Very late writing this review as my wife and I had our tour with Miquel back in May 2018. That…read moresaid, it was a lovely day, we visited several small Priorat wineries and tasted (and purchased) some delicious wines. An incredible lunch at Amics was a highlight. Miquel was very easy to work with and helpful with arrangements. Highly recommended even if you're not a wine geek!

Miquel provided a wonderful introduction to the world of delicious wine to me. After ten years of…read moredrinking beer, my stomach was ready for something different. I was lucky to meet Miquel who could talk about wine in a common language I could easy understand without making it seem intimidating or pretentious. He encouraged me to try different reds and stay away from the cheapest acidic varieties. Miquel is extremely knowledgeable and has great connections to local wine makers in Catalonia. If you are curios about his credentials, he is a Certified Sommelier (CMS European Court) but much more important to me was his experience working in wine tourism in different parts of the world (his native California and more recently Catalonia). He is Berkeley-educated and will keep you engaged and entertained during your wine tour.

We did a tour of the cellars and vineyards with Jordi - He spent time explaining the wines, the…read morehistory of the area, and why the terroir is so unique that some wines from the region sell for mor than $1,000 a bottle! He then took us on a personalized tour of the vineyard (you can't beat the views from there!) and even made great recommendations for lunch after the tour. The wine is wonderful and Jordi is a wonderful host!

I was highly impressed with Celler Devensii. Jordi as an excellent host, their wines were…read moredelicious and the tasting room quaint and very nice. Highly recommended!

The gourmet tour of this winery estate was such a great experience. It's located in the southern…read morepart of Penedès in Catalonia. I'd say a little less than 3 miles from the shoreline. We could see it off in the distance from the property. Apparently, the salt air, cool breeze, and limestone soil creates a microclimate that adds to (or enhances) certain grape ripening characteristics. This is especially good for cava making, as we learned the last time we visited the upper part of this region. What we didn't know was how it affected wine and vinegar. We were about to find out. We were greeted by Marco who gave us a very extensive tour of their wine making facilities. We learned so much from this. What made it even more interesting was the wine vinegar tasting part of it. I know most people are familiar with the old expression about turning wine to vinegar. But, it's really not that simple. We entered the oak barrel lined building where the aging process was taking place. This is where we sampled 4 different types of balsamic made from their chardonnay, merlot, and cabernet sauvignon wines. He also treated us to a sample of the 30 year Antigues Reserves which was my absolute favorite of the 4. It's definitely one to be put away for very special occasions due to its price tag. I later found out that many famous chefs use this brand for cooking. I can totally see why. So, I was even more blown away during our wine tasting and lunch experience. The restaurant is on-site in the middle of one of their vineyards. There's indoor and outdoor seating. As a group, we were seated at a large table indoors. I won't go into any more detail. I'll just say that we loved every single dish, as well as the great service. I was also quite surprised to find a Chardonnay that I actually love. I don't know. Maybe it really does have something to do with the type of barrel. Their wines are fermented in oak barrels from the Nevers region of France. I know I'll be looking for this in the future when shopping for wine. My only regret is that I didn't purchase anything that day. It's not readily available in the states. However, I did find the vinegar set online at a sustainable gourmet shop in Tacoma. I've been enjoying it as a vinaigrette, and will eventually use some of the online Avgvstvs Forvm recipes as a reference. There's so much I want to say. Why is it named after the Via Augusta? What happened to the vineyards in Europe during the Great French Wine Blight? You'll just have to read all about it (or take the tour). It was a beautiful and memorable day!!

Beautiful place. Vinegars and wines were amazing. Tour guide was awesome. Tour was informativeread more

Our tour group stopped here on the way from Valencia (and Peniscola) to Barcelona. I loved this…read moreplace- and I have the purchases to prove it. First, lots of great bathrooms- which is nice. Second, great tour. We learned about the terroir- the soil, the atmosphere, how the cover crops help with the soil. The biodynamic principals of the winery mean they not only are organic, and use organic manure and special herbs in their compost (as well as cattle horns) but they also plant, and trim vines and harvest according to the phases of the moon. We tasted a cava, a white called cosmic- 10 euros, a red called Indigena (2013)- 10 Euros, and a red called Mas Irene (2014)- 16 Euros. They were all delicious. But I ALSO tried Music- a white dessert wine, with lots of honey notes, and raisin, but not syrupy at all- it was so good (21.50 euros) that I bought 2 bottles of that, 1 of Indigena, and 4 bottles of honey (5 euros each)- and they said the honey was from their own hives and was rosemary honey. It was very good. You can try it if you ask. Their olive oil is also fabulous- but you've got limits on how much you can carry home, so I had to pace myself. For the tasting we were given crackers and cheese and sliced sausage. We also got some bread to dip in the olive oil at the end of the tasting. The tasting room is lovely, and there is a gorgeous outdoor seating area. The story of the family is fascinating, and if you are in Spain, and you have the chance to go here- take it! I'm from the SF Bay Area like the other reviewer, and I'm a member of many wineries and I've worked at the wineries as a pourer (because who doesn't want to be paid in wine?) And I loved this place. I thought it might be too much of the same thing- that I'm used to at home, but not at all. If you are disabled, you will NOT be able to go to the cava caves via the steps. I'm mildly disabled and I opted not to do them- a lot of rather dark, narrow steps.

