Antoni Gaudi's Casa Batlló on Passeig de Gracia, Barcelona

A Cava Cellar

Antonio Gaudi architecture in Barcelona

Priorato

Barcelona, Penedes & Priorat Wine Tour

10 - 14 September 2012

Visit the Priorat and Penedes, the famous wine regions of Catalonia around harvest time when there will be much activity and news from the wineries.

Our wine tour starts just outside Barcelona in the main vineyards of the Spanish sparkling wine, Cava. In Penedes this is made from Chardionnay and the local grape varieties of Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel·lo. Penedès also produces high quality still wines, both red and white, including from Tempranillo, (locally known as Ull de Llebre). Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay too have been adopted and are often blended with local varieties. We have special visits to Torres in Vilafranca del Penedès and the traditional artisanal Rovellats estate.

We will be based in a central 4* in Barcelona for the first two days, so on our return from the vineyards the city’s sites will be on the doorstep. After this, we transfer to Altafulla near Tarragona for two nights in a small, stylish 4* hotel.

The reason that we are here is for Priorat, one of Spain’s most traditional yet most vibrant regions whose red wines regularly vie for some of the top prices reached for red Spanish wines.We have easy journeys up into the majestic Monsant Mountains. Sacred Mountains indeed; they still have the feeling of remoteness that must have attracted the early monastic orders who first planted vines and made the monumental wines that gave Priorat its reputation. Here we visit La Conreria de Scala Dei and Alvaro Palacios and enjoy lunches at Costers del Siurana and Vidal & Vidal estate.

During each visit there will be a tutored technical tasting and our lunches will be either at the estate, or at a favourite restaurant of our hosts. Our delightful 4* hotel in Altafulla is unique and stylish small hotel is in a building dating from 1746. The decor is modern and quirky. There will be a dinner included at our hotel’s renowned restaurant in Altafulla on our last evening together.

Combine this tour with Rioja & Ribera del Duero 2-8 September, by the AVE train from Madrid to Barcelona. Please call for advice and assistance with this option. If you combine the two tours, we will be pleased to offer a £100 per person reduction off the total price of the two tours combined.

A delightful wine tour to two of Spain’s most contrasting wine regions at an exciting time of year around harvest and we may be there whilst the grapes are being in brought in! Of course, this is dependent on the conditions of the vintage in 2012, however there is always much activity and news from the wineries at harvest-time.

Barcelona

Barcelona, Spain’s second largest city and principal port, is the capital of the autonomous region of Catalonia. Fiercely nationalistic, most consider themselves as Catalans rather than Spaniards. Under the rule of Franco, the Catalan language was forbidden, until his death in 1975, but has since been re established, and the government has ruled that all broadcasting was to be at least half in Catalan. Famous for its artists and architects, amongst them, Picasso, Antonio Gaudi and Joan Miró, there is much to visit in this fascinating city. There is a wealth of architecturally interesting buildings from the Art Nouveau (Modernisme) explosion which occured in the 1900’s to the old town which has some wonderful medieval buildings. The Barri Gòtic (“Gothic Quarter” in Catalan) is the centre of the old city of Barcelona and some buildings date from the Roman settlement of Barcelona with a great number of these buildings also being UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The work of architect Antoni Gaudí can be seen throughout the city. One can visit the impressive Sagrada Familia, Gaudi’s unfinished cathedral, the Miró Foundation’s gallery, which is particularly fascinating and of course – don’t forget the Picasso gallery. The most famous boulevard of Barcelona, Las Ramblas, is lined with cafes in which you can relax and people watch. It is also home to La Boqueria market with stalls of gleaming fresh produce.

Priorat

Priorat is one of Spain’s most traditional yet most modern regions lying north of Tarragona and the terrain varies between craggy escarpments and lonely mountain valleys. The red wines from this region regularly vie for some of the top prices reached for red Spanish wines on the export market. The main grape variety is the Garnacha, although experimental plantings make it a very exciting time to be visiting the region.

Cava

Just outside the magnificent city of Barcelona are the vineyards of Spanish sparkling wine, Cava, from the local grapes of Maccabeo, Paradella and Xarel-lo. Despite the dominance of white grapes for Cava, the region of Penedes also produces quality still wines, both red and white, including the ever present Tempranillo, which in this region is known as Ull de Llebre. International varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay have been adopted here and are often blended with local varieties.

Tour Dates

We have chosenMonday to Friday for the main tour so that you may choose to spend the weekend before the tour or after the tour staying on in Barcelona, making this a particularly good value break. We are pleased to be able to offer you a very special price of just £55 per person per night in twin (£110 in double for sole occupancy) for staying in our chosen 4* hotel pre or post tour providing you confirm this to us at the time of booking and pay for the additional nights in full at the same time.