The Penedès wine region from Calafell: which wineries to visit and how to plan your trip
The Penedès wineries, area by area: use the table to find the one that suits your plans and, further down, you'll find the details, a wine-tasting weekend and how to get there. Calafell is already Penedès country: the town sits on the coast of the Baix Penedès.
What's made and what to visitCava houses and underground cellars
Who it suitsA first visit to the Penedès
Getting there from the coastBy car, or by train with a change
What's made and what to visitWineries and cava cellars, an old town and a wine museum
Who it suitsCombining a winery with a stroll
Getting there from the coastBy car, or by train with a change
What's made and what to visitFamily wineries among the vines
Who it suitsLandscape and small-group visits
Getting there from the coastBy car
What's made and what to visitPenedès DO wineries near the coast
Who it suitsHalf a day close to the beach
Getting there from the coastBy car
Quick answer
Which Penedès wineries should you visit from Calafell?
The Penedès is the wine region formed by three comarques, or counties – Alt Penedès, Baix Penedès and Garraf – between Barcelona and Tarragona; according to Penedès Turisme, its Wine Route brings together almost 70 wineries open to visitors. The best-known areas are Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, the capital of cava, Catalonia's traditional-method sparkling wine, with houses such as Codorníu, and Vilafranca del Penedès, capital of the Alt Penedès, with wineries such as Pinord and the wine museum. From Calafell you can get there by car, or by train with a change.
Penedès wineries by area
They all belong to the Penedès Wine Route (Ruta del Vi del Penedès), the official listing from Penedès Turisme, and can be visited by advance booking. Prices and opening times change, so check them on each winery's website.
Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, the capital of cava
In the Alt Penedès, Sant Sadurní is the capital of cava, according to its Town Council, with close to a hundred producing wineries. Underground cellars stretch out beneath the town, several cava factories are Modernista buildings and the Cava Centre, in the town centre, tells the story of the wine.
- Codorníu (opens in a new tab): the Modernista architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch designed the winery's extension in 1895, and it has been a listed Historic-Artistic Monument since 1976; the visit takes you down into its underground cellars. Ideal for a first visit.
- Celler Vell (opens in a new tab): a craft cava producer on a hilltop on the edge of town, among the vines and looking out over Sant Sadurní; the visit ends with a tasting and includes an H0-scale model railway inspired by the Penedès. Good for families.
Vilafranca del Penedès: wineries and cava in the capital of wine
Capital of the Alt Penedès, Vilafranca combines wineries and cava cellars with a medieval old town, the basilica of Santa Maria and a Modernista route. VINSEUM, the Museum of Wine Cultures of Catalonia, is housed in historic buildings such as the Palau Reial and explores the links between vine, wine and society. It's the place for Vilafranca del Penedès cava without leaving town.
- Bodegues Pinord (opens in a new tab): a family house in a Modernista building, with a barrel room and the Cava Marrugat, where its sparkling wines age; it offers visits, tastings and food pairings. For anyone who wants a winery and a stroll round the centre.
- Mascaró (opens in a new tab): three generations making wines, cavas and spirits in an urban Modernista winery with its own museum. To see a cava house right in the middle of town.
Alt Penedès vineyards: family wineries among the vines
Beyond the two towns, the visit starts out in the countryside: family wineries surrounded by vineyards, several of them farmed organically, in places such as Subirats, Pacs del Penedès or Sant Martí Sarroca. For anyone after landscape and small groups.
- Llopart (opens in a new tab), in Subirats: mountain vineyards that a parchment from 1385 already links to the family, with twenty-six generations of winegrowers; winery visits and activities out in the vineyards.
- Parés Baltà (opens in a new tab), in Pacs del Penedès: a family winery since 1790, with organically and biodynamically farmed vineyards; visits, tastings and food pairings.
- Cava Rovellats (opens in a new tab), in Sant Martí Sarroca: an early-20th-century Modernista winery in the hamlet of Rovellats, documented since 1303, making long-aged cavas from its own vineyards.
Baix Penedès and Garraf: wineries near the coast
The Penedès that reaches the sea has wineries open to visitors too: in El Vendrell, Calafell's next-door neighbour, in El Montmell and in Vilanova i la Geltrú, capital of the Garraf. They fit into half a day without giving up the beach.
- Avgvstvs Forvm (opens in a new tab), in El Vendrell: a small winery facing the Mediterranean, among vineyards with views of the sea and Sant Vicenç de Calders; tastings of its wines and its sweet-and-sour vinegars, visits and walks through the vines.
- Jané Ventura (opens in a new tab), in El Vendrell: a family winery with organic production since 1914, with its historic cellar in the town centre; it is bringing back grape varieties such as sumoll and malvasia de Sitges, and tells the story with a tasting.
- Can Marlès (opens in a new tab), in El Montmell: a small organic winery using its own grapes in the Montmell valley, with restored farmhouses for rural wine tourism and a herd of alpacas.
