Less than an hour southwest of Barcelona, the city falls away into a landscape of low hills striped with vines. This is the Penedès, the heart of Spanish wine country and the birthplace of cava, the sparkling wine made here by the same method as Champagne. It makes one of the easiest and most rewarding day trips from the city — provided you are not the one driving home afterwards.
Cava at the source
The town of Sant Sadurní d'Anoia is cava's capital, home to the big houses whose names you will recognise from supermarket shelves. The cellars at Codorníu sit in a modernista building designed by a contemporary of Gaudí, with kilometres of cool tunnels stacked with bottles; Freixenet runs tours nearby. Both let you walk the cellars and taste at the end, and a little train trundles you through the longer underground galleries.
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Vilafranca and the smaller producers
Vilafranca del Penedès, the main town, has a good wine museum and a Saturday market, and is surrounded by dozens of small family bodegas that make still wines as well as cava. These smaller estates are often the highlight — a grower walking you through the vines and pouring their own bottles on a terrace overlooking them.
Why a transfer makes sense here
Wine tasting and driving do not mix, and the whole point of a cava day is to actually drink the cava. A private transfer from Barcelona lets the whole group taste freely, moves you between cellars that are several kilometres apart, and gets you home without anyone watching the clock or the breathalyser. Book your Penedès wine trip or see our private transfers in Vilafranca del Penedès.
