One of the special things about our roving retirement nomadic life is sampling all of the food and wine available in the places we visit. As we got ready to leave Barcelona we started researching nearby wine regions. We were encouraged by our friends to try the local wine. So, we decided to take the time to visit both the wine regions of Penedès and Priorat, which are inland from Barcelona and Tarragona.
Spanish Wine Basics
Vineyards in Spain go back to 1100 BC, five centuries before France, but the Spanish winemaking industry has struggled to match the renown of their neighbor. A big reason for their troubles can be traced back to the autocratic rule of Francisco Franco from 1939-1975. He emphasized quantity over quality to boost the economy. He also prevented the exportation of Spanish wine and the industry is still recovering nearly 50 years later.
Many Spanish varietals are unfamiliar to North Americans since many are not the classic French grapes we have become accustomed to. However, there are 400 varieties grown in Spain, but the major types are as follows. White grapes: Parellada, Xarello, Macabeo, Albariño, Airén, Verdejo and Palomino. Red grapes: Tempranillo, Bobal, Garnacha, and Monastrell.
Did you know Spain has the most acres of vineyards and is the 3rd largest producer of wine in the world, slightly behind France and well ahead of the US? It turns out that Italy is #1 in production with nearly 20% more than France. Most of the Spanish wine produced today is consumed domestically or shipped in bulk to France to be blended with French wines. Poor reputations and production techniques have made it difficult for vintners to make inroads in wine circles around the world. But things are beginning to change…
Penedès DO & Cava
The Penedès DO (designated wine region), located just west of Barcelona, is known for its great Cava. 138 wineries call this region home, but there are several websites that can help you choose where to visit. It is worth noting that just about all of the wineries charge for tasting and require advance reservations. For your effort and money, you get a private or semi-private experience.
Interestingly, the Cava designation can be applied to any sparkling white or rose wine from anywhere in Spain made using the traditional method. Although only certain grapes can be used in Cava, there can be a wide range of quality due to the variances in terroir and the volume produced.
Corpinnat
Eleven wineries in Penedès have created an association called Corpinnat to define quality controls for their sparkling wines. They have created this new designation to differentiate their products from Cava. Their guiding principles center around sustainable and organic practices. We managed to visit two in Penedès.
The Recaredo winery is located in the town of Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, arguably the epicenter of the Penedès DO. Josep Mata Capellades quit his job as a disgorger in 1924 and started producing his own wine. He and his wife dug their original aging cave by hand. Today, Josep’s grandsons continue disgorging the bottles by hand. Disgorging is the act of opening the bottle to remove the yeast after the 2nd fermentation. Most other sparkling wine producers do this mechanically.
Llopart winery was our other stop and is located on a hill about a mile outside of town. Their vineyards have a beautiful view of the Montserrat Massif, which we visited earlier in the day. We described the monastery at Montserrat in A Restful Stay In Sitges After Visiting Soaring Montserrat. Their Brut Rose ($19) scored a spot on the Wine Spectator Top 100 list in 2019. Not too shabby. They also let me take pictures on the tour, which made me happy.
Organic farming 
Vineyards and Monserrat Massif 
Xarello on the vine 
Storage and riddling racks 
White marks assist in riddling (jiggling) cava prior to disgorging. 
Old school method to concentrate yeast after secondary fermentation 
Checking for yeast removal after disgorgement 
Cava cork seats 
Cellar tasting room 
Tasty stuff 
Main Llopart tasting room
For our cycling, traveling oenophile readers, I happened on a place that organizes Penedès cycling tours. I have no experience with them, but it might be a good place to start looking if you are interested.
Priorat DO
About 45 minutes from Tarragona is Gratallops, in the heart of the Priorat DO. Priorat was neglected for years and was “discovered” when Rioja winemaker René Barbier saw the potential for quality wines in this remote, high-altitude area. Along with a few others, Barbier began producing vintages in the 1990s with ever-improving reviews. So much so that 2001 was a breakout year for the region when Barbier’s Clos Mogador garnered 97 points from Robert Parker. The wine world took notice.
Our day in Priorat started with a visit to Celler Devinssi, where our guide Jordi Ustrell took us out to taste in their vineyard. Amongst the beautiful vistas, we learned much about the history of the area and the vineyards. It was really special to learn about and taste these wonderful and affordable wines (starting from 17€) in such a setting. Highly recommended.
Jordi is also a wine tour operator and was kind enough to arrange our second winery visit and our lunch. Our other stop for the day was at La Conreria d’Scala Dei. We got a tour of their winery and tasted some more wonderful wine, even some from the barrel. Their wines are available in the US from their importer, Eric Solomon, who has a hand in blending the wines for the American palette.
Feeling Peckish?
Jordi arranged for lunch at Restaurant La Morera in the nearby town of La Morera de Montsant. True to tradition, it didn’t open for lunch until 1 pm. We rolled in about 2:30 to find a mostly empty dining room that filled up in the next 45 minutes. The place oozed charm and authenticity and we really enjoyed our meal, complete with more local wine. We would never have found the restaurant on our own without the Google Maps links that Jordi provided.
Marketing
Today, Spain is producing some world-class wines, but their bulk wine reputation from the Franco years still overshadows recognition of their true natures. Slowly, through awards and associations like Corpinnat, they are on their way to becoming known. I suggest you investigate and enjoy these hidden gems while they are still reasonably priced. Cheers!
What are your favorite wine varietals?
4 comments
Your description of the Corpinnat reminded me of a similar, but perhaps more mundane and lowbrow, group of organizations you can find in southern France. In the wine areas almost every town has a building marked “Coopérative Vinicole”. They are community owned and operated wineries where the local small growers bring their grapes for processing. They make a range of products from bottled reserves down to huge vats of table wine. It is the latter where they move the greatest volume. You’ll see locals filling up reusable 4-10 liter plastic jugs to take home for their everyday house wine.
When traveling in that area, I’d often stop by a random Coopérative to fill a small half liter plastic bottle which they’d fill from a hose attached to a finishing vat, kind of like an old timey gas station. It was hella cheap, less than a Euro per liter. Sometimes they’d just fill me up for free. And to my palate the wine was really good though I do not claim my taste in wine is anywhere as refined as with beer 🙂
The experience was fun, hanging out with the locals, pantomiming across my lack of French and their lack of English, and feeling part of their unrushed rural tradition.
I love it. I’ve heard of that in Italy, too. I gotta save one of my water bottles for when I run across such a setup. Thanks for info!
Great information on the Spanish wine history! Glad you came across the cycling tour and made note of it – I’ll be putting that on our list! Hope the heat wave there isn’t cramping your style.
We’ve had to slow down a bit because of the heat. It’s not a dry heat ?