“Nothing Catalan please.” is my chorus as I ask for wine suggestions in London, Paris and Bordeaux this summer time. “However this can be a Xarel-lo!” they exclaim “Pronounced Sharelloo.” they are going to delightedly insist. I do know Xarel-lo and its distinctive Catalan spelling and I do know concerning the ubiquitous Macabeo. I need to strive one thing totally different. It’s tough, nonetheless when Catalan wine is having a second.
And so whereas the world clamours for Catalan wine generally and Xarello – the principally natural wine-growing area of Penedès is a brief 1-hour drive from Barcelona. The cityscape abruptly offers option to light hills with rows of vines. In case you time it proper, you would possibly get caught behind an open truck piled excessive with grapes, its load quivering precariously with each bump within the street.
The Penedès wine area includes small producers and Catalan blockbuster names you’ll acknowledge like Freixenet Cava and Torres. What’s notable concerning the Penedès is that a lot of the vineyards are natural. One thing they’re required to do by 2025 to qualify for the DO Penedès certification. (Decanter)
Listed here are 5 Penedès Wine Experiences that I’ve been to and advocate.
Jean Leon
Chateau Leon, s/n, 08775 Torrelavit
(+34) 93 817 76 90
Jean Leon weaves a compelling story of a younger man who suffered household losses throughout WW2. Leon escaped to France throughout the Franco years, preserving his promise to his father to by no means serve below Basic Franco. He then went on to the US the place he labored as a dishwasher, and a taxi driver and improbably grew to become one in all Frank Sinatra’s most trusted assistants. A restaurant with James Dean adopted. In 1969 Jean Leon purchased 150 hectares in Penedès and the remaining is historical past. Historical past that’s properly documented and makes a tour at Jean Leon at present
Jean Leon runs excursions, pairings and workshops which you’ll ebook simply (and in English) via their web site: (tickets.jeanleon.com/en).
In 2017, I went on a tour with them that included a bicycle experience via their vineyards. You’ll be able to learn extra about that right here: (foodieinbarcelona.com/jean-leon-wine-tour)
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Mont Rubi
L’Avellà, 08736, Font-Rubí. Alt Penedès
(+34) 93 394 64 78.
Mont Rubi is a resort and restaurant set towards a softly undulating winery. The younger thirty-something offspring have taken up the working of the property. Mont Rubi gives a tour of their property and grounds. It’s right here that you would be able to study concerning the grapes used within the wines they produce. Fifteen of them on my final rely and an olive oil. They’ve a scrumptious candy wine made with the Xarel-lo grape that I really like.
Mont Rubi gives a spread of actions that are priced accordingly. From a 5-hour tour and gourmand meal with wine pairing of their elegant, well-restored primary home for 90€. To an inexpensive 1.5-hour tour with a pairing of wine, charcuterie and cheese. This takes place on the well-appointed terrace below the dappled mild of a trellised overhead grape vine. Or maybe you fancy a picnic for 2 priced at 38€. MontRubi gives one thing for everybody.
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Mastinell
Ctra. Vilafranca a Sant Martí Sarroca, km 0.5, 08720 Vilafranca del Penedés
(+34) 931 156 132
For a high-end wine expertise in Penedès, I like to recommend Mastinell. Opened in 1980, in 2013 Mastinell opened its 5-star resort and the distinctive Rima restaurant. The resort was impressed by the Trencadís mosaic strategy of Gaudi in Barcelona. Head on, the constructing seems like a sequence of linked spherical honeycombs and from the facet, like a stack of bottles. Though, there may be the choice of reserving an a la carte lunch at their placing however intimate En Rima restaurant.
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Albet I Noya
Can Vendrell de la Codina, 08739 Sant Pau d’Orda
(+34) 938 994 812
A small winery that goes again 5 generations (initially as farmers) who put sustainability first. The Penedès wine-growing area suffers from a wide range of fungal ailments. Being licensed natural means chemical compounds are out of the query and even the pure software of copper and sulphur is capped at a certain quantity. They’re engaged on a venture to cross-pollinate naturally resistant grape varieties to provide you with one that may thrive within the circumstances of Penedès.
Albet i Noya provide 3 primary excursions. A normal one includes a tour of the grounds completed off with a tasting of three wines, native cheese, and charcuterie for (22€). The identical with a lightweight lunch at 28€ per individual. After which a extra elaborate brunch providing (40€).
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5 Penedes Wine Experiences
Associated Studying on Foodie in Barcelona
Jean Leon Wine Tour
Padro Vermouth Tour, Tarragona
On my listing to strive
Can Rafols dels Claus
For additional studying on Penedès Experiences: penedesturisme.cat
Wine Alphabet is an effective supply of details about Spanish wine.
Can Feixes doesn’t provide excursions however the property is attractive and price a detour.
