Sep 7
“On our final day in Barcelona, we ditched the bustling city for a few hours, jumped on a bus and headed west into the countryside. Our destination was the small village of Sant Sarduni in the heart of Penedes, Spain’s premier sparkling wine growing region. This quiet little village is the epicenter of Spanish Cava production. Cava is Spain’s equivalent of France’s Champagne or Italy’s Prosecco with over 200 million bottles produced annually and exported all over the world.
We were here to visit Gramona, one of Spain’s oldest Cava producers. They have remained family owned and operated since 1850, spanning 6 generations. Our guide for that day was a Frenchman by the name of Baptiste who oversees sales in the United States. He guided us through their sprawling, three level underground cellar that they are renowned for. We were in a labyrinth of millions of bottles of bubbly wine in various stages of aging and production. The tour was interesting and informative for both the wine novices and industry professionals in the group.
Following the tour we sat down for a tasting of the finished product. The tasting kicked of with the entry level wines and ended with some exclusive bottlings. We were also able to taste some experimental and new products that aren’t available in the states. Baptiste was knowledgeable, engaging and thoroughly detailed each expression and what made each one special. It was a great experience for the entire group. In addition we were able to teach him a little about Popeyes fried chicken!
Before we heade d back to the city, we sat down for a nice, albeit slow lunch in the village. It was a simple prefix menu that included the best Ajo Blanco that I’ve ever tasted. If we knew the train to Barcelona was going to be late, we wouldn’t have ran out on dessert!” Brian’s contribution
After the tour, we had an excellent lunch in the village. It took a very long time and we had to bail on the included dessert to catch the afternoon train back to Barcelona. By the time we got back to the condo, it was 4:45. We rushed to change and head out again at 5:30 for a sunset sailing cruise from the city marina (Port Olympic). The boat is owned by Giambattista and was booked as an Airbnb experience. It was a very leisurely end to a busy day. Everyone who wanted got a chance at the helm.
We said goodbye to the kids after sailing as they headed for a steak dinner for their last night in Spain.
We used the bus and metro systems in Barcelona when we had time or we weren’t exhausted. But the taxis were the easiest and reasonable. Most rides were 7 or 8 euros and dropped us off at the doorstep. Our apartment rental was a few blocks from the Sagrada Familia church and there were many restaurants and a metro nearby.
Barcelona is a bustling big city, very clean and safe. People and businesses appear to be prosperous. For Americans,the costs of food and eating out was reasonable. We stayed four nights and made the most of each day. An extra couple of days would have allowed us to get out of the city and see the areas North of Barcelona.