Barcelona Wine & Cava Tours: Penedès Day Trips & Montserrat
Barcelona wine and cava tours: the Penedès and Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, how cava is made, Montserrat and cava day trips with lunch, Priorat, and how to book.
The short version: Barcelona’s wine day trip is the Penedès, about 45 minutes west of the city, home of cava, Spain’s traditional-method sparkling wine. Most tours combine it with the mountain monastery of Montserrat, then visit a family cava cellar, often with a farmhouse lunch. The capital of cava, Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, sits on kilometres of underground cellars. Here is what to taste and how to book.
At a glance
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Where | Penedès: Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, Vilafranca del Penedès |
| From Barcelona | About 45 minutes; Montserrat about 1 hour |
| Cava grapes | Xarel·lo, Macabeo, Parellada |
| Method | Second fermentation in the bottle, like Champagne |
| Further afield | Priorat (about 2 hours) for powerful reds |
What makes cava special
Cava is made like Champagne, with a second fermentation in the bottle, but from Catalan grapes: Xarel·lo for body, Macabeo for freshness and Parellada for finesse. Look for longer-aged Reserva and Gran Reserva, and for the grower movement making “Clàssic Penedès” and Corpinnat wines. In Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, the historic houses have huge cellars, some in Modernist buildings designed by Puig i Cadafalch. To compare sparkling styles, see Champagne vs Crémant.
Montserrat and cava, or cava only
The classic day combines the jagged mountain and Benedictine monastery of Montserrat in the morning with a cava cellar and lunch in the afternoon. Prefer more wine? Choose a Penedès-only tour with two or three wineries, or an e-bike ride through the vines. Back in Barcelona, cava pairs perfectly with tapas: see Barcelona tapas or pintxos by neighbourhood and the best tapas tours in Spain.
Our picks: Barcelona: Montserrat with Winery Visit and Farmhouse Lunch, a small-group day pairing the monastery with a Penedès cava cellar, or Montserrat and Cava Wineries Day Trip with Pickup.
Compare all the regions: the best wine tours in Spain.
Frequently asked questions
Where is cava made?
Mostly in the Penedès region west of Barcelona, around Sant Sadurní d’Anoia.
Can you combine Montserrat with a winery?
Yes. The most popular day trips from Barcelona visit Montserrat in the morning and a cava winery in the afternoon, often with lunch.
Is cava the same as Champagne?
It is made the same way, with a second fermentation in the bottle, but from different grapes and in Catalonia rather than France.
Book a cava tour from Barcelona
Compare Barcelona wine and cava tours, or see Barcelona tapas tours.
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