The Roman city of Tarraco, now Tarragona, is 50 kilometres southeast of Falset on the coast. The amphitheatre, circus, and Roman walls form a UNESCO World Heritage Site and provide context for the ancient viticulture of the Tarraconensis province. The city's restaurants serve Catalan seafood paired with local wines, and the coastal setting offers a contrast to the inland mountain landscape of Priorat.
Pours: DO Tarragona white wines, Garnatxa fortified from coastal cooperatives
Tip: Tarragona's Museu Nacional Arqueologic contains amphorae and Roman viticultural artefacts that connect to the ancient wine history of the Priorat hinterland.
The Penedes is Catalonia's Cava heartland, Catalonia's sparkling wine made by the traditional method from Xarel-lo, Macabeu, and Parellada. Sant Sadurni d'Anoia is the centre of the industry, where Codorniu and Freixenet operate large facilities with cellar tours alongside smaller artisan producers including Recaredo, known for age-worthy single-vineyard Cavas. The contrast between Penedes' rolling chalk-and-clay plains and Priorat's vertical schist terraces is stark.
Pours: Cava Brut Nature from Xarel-lo-Macabeu-Parellada, Penedes Garnacha and Sumoll
Tip: Recaredo in Sant Sadurni d'Anoia produces certified biodynamic Cava from a single estate and offers excellent guided visits. Book ahead at recaredo.com.
Barcelona is the natural gateway to Priorat. The city hosts numerous wine bars and restaurants with Priorat lists, and specialist merchants including Vila Viniteca in El Born stock an extensive range of DOQ Priorat wines including back vintages. Barcelona's Mercat de Santa Caterina and Boqueria offer the seafood and Catalan charcuterie pairings that complement Priorat reds. A day in the city pairs naturally with a Priorat cellar visit the following morning.
Pours: Priorat wines by the glass at Barcelona wine bars, Catalan natural wines
Tip: Vila Viniteca (Carrer dels Agullers 7, Barcelona) stocks Priorat back vintages alongside current releases. The shop runs tasting sessions covering DOQ Priorat in depth.
Conca de Barbera is a small inland DO north of Priorat, centred on Montblanc in the Francoli river valley. The region is the home of Trepat, a native Catalan grape found nowhere else in the world, used for light rosé and sparkling wines. The medieval town of Montblanc has complete 14th-century walls and the area also overlaps historically with the source of Cava base wines.
Pours: Trepat rosé and sparkling, Conca de Barbera white Macabeu
Tip: Trepat is a grape found only in Conca de Barbera. The DO's official website at doconcadebarbera.com lists the producers and includes a guide to visiting.
Sitges, the coastal town on the Garraf coast south of Barcelona, is the home of Malvasia de Sitges, a rare sweet wine made from sun-dried Malvasia Grossa grapes grown in small quantities on the town's hillsides.
Pours: Malvasia de Sitges sweet white, Penedes coastal whites
Tip: Malvasia de Sitges is produced in extremely small quantities and available at the Museu del Cau Ferrat shop in Sitges. The combination of the Garraf coast seafood and this rare sweet wine makes a memorable half-day pairing.
Terra Alta is the southernmost Catalan DO, sharing the Ebro valley's continental climate and high-altitude plateau of the Terra Alta mountains.
Pours: Terra Alta Garnacha Blanca white, Terra Alta old-vine Garnacha red
Tip: Terra Alta Garnacha Blanca is the region's signature white style. Producers are accessible from Falset via the TP-7215 road through Bot and Gandesa.