In 2025 and 2026 I ran four tours to Catalunya, in Northern Spain. These were quite ‘intensive’, taking in a number of key denominations over four days, with visits and meals on both arrival and departure days. We packed in a wonderful overview of this amazing wine growing region.
For full details about each tour please take a look a the daily blogs we write: Link to 2025 tours here, link to 2026 tour here.
Cava
Cava has its home in Catalunya, in the region of Penedès. For virtually everyone who came, the tours transformed their view of Cava. We tasted traditional method sparkling wines of incredible quality, and learnt what gastronomic wines they can be.
At Rovellats, in the village of Sant Martî di Sarracoca, we were hosted by Alex and Jef who introduced us to the family estate, took us down into the cellars, and manually disgorged bottles. The tastings were excellent with four Cavas and four cheeses that eminently demonstrated the top class wines they produce alongside some delicious artisanal cheeses.
At Cavas Nadal which had visited during our tours in 2014, we learnt about Corpinnat, an association of Penedès sparkling wine producers who have very demanding requirements in both vineyard and cellar – this showed in our tastings , which included wines from 2016 and 2017 vintages, a revelation of the wonderful flavour varieties such as Xarel-lo, Macabeu and Parellada can develop, with remarkably low dosage.
Penedès
At Pares Balta we met Joan Cuisiné, the son of the founder and piled into a couple of minibuses and 4×4, to head up the local mountain, El Foix, in the regional park. To find cooler conditions, they have planted vineyards in these higher altitudes, with Gewurztraminer, Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc as well as local varieties such as Sumoll and Parellada, which we very much enjoyed on our return to the winery.
Can Ráfols del Caus another historic aspect of Penedès. The cellars, event spaces, fermentation rooms and more have been built into the rockface, which meant the rooms all had impressive walls of rocks, not only looking amazing but keeping the temperatures correct for the wine. Our tasting included their top class Gran Caus range, a sneaky 100% Sumol andthe amazing Can Llubis 2004 – Merlot Cabernet Franc blend.
Priorat
The mornings of our Priorat days were spent at the fabulous Perinet winery.
On each visit our guide Carlotta delivered an overview of the region and a short history of its origins: we visited the vineyards – getting up close to the licorella soils, and experiencing their precipitous inclinations! In the Gaudi inspired barrel cellar we tasted wines from barrel: contrasting two Garnachas from north and south facing slopes, and two Cariñenas one from French oak the other from American. In the tasting room we revisited older vintages of the wines we had tasted from barrel, and also the estate’s flagship blend of Garnacha, Cariñena, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. These were wonderful tastings, accompanied by delicious local meats and cheeses.
From Perinet, it was just a twenty minute drive to Terra Dominicata – a superb hotel and small winery where we enjoyed lunch with Macabeo white, Garnacha Rosado and Priorat 2018 red from magnum.
Terra Alta
A less well known wine region of Catalunya, which needs to change! Our day in the region, an hour or so south of Tarragona, on the other side of the Ebro river from Priorat and Montsant, introduced us to some glorious scenery, super wines and lovely people.
Our visits to Celler Comer d’en Bonet, Herència Altés and Celler Cal Menescal taught us about the sunny but windy conditions, which favour organic viticulture, and how 40% of the world’s Garnacha Blanca is grown in this region, a significant site of the Civil War, and possibly the inspiration for Picasso’s Cubism. And of course we were plied with the most delicious local food to accompany our tasting.
Where we stayed …
Our hotel was in the seaside town of Altafulla, just a few yards from the beautiful beach front with its varied restaurants, so in the evenings nobody went bored…. or hungry.
… and how we dined
Each tour started with a very fine lunch. In the village of Sant Pau d’Ordal Cal Pere de Maset served a seven course tasting menu, accompanied by seven wines, all from the Penedès. The Vilagut restaurant in the historic town of Vilafranca del Penedès was awarded a Michelin star in the month between our visits in 2025! The quality of what we ate (and drank) was definitely proof that this was most deserved.
In 2025 our final evening was the opportunity for the final dinner. At Hotel Gran Claustre in Altafulla old town we had an eight course tasting menu which delivered an eclectic showcase of authentic Spanish flavours accompanied by more brilliant wines.
In 2026 we ended the tour at the Casa Nova restaurant in Sant Martî di Sarracoca. Awarded a green Michelin star, with a wonderful herb and vegetable garden, chickens, goats, horses (these animals were not on the menu), a coffee roasting area, a kiln to make their own crockery and many other nuances we did not see it was not surprising that we enjoyed a quirky, fascinating array of dishes – none of which I could even contemplate making at home – all paired with a terrific selection of Penedès wines.
