Highlights

Explore five unique wine regions, all within a short distance of one of Spain’s most exciting culinary capitals–Barcelona. Taste and compare the wines ranging from the deep tintos of the Priorat, the sparkling cavas of the Penedés and the new and highly acclaimed whites of Terra Alta. Traveling through these regions with Gerry Dawes allows you to experience the food and wine as an insider, meeting winemakers and chefs. and coming to see the importance of tradition and local products in Catalonian gastronomy.

You will visit five wine regions–Penedès, Conca de Barberà, Priorat, Montsant, and Terra Alta–and experience traditional Catalan cuisine. In just seven days you will come to know many of the wines of Catalonia and discover off-the-beaten-track villages, wineries and restaurants where ancient stone villages and traditional cooking are juxtaposed with the most modern winemaking methods or modern cuisine techniques.

This food and wine journey allows you to spend a day or two in Barcelona on your own. We can arrange for a gourmet walking tour featuring Barcelona’s best shops, bars and market cuisine.

Expertly Guided Travel

Gerry Dawes writes on Spanish food and wine for Wine News and Santé, and is a correspondent on Spain for Food Arts. His awards include the 2009 Association of Food Journalists award for second best food feature in a magazine for his story on Spanish celebrity chef Ferrán Adrià, “Over the Foaming Wave”, published in Food Arts, the 2009 Cinéfilos&Gourmets Prize at the CineGourland Gastronomy Film Festival held in Getxo (Bizkaia) in the Basque Country, and the Premio Nacional de Gastronomía, Spain’s National Gastronomy Award in 2003. He is a contributor to the Culinary Institute of America Worlds of Flavor Spain website.

7 Days/6 Nights

Barcelona

Day 1 - Barcelona

Check into your hotel–a restored palace facing Barcelona’s leisure port in Barcelona’s Gothic quarter. Specialty food shops, the Mercat de la Boquería and restaurants and tapas bars line the streets.

We meet in the afternoon to take a walking tour of the Barri Gotic (Gothic quarter), taking in buildings from medieval Barcelona such as the Gothic Hall of the Llotja–the maritime exchange–and Barclona’s Cathedral. We stop to have a glass of wine at one of Barcelona’s most unique wine bars, La Vinya del Senyor, with a wine list surpassing 300 wines. The tables outside face one of the most famous Gothic churches in all Catalonia, Santa María del Mar.

Dinner is at one of Barcelona’s finest seafood restaurants on the Barceloneta beach, where we order Catalan rice dishes and shellfish of every size and shape.

Cava Country

Day 2 - Barcelona - Penedés

We depart Barcelona in the morning, heading first to Catalunya’s cava (sparkling wine) region known as El Penedés. You will have a Catalan lunch in a traditional farmhouse built in the fourteenth century Located in a landscape of mountains and vines, the house has been converted into a cosy private restaurant.

After lunch you tour a winery that makes Catalan cava using the indigenous Macabeo, Xarello, and Parellada grapes. Your tour and guided cava tasting is with the winemaker.

Transfer to Montblanc in the Conca de Barberà wine region. Check into our hotel and meet for dinner at a nearby restaurant serving traditional Catalan cuisine.

Monasteries and Castles

Day 3 - Montblanc and Poblet

Your charming hotel in Montblanc is your base for visiting the Cistercian Monastery of Poblet, built between the 12th and the 18th centuries and beautifully preserved. The Monastery is the largest occupied Cistercian monastery in Europe; it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991.

Abadía de Poblet is a red wine made from grapes grown on the monastery land and sold locally only. On land adjoining the Monastery, Catalan winemaker Torres grows ancient Catalan grape varieties used in the award-winning Gran Muralles wine. You will also visit 9th century Milmanda Castle. The nearby medieval town of Montblanc is encircled by largely intact 15th century walls.

Near Montblanc, in L’Espluga de Francolí, we visit a Moderniste winery designed by Domènec i Montaner in 1913 and nicknamed the Cathedral of Wine. An extensive series of underground caves lie beneath the streets of L’Espluga de Francolí.

Transfer to the Priorat wine region for two nights. Dinner in our charming hotel, owned by a Montsant winemaker. Tasting of Dos Terras wines in the hotel’s lounge.

Priorat and Montsant

Day 4 - Falset - Priorat & Montsant Wine Regions

Your hotel is a converted turn-of-the-century pink mansion, home to a local winemaker. When not visiting vineyards, you will be tasting wines of the Priorat and Montblanc wine regions and eating the traditional food of this region.

The Priorat region gives the impression of remoteness although it is less than two hours from bustling Barcelona. It is a peaceful rural area with vineyards sculpting slate laden hillsides. Priorat wines began arriving on the international stage in the last 15 years after visionary winemakers began to revitalize the winemaking methods, using in many cases old vines.Today Priorat wines are some of the most expensive and highly acclaimed wines in Spain.

We visit two vineyards in the Priorat and one in neighboring Montsant wine region. Dinner in Falset at one of the best restaurants in the region.

Garnatxa Blanca

Day 5 - Falset - Terra Alta - Tortosa

After a hearty country breakfast we transfer to Terra Alta wine region. Traditionally, the region has produced white wines, primarily with the Garnatxa Blanca grape. We visit a winery for a wine tasting and afterwards check into the Parador Nacional in Tortosa. Lunch in Tortosa.

Tarragona

Day 6 - Tarragona - Barcelona

Visit the De Muller winery near Reus and the spectacular Roman ruins in Tarragona. Afterwards we have lunch in Reus, a long-time formidable vermouth exporter and home to an astonishing variety of Moderniste buildings.

Transfer to Barcelona. We have our farewell dinner together in a restaurant near our hotel, and say our good-byes in the hotel’s rooftop bar overlooking Barcelona’s port.

Farewell

Day 7 - Departure from Barcelona

Tour Dates

Tour available upon request for private groups. Customized tours for groups of friends, family groups, or wine clubs available.

Tour Price

• 2675€

All prices in Euros. Prices are per person, double occupancy. Single supplement: 335€ Tour requires a minimum of 8 people. Private groups welcome.

What's Included

• Spanish food & wine expert guide
• 4-star or boutique hotels
• Winery visits & guided tastings
• Most meals and tapas
• Private transport

Airfare to/from Spain not included. Travel insurance not included.

Reservation

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Full payment for the trip is due 60 days before the program begin date. For reservations made less than 60 days before the program begin date, full payment is due at the time of booking.

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We are pleased that you have decided to travel with us. Do not hesitate to call or email with any questions you might have about your trip.

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In Spain: 951-190-478 or 635-468-938

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