Category: Spain

Impressions: Pangeans generally prefer smaller, family-owned operations to the large big box producers (think Nalle Wines of the Dry Creek appellation in Sonoma or Walsh Whiskey Distillery of Royal Oak, Ireland: http://pangean.org/reviews/walsh-whiskey-distillery-tour/).  This is especially the case when it comes to something as important as wine. Pangeans believe you get a far better sense of the wine when you are able to speak directly to the winemaker and hear the passion in their voice.  You can also see the actual vineyards where the wine was born and see their viticultural policies put into practice.

Our October 2016 tour of Artcava Winery in the Penedès Valley wine region of Catalunya was exactly what a Pangean would opt for if given the chance.  Barcelona was the last stop and embarkation point for a 12 night cruise through the western med and our flights to the next destination were late in the day.  We wanted to make the most of our time, but faced the problem of what to do with luggage for the day. Since they provided the service of holding our luggage in the van, we opted to spring for a full day private tour through Barcelona Day Tours (excellent service BTW) with a request to see Montserrat and “a cava winery”.  This particular Pangean has always been partial to authentic sparkling wines produced according to the méthode traditionelle (a.k.a. méthode champenoise) and cava from the Penedès valley of Catalunya is some of the world’s best: fresh, crisp flavours with good acidity balance – all reasonably priced.

The choice of Artcava as the winery was made by Barcelona Day Tours, but we couldn’t have been more pleased with their choice.  Artcava is a relatively new winery elbowing its way into the field dominated by Freixenet (the largest producer supplying a majority of the world’s supply of cava) and Codorníu (the oldest producer cava dating back to the 16th century).  A partnership of Eric, the winemaker, Ignasi, the businessman, and Ramon, the foodie, Artcava refer to themselves as the best kept secret in the Penedes region.  In their own words: “We are a small, charming winery located in one of the most important wine regions in Europe, The Penedès …. We make a modest 15,000 bottles of quality artisan cava a year with our own hands, adding nothing, no chemicals, no funny business, only love.” The winery offers a selection of tours, tastings, and cava workshops, as well as gastronomic lunches and catalonian cooking instructions.

We participated in the basic tour and tasting, led by winemaker and CEO Eric, which lasted approximately 90 minutes.  It included a brief history discussion, a tour through the 1000 year old farmhouse, a tour of the wine cave, an explanation of the champagne method of secondary fermentation in the bottle, a tour of the riddling, disgorging, and labelling facility, followed by an opportunity to taste the wines (which range in price from 9.15 € to 16.95 € per bottle).  The tour is offered year round, generally at 10:30 (though I think other special times can be arranged since our tour was in the afternoon) and costs 12 € / person for 1 to 20 people. Pours were extremely generous and Eric is extremely personable as well as knowledgable.  Artcava also offers a “Create Your Own Cava” workshop that includes the tour, tasting, and a blending and bottling workshop where you create your own bottle of cava (3 hours).  Cost is 42 € which includes the bottle of your own cava to take with you.  You can also opt for a Half Day tour that includes a hearty country breakfast either in the vineyard or in the 1000 year old farmhouse (depending on the weather) for 56 € / person, and a Full Day Tour that includes both breakfast and lunch for 84 € / person.  You can also book separate gastronomic lunches and workshops including a “Create Your Own Paella” workshop for 50 € / person that includes the workshop, lunch and cava.  For more information: http://en.artcava.com

Details:  Artcava Winery and Tour – Masia Can Batlle, Avinyonet de Penedès, 08793 Barcelona; Ph: +34 647 90 67 42; www.artcava.com

For transport to the winery Artcava suggests: “The Artcava winery is located near the train station Lavern-Subirats, in the wine region of the Penedès. The train ride takes about 40 minutes from Sants Station (in the centre of Barcelona) and costs 3,80 euros per journey. We can arrange to pick you up from the station and bring you to the winery (It’s about a 5 minute drive) and of course later we will drop you back to the station.”  For groups of 12 or more the winery suggests direct transport from Barcelona and they offer to make arrangements.  For this service and pick-up from the train station their contact is:  reserves@artcava.com

Rating: P P P P P P – The ArtCava Winery and Tour is awarded a very emphatic 6 P’s or “Excellent” on the Pangean.org scale.  We would highly recommend it to other Pangeans and we’ll head back there to create our own cava next time we’re in Barcelona. The setting is beautiful and the 1000 year old farm house used is memorable.