As a food and beverage journalist living in Barcelona, I’ve learned so much about Spain’s many beautiful vineyards.
I think the country’s nearly 140 wine regions are quite underrated compared to other European destinations.
Here are my top six tips for planning a Spanish vino adventure.
Prioritize visiting historic wineries.
Regardless of which region you’re visiting, look up historic wineries and book your lodgings near them.
For example, Codorníu is one of the oldest wineries in Spain. It’s located in Catalonia and is known for its cava. Best of all, it’s a quick train ride from the heart of Barcelona.
My favorite wines from Codorníu’s collection can only be purchased and tasted in Spain (some, only at the winery). It’s worth the visit for those glasses alone.
In general, smaller and newer wineries also tend to set up shop near historic ones, which makes it easier to plan a full-day wine tour.
From Codorníu, I recommend heading to hillside winery Vins El Cep. The small but mighty operation also produces award-winning cava.
Look up local wine festivals and events.
Planning a trip around a wine festival is an easy way to get a lot of bang for your travel buck while still having a socially and culturally enriching experience.
I spent my 32nd birthday at the Festa de la Verema, which is a grape harvest festival in Sitges — a beach town 30 minutes outside Barcelona. It was a lovely day of trying wines from all over Spain and hanging out with friends by the Mediterranean Sea.
Spain has countless wine festivals all year round, so I recommend finding one that interests you and booking a hotel in that area in advance.
Festival admission tends to be pretty affordable — I’ve never spent more than 10 euros — but finding nearby accommodations can get pricey if you don’t plan ahead.
If you already know your favorite region, make sure to book a full tour.
Some of Spain’s wine regions, like Catalonia and the Meseta, are more accessible due to their proximity to public transportation and major international airports.
Others, like Andalusia and Rioja, can be trickier to get to without a car, but they have internationally renowned wines.
Regardless of where you are, booking a wine tour is one of the most efficient ways to get a lot of wine in without much planning. Some tours even span multiple regions, last several days, and include housing, transportation, and food.
If you’re interested, definitely check out the Wine Tourism Spain website. It has lists of tours from different companies, and you can search by your starting city.
Local wine bars are the best place to find niche bottles.
I love stopping in local wine bars across Europe but especially in Barcelona. They’re always so full of personality and usually have a lively tapas menu to accompany the wine selections.
You can also expect to find some particularly niche wines if that’s what you’re into. Local wine bars tend to have experimental bottles from all over Spain, so you can almost take a mini wine tour right from your bar stool.
Some of my favorite spots in Barcelona are Masa Vins, an intimate natural wine bar, and Viblioteca, an Instagram-worthy wine bar that’s worth the hype.
There are also some Spanish restaurants with wonderfully long wine lists.
I’ve found that some luxury hotels have extensive local wine collections and highly trained staff that can walk you through the region’s wine history, glass by glass.
In Barcelona, my top pick is Amar, a Catalan restaurant that focuses on seafood and has about 700 wines on deck.
It’s located inside the El Palace Hotel, and I often see a good mix of locals and tourists there, which is always a green flag for me.
Don’t miss out on touring a historic wine cellar.
Vineyards are beautiful, especially during harvest season, but they’re not the only destination for vinophiles. If you like to nerd out about wine but also want an intimate experience, booking a walkthrough at a wine cellar is a must.
Although almost all wineries and some restaurants have wine cellars, very few of them are worth taking a vacation to see. One that is worth traveling to is the city-like cellar underneath Codorníu.
It has a cava train that shuttles guests through the 30-kilometer underground system.
Other cellars, like the one at Puente Romano Resort, allow you to walk through with a guide, pick a wine from the collection, and enjoy it there.
The resort’s wine cellar is over 1,000 vintages strong and houses some of the rarest wines in Spain — several of which aren’t even available for purchase.
The post I live in Barcelona. Here are 6 of my best tips for exploring Spain’s beautiful wine regions. appeared first on Business Insider.
