Tour description
Priorat Grape Harvest Itinerary for Wine Lovers
Experience an authentic Priorat Grape Harvest Festival on this private wine tour. If you are keen to learn (and taste!) more about the exceptional wines of the Priorat wine region, come along on this authentic and festive tour. Roll up your sleeves and trousers and prepare for grape-picking and grape-stomping in a jovial rural atmosphere! Relax in the Priorat countryside while enjoying the magnificent scenery of this Spanish wine region. It would not be a Gourmand Breaks tour without quality wine tastings at local cellars, and the pleasure of delicious Priorat meals. Your accommodation in a boutique hotel in the heart of this beautiful region will allow you easy access to the best of the Priorat region. Chauffeured from Barcelona in comfort, there is nothing stopping you from enjoying this fun and festive Priorat Grape Harvest Tour!
DAY 1 PENEDES
Our private chauffeur will collect you from Barcelona airport, train station or hotel to commence your Priorat Grape Harvest Tour for Wine Lovers, but first, you will be stopping in the Penedes wine region for a private visit to one the most important wineries in Spain. The owner of this very well-known cava cellar went into the world of cava at a very young age, a world that turned into his profession and his passion. He set up his own cava winery in 1950. These top-quality, sparkling Spanish wines are made using the same traditional method of making Champagne, but with a blend of the classic Penedes region grape varieties of Macabeo, Xarel.lo and Parellada. Fine bubbles slowly develop in the bottles placed in deep cellars, where they are shielded from light and enjoy low temperatures at a constant humidity. You will have a VIP guided visit with their bi-lingual wine specialist and enjoy an excellent private cava tasting!
Onward now to Priorat where you will see firsthand the preparations for the most anticipated time of year: harvest time! Your family run boutique hotel is located in the heart of Priorat, an 18th century house with pleasant views of the vineyards. Your stylish and spacious suite is of contemporary decor but maintains original features of the house. Relax for the rest of the evening and breathe in the country-life or take a walk out in the small village before dinner. You will be dining this evening at your hotel where the Mediterranean cuisine is based on locally sourced products and simple authentic dishes. Your delicious dinner will, of course, be accompanied with DOQ Priorat wine. A fantastic start to your Priorat wine tour!
Tour in a nutshell: Chauffeured transfer. VIP Penedes winery visit and tasting. Overnight in a boutique hotel in the Priorat wine region.
DAY 2 PRIORAT
This morning you will be heading to one of the best Priorat wineries, a gentle 10 minute walk away from your hotel. This top class winery is a must for any serious Spanish wine aficionado. Owned by Rene Barbier, one of the founders of the Priorat revolution, Clos Mogador’s wines are something to try! Priorat wines in general are already highly concentrated and “normal” yields are incredibly small, but here they go even further – they press the grapes using an olive press, which means they extract only half of the amount of juice that a typical wine press would, making the wine 50% more concentrated!
Your private tour of the winery will take you on a 4×4 drive through their vineyards with fantastic views and where you will see the grape harvest at its best. Your in-house expert will tell you a little about the Priorat region and show you how to recognize which grapes are ready to harvest, how to properly cut the vines, and how to store them in the traditional rustic wicker baskets. You will then head back to the winery where your thorough tour will follow the wine making process and conclude with a tasting of their best wines. To follow, you will have lunch back in the village, at a boutique winery, where they have 18 hectares of vineyards. Grenache, Carignan (some over 60 years old), Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Monastrell, Viognier and Chenin Blanc are grown here. Experimentally, some strains have been cultivated with Touriga Nacional, since the terrain is similar to the Portuguese Douro Valley. An authentic Priorat country lunch in their restaurant awaits you with wine pairings from their own wine cellar, of course!
Tour in a nutshell: Private Priorat winery harvest tour and top wine tasting. Boutique winery cellar tour and authentic lunch paired with wines. Overnight Priorat.
DAY 3 PRIORAT
Early this morning our local chauffeur will take you to experience the Priorat wine region and your local guide will ensure that you do not miss a thing! The village of Poboleda celebrates harvest time in the traditional and ancient style! Dressed in traditional outfits, complete with aprons and straw hats, and equipped with the corresponding harvesting tools of the time, you will think you have stumbled into another era! Along with the townspeople you will leave the village and head to the hill selected for harvest, where the grapes will be collected. After an hour of hard work picking the grapes, there will be a typical breakfast in the village for all participants! After breakfast, it is back to work, where half barrels filled with freshly picked grapes are set-up for grape stomping. Roll up your pant legs and literally ‘jump in’ on making next year’s local wines! At the festival more than 20 of the Priorat region’s best wineries have stands set-up where you will have the opportunity to taste and compare their wines.
For lunch you will dine at a small restaurant, whose chef has worked in many Michelin starred restaurants of Europe. Everything that comes out of the kitchen is made from fresh ingredients, many of which are home-grown. You will then travel to a Priorat winery situated in a tiny village. This winery dates back to the twelfth century and the facilities are located in old buildings of the Carthusian monks. After your winery visit and top wine tasting, you will head to the monastery itself. Cartoixa d’Escaladei is the birthplace of Priorat wine where the region’s wine-making originated over a thousand years ago.
Tour in a nutshell: Chauffeured tour of Priorat wine region. Morning at Poboleda wine festival. Excellent lunch with wine. Winery visit and tasting. Overnight Priorat.
DAY 4 DEPARTURE
Your Priorat Grape Harvest Tour for Wine Lovers concludes with breakfast at your hotel, followed by a transfer to Barcelona for your departure or vacation extension. We hope you will join us for this unforgettable Priorat wine harvest tour! Remember that if your time frame is longer we can happily add nights and more fantastic wine experiences for you.
Tour in a nutshell: Chauffeured transfer to Barcelona airport or hotel.
Tour quotation
Priorat Grape Harvest Tour for Wine Lovers Quote Request
We are excited that you are considering joining us on one of our fabulous custom-built tours of Spain, Portugal, SW France and/or Italy! Please fill in the form below and we will happily provide you with a non-committal initial quote for the sample tour itinerary chosen.
In case you would prefer us to build a personal tour proposal for you from scratch, please e-mail us at [email protected] and we will be delighted to start working with you on your personal and very special travel itinerary with us.
Tour in a Nutshell
Get immersed in the jovial wine festival atmosphere
Learn first-hand the process behind Priorat wine making
Enjoy local food & scenic Priorat vineyards
4 days/3 nights chauffeured private tour
Stay in a delightful rural boutique hotel
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