#BarcelonaENOTurisme: discover wineries you would never have imagined

You know wine tourism isn't just about drinking wine. You can do that at a pavement café, at a restaurant table… or even at home! Wine tourism is much more than visiting a winery. It's culture, landscape, heritage, history, adventure, food and getting away from it all in the heart of nature. Discover the many wineries near Barcelona.

The journalists Judith Cortina and David Jobé (@enoturista) will take you on four unique tours. We'll discover the only winery in Barcelona with its vines planted in the Collserola Natural Park (@vinotecadecancalopa). We'll enjoy exploring a chateau in the Penedès (@canbas_domini), a wine-producing estate in an exclusive setting. We'll also visit a winery in Alella, right by the Mediterranean (@altaalella) which produces organic and sulphite-free wines. And we'll travel back in time at a winery in the county of Bages (@vinsabadal), where you'll find out how our ancestors made wine among dry stone walls.

"I DIDN'T THINK THERE WERE ANY VINES PLANTED IN BARCELONA"

That's what most people believe. But it's not true! Can Calopa de Dalt, on the road from Tibidabo to Vallvidrera, is the only winery in the city with its own vineyards. It even has its own flock of sheep and you'll be able to see them grazing among the vines. What a lovely photo they'll make! Visitors will be able to explore the natural scenery and walk or cycle along paths around the estate. 'La vinoteca', a restored building where you can taste delicious wines and small platters, is the perfect place to cool off while you enjoy an injection of culture. It has a terrace with views of Collserola and Tibidabo. The farmhouse has been preserved with very good taste. You can ask the team to make you a meal in the old dining room. The project is run by the cooperative l'Olivera (@olivera_coop) and it provides employment for people at risk of social exclusion. A socially committed tour.

"ARE CHATEAUX FRENCH OR ARE THERE SOME IN THE PENEDÈS?"

Yes there are, mon ami! Can Bas is a chateau-style winery in Subirats, on the outskirts of Vilafranca. It is set among 60 hectares of vines, surrounded by woodland with Montserrat rising up like a sentinel as a backdrop. The tours are exclusive. You'll walk along a flagstone path lined with cypress trees to the house which is decorated with a great love for detail. There are few photos of the building published so you'll have to keep our secret. During the tour, you'll discover the dark cellar where the wines rest in silence. Afterwards, you can enjoy a bike tour through the vineyards. Next to the house, there's a well-preserved Romanesque chapel. This is because vines have been planted at Can Bas since the time of the Iberians, 2,700 years ago. Can Bas is part of the Pere Ventura group (@pereventuracava). An impressive CV, don't you think?

"AN ORGANIC CAVA IN ALELLA?"

Can Genis is one of the most renowned cava wineries in the region. Situated between Alella and Tiana, in Vallcirera, in the foothills of the Serralada de Marina Natural Park, it produces some of the organic wines for the Alta Alella (@altaalella) wineries. The vineyards overlook the sea and are bathed by Mediterranean breezes. The wines they produce have always been 100% organic and sulphite free. During the tour, you'll be able to discover what makes the wines made under the Designation of Origin, DO Alella, unique. The vines are grown in granite-based sandy soil. The main grape varieties are local, and include Pansa Blanca, Pansa Rosada and Mataró. They are grown with a real passion and great efforts have been made to revive them. You can taste the results of this story as you sit in the visitor centre, with its views of the vineyards and the sea. The project was devised at the art-nouveau house, Can Genís, in the 1990s, and has been passed down from parents to children. You'll notice this look, part tradition, part modern, in the cement vats painted in bright colours by artists, or at the impressive spin-off winery in Alta Alella, the Celler de les Aus, a boat-shaped structure perched on a hilltop surmounted by netting, wood and iron. You have to see it! You have to live it!

"JUST WHAT ARE BAGES WINES LIKE? VINEYARDS, WOODLAND AND DRY STONE WALLS"

The history of the county of Bages is straight out of a novel. The experts say that it is named after the god Bacchus. Long before Roman times, where Montserrat now stands, there was the sea. This left the county with a natural soil which is perfect for growing vines. You can enjoy, and learn about this part of the story at the Abadal winery (@vinsabadal) in Santa Maria d'Horta d'Avinyó. The Roqueta farmhouse will take you on a journey through a time tunnel. Inside, you'll be able to see how wine was made 300 years ago! Many of the implements and methods have been preserved intact but modernised. And you can tell by tasting their wines, which embody the ancient Bages landscape, its vines and woodland. During the 18th century there was such a drive to plant vines that they built stone sheds and wine vats and dry stone walls so they could plant more and more of them. Many of these structures have been preserved at Abadal, in a very good state of repair. You can go on the stone hut trail, enjoy an alfresco picnic or enjoy its wines made with traditional, and foreign, grape varieties, and experience the passage of time in you glass.

All the wineries are used to, and delighted to welcome visitors. They have put all the safety measures in place to ensure they follow the current Covid guidance, as recognised by the Safe Travels label.