the wines are expensive? Absolutely not, as many wines produced under the Alella appellation start as low as 3,00€ per bottle for young wines all the way above several hundred euros per bottle for the top range.
Speaking of Roman history, the local government in Alella has discovered the remnants of Roman winemaking near the town of Teia, and has painstaking restored presses in a beautiful historical park, confirming the historical legacy left by Pliny the elder. It’s quite a spectacular visit, if you’re into wine history!
Alella has larger scale operations, like Alta Alella, which produces several hundred thousand bottles per year, and boutique operations like Bouquet d’Alella, based out of a historic masia with 500 years of history. Both examples not only have won regional and national acclaim, but also international acclaim. The best part is the wineries are very open and welcoming to visitors, including vineyard picnic options and other activities geared towards both local and international visitors.
Penedes has received somewhat of an incorrect reputation for production of inexpensive high volume wines and cavas, due to the presence of several major international wine companies who got their start in the region. Many also think Penedes is pretty much a big flat area that produces white grapes for the aforementioned wines.
Not so.
Penedes has several different and distinctive terroirs inside its large area. From the coastal Mediterranean area of the Garraf featuring mountains and more arid conditions, to the lush plains surrounding Vilafranca and Sant Sadurni d’Anoia, to the northern parts, called “Alt Penedes” featuring vineyards as high as 900 metres. In fact you can have the same grape within Penedes that has significantly different characteristics due to these geographical differences and distinctive microclimates.
And beyond this, Penedes is home to tremendous amounts of wine history, dating back 1300s with many estates, and even Iberian ovens used for making wine amphoras, dating back to the time before Christ, as Pares Balta has discovered in their lands of the mountainous regions north of Pacs del Penedes.
You can still tour this history today in Penedes, from the cava wineries in the city centre of Sant Sadurni d’Anoia, like Juve y Camps and Recaredo, to historical estates like Can Rafols.
One of our favourites is Loxarel, which contains the main Airfield in Catalunya for the Republican opposition to General Franco during the Spanish Civil War. The underground bunker constructed at that time extends from the owner’s winery building to 500 metres underneath one of the vineyards. Today, it houses thousands of bottles of cava, ageing prior to release.
Another favourite is Llopart, whose family’s history dates back to the 1300s in viticulture, and has been making cava since 1887. The estate contains the original masia, a military watchtower from the 1100s, and spectacular views of the Montserrat mountain range. You can travel back in time with the preserved history of the masia, including the original production room, and fast-forward to the new winery building where cavas are aged, bottled, and in the case of their grand reserve cavas, still “turned” by hand.
Of course Penedes has its wine history dating back to Roman times as well, with both Jane Ventura and Avgvstvs Forvm near the remnants of the “Via Augusta” which extended from Cadiz to Rome. Both wineries are within minutes of Tarragona, and only 50 minutes from Barcelona, and not only have Roman connections, but also more “recent” history from the 1700s and 1800s.
So from the mountains, down to the valleys, up the mountains again close to the Mediterranean, and back to the beach, Penedes offers a variety of history beyond what you may already know, and may surprise you with more than just Chardonnay, Xarel·lo, and Macabeo. If you’re looking for something a little more interesting than the typical big tours to the big international wineries, Penedes has much more to offer.
In fact, you can see many of the visits we’ve been on in DO Penedes, to experience the history, terroir, and the people. Just head over to catalunyawine.com, or even click on this link for specific Penedes visits!
In Alella and Penedes, you’ve got great options for enotourism opportunities, less than an hour away from Barcelona, and in some cases only minutes! Believe me, after my experiences here, it’s worth spending the time to discover yourself!
Tim moved to the Barcelona region four years ago after traveling the world for 15 years, working in marketing and public relations. He founded catalunyawine.com in 2014 to promote the wine region of Catalonia to the English speaking public. Now he travels to the vineyards of the region interviewing winemakers and exploring the history of the wine region.
You can follow the journey on Twitter and Instagram @catalunyawine and also on the website.
Read More On The Catalunya Wine Region:
- The Best of Catalonia's Wine Regions
- What you didn't know about the Priorat Wine Region in Catalonia, Spain
Read more tips on how to travel with wine:
- How to take alcohol in checked luggage on low cost carriers in Europe
- Tips for Transporting Wine in Hot Weather
- Flying with Wine and Alcohol 101
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