Spain: Penedès, Catalonia
WHY GO?
Just a 45-minute drive south of Barcelona, you’re in Cava country. Prosecco might have made more impact among consumers looking for a value alternative to Champagne, but many Cava producers want a bigger piece of that pie and have upped their game in recent years, often producing fantastic value wines for the price. Remember that, unlike Prosecco, Cava is produced by the traditional method as used for Champagne, and estates now often cellar wines for longer than the minimum bottle-age requirements.
Cava country is a great destination for a wine weekend – with wineries galore (smaller producers offer tours by appointment), boutique hotels aplenty, fabulous restaurants and even wine attractions. Specialist walking and cycling tour operator Inntravel (www. inntravel.co.uk) offers a four-night trip on an electric bike for the more ambitious, but either way your time will be spent on the undulating, pine-scented, wildflower-edged camí rural that skirt the vineyards.
THURSDAY
The best place to lay your head is Cava & Hotel Mastinell (www.hotelmastinell.com), just a 15-minute walk from the centre of Vilafranca del Penedès, the capital of Cava, and its many restaurants and bars. With its Gaudi-esque roof resembling stacked wine bottles, guided tours including hot air balloon rides and pairing workshops, plus a restaurant with creative Catalan cooking, the hotel offers a sense of place like no other.
FRIDAY MORNING
Start your journey at Parés Baltà (www. paresbalta.com), a family-owned winery dating back to 1790, where elegant fizz is made by two women winemakers. Afterwards, head through Vilobí village to Can Descregut (www. descregut.com), where winemakers Arantxa de Cara and Marc Milà produce stunning wines made from organic grapes that are riddled and bottled by hand.
LUNCH
Head to El Cigró d’Or (www.elcigrodor.com) above the market in Vilafranca del Penedès, where Catalan chef Oriol Llavina serves up smart dishes (and a bargain set lunch), which can be washed down with Cava from a stellar line-up.
AFTERNOON
Orient yourself with a visit to the nearby Vinseum (www.vinseum.cat) in the centre of town. Once a royal palace, it became the first wine museum in Spain in 1945. It still leads the way, putting wine in the context of
‘Cava producers have upped their game in recent years, often producing fantastic value wines for the price’
culture. The full self-guided audio tour takes three-and-a-half hours, or you can just cherrypick from the 500 or so objects on show.
Now brace yourself, as you travel a little out of town to the west, for Spanish wine giant Familia Torres (www.torres.es) and its vast visitor centre. Instead of Cava, the producer makes a premium Alt Penedès sparkling wine, Vardon Kennett Cuvée Esplendor, outside the DO. You can try it before tasting the awardwinning red Mas La Plana Cabernet Sauvignon, credited for putting Penedès on the map – it’s not all about Cava here.
EVENING
Located opposite the railway station at Vilafranca del Penedès is Casa Joan (www. casajoan.es), a local favourite that offers dishes rooted in traditional Catalan cuisine and a lengthy wine list packed with dozens of different Cavas to try. Don’t miss the stuffed squid.
SATURDAY MORNING
With the magnificent jagged mauve teeth of Montserrat framing your view for the 20-minute drive to Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, you can start your day in the Cava Interpretation Centre (www.museosdelvino.es), which reveals the world of Cava from its origins and history to its production process. Then make tracks to the winery of Recaredo (www.recaredo.com), a producer that has done more than most to improve the image of Spanish sparkling wines.
Recaredo officially left the Cava DO in 2019, along with a handful of other producers, who now call their wines Corpinnat.
LUNCH
Head to Sant Sadurní d’Anoia institution
Cal Blay Vinticinc (www.calblay.com), opened nearly 40 years ago by the Carda-Torner family. Expect an old-meets-new dining experience, accompanied by your pick from its extensive list of Cavas.
AFTERNOON
Follow the smell of roasting cocoa beans to the Simón Coll Chocolate Space (www.simoncoll. com), which has been making artisanal chocolate since 1840, and join the engaging 50-minute tour. Then finish the afternoon with a visit to Spain’s oldest family business, Codorníu (www.codorniu.com), the secondlargest Cava producer and the most architecturally impressive. At the very least, drop by for a glass of its finest at the bar in the astonishing winery-turned-visitor-centre designed by celebrated art nouveau architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch.
EVENING
Cal Ton (www.restaurantcalton.com) is a Vilafranca del Penedès institution, and it has been keeping the town’s residents happy for more than 30 years. Start with, say, salt cod fritters and smoked sardines with aubergine and lime, followed by meatballs with mushrooms, plucking wines to match from its impressive wine cellar.
SUNDAY MORNING
Point the car towards Barcelona and head to Vilarnau (www.vilarnau.es), a small, artisanal, cutting-edge Cava producer once owned by Spanish nobility but now in the González
Byass stable. In addition to a slick Cava line-up, it offers much for the wine tourist, from helicopter rides to electric bike tours of the vineyards. Afterwards, get a table for lunch at the Cal Blay-run Mirador de les Caves (www. miradordelescaves.com), with more jaw-dropping views over the craggy Montserrat mountains.