Best of Penedés & Priorat Wine Tours Escape

10 am Departure from Barcelona. We will begin our multi-day trip by heading down to the DO Penedes to visit two small vineyards in the Alt Penedes. Alt Penedes is known for its smaller-batch, more specialized wines and these vineyards are no exception.

The morning stop will consist of a brief tour, as well as a presentation of the region and wines, followed by a 3-product tasting. Next, we will drive a short distance to the second vineyard where we will begin with a short trip out to the fields for a brief history of the wine region, the grapes that are grown there and the processes used. After this, we will go into the facilities and down into the cellar for an explanation of the equipment used to produce the wine, the storage processes, and the bottling methods. Afterward, we head to the tasting room for very generous tastings of whites, reds, and a reserve cava. All of this is enjoyed over a meal of traditional Catalan food…select cured meats and cheeses, olives, tomato salad, bread with tomato and olive oil, and Spanish tortilla (sort of like a quiche).

Of course, all that you taste is available for purchase from the vineyards. After lunch, we will head deeper into the Catalan wine country to the DOQ Priorat. On the drive down, we would stop at a 12th-century Romanesque monastery where you will be able to learn about some of the rich histories of the region. Upon arrival in the Priorat, we will get you settled in your room, then come downstairs for a private wine tasting and a delicious dinner at the local fair. This winery is run by Christopher Cannan, known for being one of the first in the region (along with Alvaro Palacios, Rene Barbier, and Josep Lluis Perez) and is quite a charming character. Their wines are produced with their own grapes from old vines, without watering the vines and without using insecticides or any other synthetic products.

• 9 am Breakfast

On the second day, taking a stroll through the little viticulture-farming town is a nice way to see the local community’s hard work and creativity that go into the beautiful wines they produce. The day starts slowly with a nearly guaranteed spectacular Priorat sunrise and full breakfast of fresh croissants and other bread, jellies, local cheeses, cured meats, yogurts, juice, and coffee.

After breakfast, the group’s first stop starts at 700 meters (2300 ft) of elevation for a nice, downhill walk through the beautiful vineyards of the Priorat. We will then stop for an olive oil tasting and great country lunch of local fare with wine in the former monastic community of Scaladei, whose monastery and winemaking tradition date back to the 12th century.

After lunch, we have our first wine tasting at one of the higher elevation boutique wineries in the Priorat for a full spectrum of red wines that showcase the versatility of the cultivation and winemaking tradition in the Priorat.

The second winery visit consists of a field tour and tasting is one that you will not soon forget. We will drive to the tiny village of Porrera to meet with Paco Castillo-Serrano of the family-run Clos Dominic winery to tour their beautiful vineyards and taste their fabulous vintages.

This old-vine vineyard (with some vines over 100 years old) was purchased by Paco and his wife, Dominique, in 1998 when they began to fulfill their dream of creating their own wines.

To this day, they manage and harvest their vineyards with help only from family and friends. Once we finish our tasting at Clos Dominic we will head back to Barcelona where we will say goodbye at your accommodation. These private wine tours from Barcelona are full days of generous tastings of the region’s amazing variety of products hosted in quaint venues by the winemakers themselves. Traditional local fare with modern flare accompanied at the wineries and local country restaurants and dinners are served at the evening accommodation venue. The Best of Penedès & Priorat Wine tours: 2 Day Escape are multi-day private tours for two to six people and are customized to fit with the interest of each group, be it romantic, friends, family or colleagues.

• Transport in a touring van
• Knowledgeable and personable, English-speaking wine guide
• 2 traditional lunches, 1 delicious dinner, and a gourmet breakfast
• Private visits and tastings in five wineries (two in Penedés and three in Priorat)
• Entrance and tour to two Carthusian Monasteries (Scala Dei and Santa Creus)
• Olive oil tasting in Priorat Village
• Overnight accommodation in a Priorat Winery

• Guide’s gratuity