Wine Tasting near Barcelona

My obsession with wine is real. I love trying new varieties and visiting wineries everywhere. I am so lucky to live near so many vineyards in Virginia that I frequently visit; however, nothing compares to the vineyard visits in Europe. During my trip to Italy last year (see my Chianti post for more details), I had such amazing experiences at vineyards due to the service provided and the beautiful views. I knew that Spain specialized in temperanillo and cava, so I began my search for a vineyard that my friends and I could visit near Barcelona.

There were a few things I had to take into consideration before finalizing my plans. Was the vineyard accessible by public transportation? Could I make a reservation for a large group? What was included in the tour price? What type of wine did they offer?

That’s when I came across Llopart Cava.

History

Llopart began producing cava in 1887. Ownership has stayed within the family over the past 130 years. They continue to use old, traditional methods to perfect their cava, such as the rotation of each bottle to gather the yeast at neck in preparation for extraction. This method is referred to as riddling.

Original method of riddling.

Same concept as original; however, no longer in dirt.

This family owned winery has been passed down for 25 generations. The current owners enjoy interacting with visitors and love when there’s a large group doing a tour. I absolutely loved this and my heart melted when the owner asked to take a photo with us.

How To Get There

Located right outside of Barcelona, Llopart was extremely easy to get to. The address is Carretera de Sant Sadurní a Ordal, Km 4, 08739 Els Casots, Barcelona, Spain. This vineyard is located in a small town where the common language spoken is Catalan. Llopart is accessible by train from Barcelona and takes around 50 minutes. Take the R4 Train to San Sadurni d’Anoia station towards Vilafranca del Penedes. You can purchase the train ticket at the station. From the San Sadurni d’Anoia station, you can take a 5 minute taxi ride straight to the vineyard.

Varietal

Cava, which is a sparkling wine, is what Llopart is most known for. They also produce a red blend that is made from tempranillo, merlot, and cabernet sauvignon and a white blend made from chardonnay and xarel-lo. You can also purchase grape juice (non-alcoholic) as well.

Price

The price of a tour is 17 euro, which includes a thorough tour of the vineyard and production area and a tasting of three cavas. (Keep in mind that a “tasting” usually means the full bottle for your group) All bottles can be purchased for a great price as well. The most expensive bottle (which tasted amazing) was 38 euro. Small size bottles of certain cavas were also available for purchase.

Experience

My experience at Llopart was nothing short of amazing. Our tour guide was kind, informative, and generous. He took us through the building and vineyard providing us details of the history of Llopart, cava, and Catalonia.

The view from the rooftop was incredible. You could even see Montserrat in the distance. Our guide informed us that Montserrat and the surrounding mountains actually helped protect the vineyards through the colder seasons.

We toured the production area and watched a video on the process of producing cava. I had no idea just how intricate it was. One wrong turn during the riddling step could ruin the entire bottle. There were thousands of bottles in the warehouse, which made us so anxious to try some.

At the end of the tour, we were taken to the huge tasting room. Our guide brought out each bottle one by one for us to try. He assured us that we could try more if needed. He even allowed us to try some that wasn’t included in the tour, but had been opened and sitting in the fridge. The cava tasting also included cured meats and cheese, which he refilled as well. I truly love the private, intimate wine tasting experiences that appears to be common in Europe. Llopart definitely did not disappoint.

I cannot recommend this place enough! The location, the view, the cava, the staff, it was all so perfect and one of my favorite memories of Spain.

Reservations can be made on their website.