24 hours in Cava country

24 hours in Cava, El Peixet — Go for dinner at El Peixet in Cubelles

(Image credit: www.elpeixet.es)

Spend the perfect day exploring Cava country...

24 hours in cava country

Decanter travel guide: Cava country, Spain

Morning

Walk along the seafront in Sitges, stopping at a café for coffee and pan amb tomaquet, the classic Catalan breakfast: bread or toast rubbed with tomato and garlic, topped with olive oil and salt. Next a quick drive to Sant Sadurní d’Anoia. The first visit is to Recaredo in the heart of the town, a biodynamic producer that has a real commitment to quality and offers a fascinating all-round introduction to cava. It’s much easier to understand the principles at a producer where every bottle is disgorged by hand.

See more cava wineries to visit

Lunch & Afternoon

Before lunch, wander around town. First-timers could call in at the CIC Cava Interpretation Centre; or the Simón Coll Chocolate Experience. Leave plenty of time for lunch: on Thursdays many restaurants in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia serve paella. Lunch is typically around 14:30. If you are peckish earlier, drop into a bar for a tapa at midday. In the afternoon, visit a larger winery, such as Gramona, which has a long history in research. Learn what happens to the tastes of cava as it matures and develops.

Cava: Restaurants, hotels and shops

Evening

Then it’s time to head back to the seaside. Since dinner doesn’t start until 21:30 at the earliest, drop into Perbacco to shop for wine. For dinner, drive to El Peixet (pictured top) in Cubelles, or stay in Sitges at La Salseta close by the waterfront. Then there’s just time for another glass of cava or the ultra-popular gin tónica at a beachside bar or nightclub.

Sarah Jane Evans MW is an award-winning journalist who began writing about wine (and food, restaurants, and chocolate) in the 1980s. She started drinking Spanish wine - Sherry, to be specific - as a student of classics and social and political sciences at Cambridge University. This started her lifelong love affair with the country’s wines, food and culture, leading to her appointment as a member of the Gran Orden de Caballeros de Vino for services to Spanish wine. In 2006 she became a Master of Wine, writing her dissertation on Sherry and winning the Robert Mondavi Winery Award. Currently vice-chairman of the Institute of Masters of Wine, Evans divides her time between contributing to leading wine magazines and reference books, wine education and judging wines internationally.