- Jaume Serra (opens in a new tab), in Vilanova i la Geltrú: a winery at the El Padruell farmhouse, dating from 1647, surrounded by vines with the sea in the background; guided visits by reservation.
A weekend in the Penedès, based in Calafell
Wondering what to do this weekend in the Penedès? Here's a two-day plan that alternates wineries and the sea, heading back to Calafell each evening.
Saturday
- Morning: a cava house in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, with your visit booked ahead, and lunch in the area.
- Afternoon: Vilafranca del Penedès, with its old town and VINSEUM.
- Evening: back to Calafell for dinner.
Sunday
- Morning: a family winery among the Alt Penedès vineyards or, if you'd rather stay close to the coast, one in the Baix Penedès.
- Afternoon: back to Calafell and a stroll by the sea.
For dinner in Calafell
The hotel's own restaurant, with the Mediterranean cooking of Akquaaa Restaurant; book your table in advance.
What's on
Fairs, festivals and the Grape Harvest Festival (Fiesta de la Vendimia) are all in Penedès Turisme's official events calendar (opens in a new tab).
If you're tasting
Let someone who isn't drinking do the driving, or go by train (see “How to get to the Penedès from Calafell”).
For a night by the sea with dinner taken care of: the Gourmet Getaway with dinner for two.
On the booking engine, select the Gourmet Getaway.
The Penedès Wine Route (Ruta del Vi del Penedès): wine and food
The Penedès is a land of wines and sparkling wines with more than 2,700 years of history and, according to Penedès Turisme, the region with the largest organic production in the country. The Penedès DO has xarel·lo as its flagship, the most widely planted native grape; it is known for its whites, though it makes more and more reds. Its vineyards run from the maritime Penedès to the upper Penedès, near the Pre-Coastal Range, with the central Penedès in between, and the DO recognises ten sub-zones, such as Marina del Garraf and Costers del Montmell.
The Penedès Wine Route has been run since 2001 by the Penedès Tourism Promotion Consortium and brings together almost 200 members: wineries, places to stay, restaurants, museums, specialist shops and tourism services. That same year it was certified by the Wine Routes of Spain Club (ACEVIN) as one of the country's first four wine routes. Its members follow a set of rules checked by an external audit and display a distinctive plaque; you'll find all the details on the official Penedès Wine Route website (opens in a new tab).
Hotel Akquaaa is one of the Penedès Wine Route's members.
How to get to the Penedès from Calafell
By car
The most flexible way to link up several wineries in a day. If you're staying at the hotel, there are two parking options, outdoor and indoor, booked through reception.
By train
Calafell station (Rodalies R2) is about 9 minutes' walk from the hotel. The R2 Sud runs as far as Sant Vicenç de Calders, where you change to the R4, which calls at El Vendrell, Vilafranca del Penedès and Sant Sadurní d'Anoia; timetables and connections are on the Rodalies timetable website (opens in a new tab). For the wineries out among the vines, there's a final stretch by road.
With a wine-tourism company
To taste without driving, several companies organise visits with transport included; Penedès Turisme lists them in its tourism services and transport sections. The hotel doesn't organise excursions, but reception can tell you more.
Tips for visiting Penedès wineries
- Book each visit on the winery's website, well ahead if you're going at the weekend.
- Check which days each one opens: some, such as Canals & Munné in Sant Sadurní, only run visits on Fridays, weekends and public holidays.
- Don't try to fit in more than two or three wineries a day: each visit deserves its time.
- In September, the Grape Harvest Festival fills the Wine Route's wineries with picnics, lunches and special visits; check each winery's calendar.
- Wear comfortable shoes for the vineyards and bring an extra layer for the underground cellars.
- If you buy wine at the winery, pack it carefully in the car or your suitcase.
On the seafront: Hotel Akquaaa's Gourmet Getaway
After a day among the vines, the Gourmet Getaway, one of the hotel's three packages, brings together in a single booking:
- Deluxe Room with panoramic sea views and a terrace
- Buffet breakfast
- Parking space
- Dinner for two in the hotel restaurant
On the booking engine, select the Gourmet Getaway.
Here's everything the Gourmet Getaway includes. If you're celebrating something, the Romantic Getaway with a bottle of cava adds a romantic dinner for two.
More things to do near Calafell
The rest of your stay, right by the sea.
What to see on the Costa Dorada
Ideas for your days on the coast, from Roman Tarragona to Poblet.
Another short break from Calafell.
Festivals and seasons in Calafell's events calendar
What's happening in the town at each time of year.
Your base for the wine route: Hotel Akquaaa
Sleep by the sea after your winery visits: Hotel Akquaaa, a 4-star hotel in Calafell, stands on the seafront, right by the promenade. It has rooms with views of the Mediterranean; the Deluxe Room with a private terrace, like the Superior and the Attique, has its own terrace with sea views. The hotel welcomes guests all year round, and you can add the buffet breakfast as an extra when you book.
+34 977 692 300 · reception open 24 hours