Our tour group stopped by here for a wine tour and wine tasting. Coming from the SF Bay Area,…read morewe're blessed with Napa and Sonoma. This was my first visit to a European winery so I didn't know what to expect. Pares Malta is an old family-run winery that specializes in Cava (sparkling wine), using organic farming and the process of biodynamics. They make their own compost and rely on natural methods of pest control. To help time harvesting vs planting the tour guide mentioned using the moon and stars (!?). The tour itself was educational and fascinating - from previewing their wines, visiting the fields, composting area, barrel storage, cellars, and finally the tasting room! We tasted a white cava, a rose, and then a red wine. Pairings went with crackers, Machego Cheese, or dried salami. We also sampled their olive oil. Our gorgeous wine host gave lots of tips on serving wine and meals. She mentioned a very good snack is to dip bread in high-quality EVOO, add salt, and then grated dark chocolate. A strange combination but I'm willing to try it!

The country side in Catalonia is very beautiful. The winery grounds for Torres are no exception, it…read moreis beautiful. The Torres family brand is a world wide operation. Why? They have wineries in several different countries, as well as different parts of Spain. A stop at their retail shop can easily tell you that. If you want to purchase a bottle, to take home or enjoy before you go home, the shop is divided into world geographic regions. I am not new to their brands. I have been a big fan of their wines (Sangre de Toro, Black Label, brandy ...) for years. My tour group guide was good, but the scale of their operation was even more impressive. During the tour they put everyone into a very large and dark cavernous room with multiple adjacent rooms on all sides. In these rooms, that surround one large room they have glass windows where you can peek into the many different wines that they currently produce at this large scale production winery. What makes this unique, and very cool, was the synchronized classical music with the light show that at different times highlights their many brands in the surrounding rooms. Then, we eventually moved on to their beautiful tasting room where they provided us with 4 generous pieces of distinctly different local cheeses, with wine parings to go along. The match up pairings were so delicious, that I would frequent any restaurant that would put winery's cheese plate and wines on their menu regularly just for the opportunity to have this over and over again back home in Chicago. To sum it all up, a stop here is a great opportunity to experience and enjoy some of the best wines of Catalonia, and of course local cheese, along with great local Catalan hospitality! Two thumbs way up for the Torres family winery!!

Excellent winery! I took a train from Barcelona to get here…read more They offer an English speaking guide to give you a tour around the winery. We went around the winery in a trolley...the smells, sights, everything was awesome. The tasting included cheese and crackers. All the wine we tried was delicious.

This winery has nice views and a modern interior. The wine library was pretty. We stopped here as…read morepart of a 1 day tour combining the winery and Montserrat Mountain. We learned that the winery has been in the same family for over 20 generations with is crazy. Also one of their wines is sold at Disfruitas, a 2 Michelin star restaurant. We did a tasting with tapas as part of our tour. The food was just ok. We tasted 2 red wines and 2 white wines. I liked the second white and the second red. The tasting consisted of their low end price point wines.

- How cute is that tank?! - Gotta try some wines while we're…read morethere. - The tomato sauce was amazing! And best olives I've ever had - Label for this bottle was drawn by a 5 year old! Super cute

Mas Doix was our last stop of our Priorat trip, and we struggled to find the location. Google Maps…read morehad the right location, but when we knocked on the door, no one answered. If this happens to you, just wait there, if you made an appointment and they are expecting you, they will come for you. As a last ditch effort, we returned to the same location 15 minutes after driving around blindly, to find the winery door is now wide opened. Inside, our guide, Blanca and a small group were already waiting for us. Together, we headed upstairs of this cute and quaint looking building that looks like a home from the early 1900s, but is now refurbished for a winery and place of business. We only had time to do the tasting part and couldn't stay for the whole tour. Our guide, Blanca was very understanding and flexible, and moved the tasting part of the tour to the beginning to accommodate us. The tasting included 3 wines, but Blanca gave us three more wines to try, one of which was the Doix 2009, and the other one, the 1902 made from 100% carignan grapes. This was very exciting as we got to taste the Doix 2009 and Doix 2015 bottles side by side. From tasting the two, you can really see the ageability of these wines, and even though both were great, 2009 has now reached its height and is perfect for drinking. The 1902 was great as well. Wines that are made only from the 100% carignan grape in Priorat are harder to come by, and this is a great opportunity to see how this grape tastes on its own. The 1902 ages very well, due to these being grapes of old vines are richer than young ones.