Tour Summary

A thousand years before Christ, the Phoenicians were producing wine in the Penedés region, about a day’s march from the ancient port of Barcelona. Carthaginians, Romans, Moors traded the wine all round the Mediterranean. Foreign merchants introduced culinary innovations, hence there is a rich epicurean legacy awaiting you.

On arrival, you can be chauffeur driven or have a hire car fitted with a GPS to help you navigate your way around. Before arriving at your hotel, you will stop at the 9th century monastery built into the jagged peaks of the Montserrat Mountains. You take the funicular railway to explore the treasures including the ‘Montserrat Virgin’, one of Spain’s most treasured icons.

The Penedés is internationally famous for Cava, the Spanish sparkling wine, but it is by no means the only one. There are lusty reds and delicate whites, too. This wide variety is explained by the ascending levels of three sub-regions: Bajo, on the coast where the weather is hot and best suited to black grapes; Medio is a bit cooler, the dominion of Cava; at the top is Alto where the climate is similar to Bordeaux.

Your itinerary will thread its way through all three sub-regions stopping at famous wineries for wine tastings and expert commentary. You will pause at some of the village markets where you will find ingredients that add such character to Catalan cuisine.

You will stay in a masia (farmhouse), a beautifully transformed sanctuary, Spain’s first Bio-hotel. The garden is set against a backdrop of the Montserrat Mountains and includes a swimming pool beyond which are fields of organic produce. Your first hands-on cookery class starts here. You will prepare a typical regional feast that you will later enjoy accompanied by delicious local wines.

On your way back to the airport, there is one final treat: a seafood lunch by the sea in the charming resort of Sitges

Itinerary

DAY ONE

Right after breakfast, you will pickup of your car hire fitted with GPS for your next gourmet adventure. Before arriving to our selected local gourmet hotel in Penedes we suggest  driving to Montserrat crossing picturesque provincial villages you will arrive to the free car park at the bottom of Monserrat and  will take the electric-cable to the incomparable setting of Montserrat mountain which rises to 1.235 meters of height and holds the Royal Basilica and the Monastery, where the Moreneta Virgen (Virgen de Montserrat) is kept.  Once your visit is complete and after some free time for wandering around and perhaps lunch next to the Monastery, you will drive to our next culinary destination: Penedes.

The hotel is a Farmhouse surrounded by vineyards and typical crops from the area and you can enjoy uninterrupted views of the mountains of Montserrat to the castle of Sant Marti Sarroca. This Masia is a Biohotel the first country hotel of its type in Spain and it has a garden where they produce the freshest organic products and in season for their meals.

Once you arrive the owner will help you to settle in and will take you around showing you the rooms and the house facilities including the swimming pool and the garden. Welcome gift and aperitif.  In the evening you will have your first cooking class with the hotel owner showing how to prepare three local dishes and a desert made with organic ingredients from the garden and local suppliers. Afterwards  you will enjoy your meal paired with local wines in a comfy dining room  or in the outdoor terrace (weather permitting )accompanied by the chef and owner.

DAY TWO 

Rural Breakfast based on organic, fresh and healthy local products. During breakfast introduction to  organic cuisine, its principles and bases.
Time to explore the area. You can do it in the car hire provided with a guide, with a driver guide or   by bicycle, in any case you will be accompanied by a local guide.
before your next cooking class in the early evening.

Next you will be going to the local market visiting some of the farmhouse suppliers. After the market experience  you will have a superb guided visit to one of the leading wineries in Penedes  learning their unique characteristics and unique wine-and cava making methods. Wine tasting accompanied by snacks. We can suggest local wineries to visit or the big famous producers like Codorniu or Torres.

Before the special treat awaiting for you in the evening you will have a home- made light lunch in one of the best family-run restaurants in this wine region  experiencing the  wonderful gastronomy   in Penedes.

Return to your hotel to relax in the afternoon enjoying the peaceful surroundings and perhaps learning some plantation techniques in the garden and tasting some artisanal candy and sweet  wines.

In the evening you will have a second hands-on cooking workshop of a special tasting menu arranged by the owner for your enjoyment, learning different cooking and presentation techniques including some local tricks. Dinner based on the dishes prepared will follow.

DAY THREE  

This fantastic culinary adventure finish with a typical breakfast from the area. If you have chosen the car hire option we suggest to drive to the wonderful seaside town of Sitges to enjoy  a walk by the beach, perhaps  some seafood specialities and a stroll through Sitges Unique old quarter, before continuing to the airport where you will leave your car before catching your  flight.

Alternatively you will be taken by private transfer to your next destination.
 
WE REALLY HOPE YOU HAVE ENJOYED A SUPERB EXPERIENCE

Prices & Dates

Accommodation

ACCOMMODATION IN PENEDES

TYPICAL MASIA IN CATALONIA
  
Situated in the heart of Penedès you will find our farmhouse near the village of Vilobi just 9 km from Villafranca del Penedés and a little more than 45 km from Barcelona and Tarragona.
From the masia, which is surrounded by vineyards and tipical crops of the area, you can enjoy uninterrupted views of the mountains of Montserrat to the castle of Sant Marti Sarroca. The main house dates from the beginning of the 1900s with characteristic architectural elements inspired by the rural surroundings.
Over the years the house has been modernised and currently includes more than 550 sq metres distributed between the main house and the various outbuildings.

A large secluded garden is composed of vines, fruit trees, ecological vegetable garden and numerous small corners that invite you to relax and listen to the rhythm of country life.

This Bio-hotel is a pioneering initiative, the first country hotel of its type in Spain. As a Bioh-otel, our “raison d’etre” is maximum respect for the environment, sustainability and the cultivation and use of biological products. To enjoy this property is to satisfy the five senses, without haste and with time to observe the smaller details of life.

Tour Pictures