The local cheeses of Penedes with the local wines that suit them, and why they work.
The cheeses of Penedes with the wines made beside them. Pairings marked as a local tradition are the ones a regional source names; the rest are our own picks, and say so.
Four years or more on the lees give these Xarel·lo-led Corpinnat Brut Nature wines a savoury, lees-rich depth that meets Garrotxa's buttery paste and damp-cellar rind, while high acidity and a fine bead refresh the goat's milk.
Bottles to try:
Garrotxa is mild, milky and buttery under its grey mould. Penedès Xarel·lo made without new oak brings fennel, citrus and a saline edge with high acidity, which cuts through the firm paste and leaves the fresh goat's milk in front.
Bottles to try:
Dry white Corpinnat, aged 18 to 50 months on its lees, brings high acidity and a fine bead: the bubbles scrub Garrotxa's buttery paste from the palate and leave the mild, lactic goat's milk and its damp-cellar rind in front.
Bottles to try:
Mató is unsalted, milky and mild, and is eaten as a dessert with honey. This Muscat ancestral sparkling is off-dry at 6.5% alcohol, with white peach, lychee and a soft bubble, so it plays the part of the honey without overwhelming the curd.
Bottles to try:
Five years or more on the lees give these zero-dosage Corpinnat wines a savoury, autolytic depth that suits a mature pressed cheese, while the bone-dry palate, high acidity and fine bead cut the fat of a serrat.
Bottles to try:
Five years or more on the lees give these single-vineyard Cavas a creamy, savoury depth that stands up to serrat's dense, fatty paste and peppery edge, and their high acidity and fine bead clean the palate between bites.
Bottles to try:
Dry white Cava, high in acidity and with a fine bead, scrubs Garrotxa's buttery paste from the palate, while its fresh fruit sits easily beside the mild goat's milk and the damp-cellar notes of the grey rind.
Bottles to try:
Serrat is pressed, firm and a little peppery. Sumoll is the Penedès native red: red cherry, wild herb and rose petal, medium-bodied with firm tannin and high acidity, enough structure to match the cheese's fat and spice.
Bottles to try:
Two years or more on the lees give Gran Reserva Cava toasty or dried-fruit notes and a rounder bead; that depth stands up to serrat's dense, fatty paste, and the dry palate and high acidity cut its peppery richness.
Bottles to try:
Conca del Riu Anoia whites are bone dry, with high acidity and a saline, mineral edge after 18 months to seven years on the lees; the bubbles cut Garrotxa's buttery paste and the salt sets off the mild goat's milk.
Bottles to try:
Xarel·lo aged on its lees with some oak gains a creamy texture and yellow-apple fruit that meet Garrotxa's buttery paste, while the grape's high acidity and saline edge keep the goat's milk fresh and lift the grey rind.
Bottles to try:
Penedès Chardonnay fermented and aged in French oak brings hazelnut and a creamy, lees-rich texture that meet Garrotxa's buttery paste, while lemon and high acidity keep the firm goat's cheese and its grey rind fresh.
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Dry rosé Cava brings red-berry fruit, high acidity and a fine bead: the bubbles lift Garrotxa's firm, buttery paste and the berry fruit plays against the lactic tang of the goat's milk.
Bottles to try:
Rosé Corpinnat, bone dry after two to three years on the lees, has the red-berry fruit and grip to meet serrat's fatty, slightly peppery paste, while high acidity and a fine bead keep each mouthful fresh.
Bottles to try:
Penedès Cabernet Sauvignon, full bodied and aged in oak, has firm tannin with cedar and dark fruit; serrat's fat and dense, eyeless paste soften the tannin, and its intense, peppery flavour holds up to the wine.
Bottles to try:
Merlot-led Penedès reds aged in French oak bring plum fruit, supple tannin and a savoury finish; serrat's fat rounds the tannin and its intense, slightly peppery flavour meets the wine's savoury side.
Bottles to try:
Cabernet Franc from the Penedès, aged in French oak, joins high acidity to a herbal, savoury edge and fine to firm tannin; the acidity cuts serrat's fat and the herbs meet the cheese's intense, peppery flavour.
Bottles to try:
Unsalted mató invites sweetness, as in honey or jam. This semi-dry Cava has about 37 g/l residual sugar, with ripe pear, quince and a creamy mousse, so it supplies that sweetness while the bubbles lift the soft, granular curd.
Bottles to try:
Enjoy an exclusive day out to a two local wineries in Penedès Region and taste 4 excellent wines and 3 excellent wines and 4 glasses of cava perfectly paired with loca...
Enjoy a private day trip from Barcelona to Montserrat and Codorníu Cava Cellars, combining mountain heritage with Catalonia’s iconic sparkling wine tradition. Be picke...
Penedés region is one of the most important wine and cava regions in Catalonia. Penedés land is between the sea and the mountains, and this influence of the sun and t...
A small cylinder with rounded edges under a grey to blue-grey, fuzzy mould rind, with an off-white paste. The PGI specification sets two sizes: about 0.5 kg and 10.5 cm across, or about 1 kg and 14.5 cm across. ACREFA calls the grey bloomy rind the indispensable feature of any Garrotxa.
Yes. Formatge Garrotxa / Queso Garrotxa has been an EU Protected Geographical Indication since 20 December 2023 (file PGI-ES-02876), and the protected area is the whole of Catalonia. The application was lodged on 14 November 2022.
Cheesemakers across Catalonia; the specification says cheesemakers trained in the 1980s spread it to dairies all over the region. None of the venues in this guide is confirmed as a Garrotxa maker, so none is linked.
A fresh Catalan cheese made with unsalted heat-treated whole milk and eaten within days. Catalan Wikipedia says it is white to yellowish white, granular or gelled, and milky in taste.
ACREFA presents it as ordinary mató with a local story: farmers of Monistrol, Sant Cristòfol de Castellbell and Marganell were allowed to sell at the Montserrat abbey, and pilgrims spread the fame of their mató.
ACREFA says it is eaten as a dessert, often with honey, sugar, jam, sweet fruit or nuts, or with a sweet liqueur. Catalan Wikipedia calls honey and mató one of the emblematic Catalan desserts.
Not yet. Catalan Wikipedia says the Catalan agriculture department is promoting a PGI for mató.
ACREFA says the word points both to the mountain ridges (serrats) where it was made and to a pressed, compact cheese. It cites the saying that cheese should be serrat and bread ullat, meaning closed and full of holes.
