Spanish Wineries
 

My husband, another couple, and myself will be in Madrid for four days, then Barcelona for four days during mid-April. We enjoy day trips and would love to visit a spanish winery while in Spain. Has anyone had any experiences visiting wineries near these two cities and can help to give me suggestions or details?

South of Barcelona in the Penedes wine region is the Torres winery.
We spent an enjoyable morning there last week.
In the afternoon we drove to Sitges on the coast & drove back to Barcelona on the coast road...beautiful!!

1st choice is the Ribera del Duera region. Its 1 1/2 hours north of Mardrid and produces Spain's finest wines. I googled "Ribera de Duera wine tours" and found a slew of info. As an example, here is an organized tour from Madrid: http://www.vintagespain.com/oneribera.htm I'm not recommending the tour, as I haven't taken it, but its a good starting point. Its two top wines, Pingus and Vega Sicilia are $$$$$$ so I've never tried them, but next on the list is Pesquera, which is a gift from the gods and is very affordable.

My second choice would be Spain's next best. the Rioja region. Its further away and would be best to visit as a multi day from Madrid. My personal favorite Rioja is "Muga".

But, to bottom line it for you, with 4 days in Madrid, go to the Ribera Del Duera fo a day, (maybe stay the night if sampling is in the plans. lol). Rent a car and drive. You don't need to join a tour. Get to the Vega Sicilia and Pesquera wineries. If your budget allows try the Vega Sicilia Unico, an old hallowed wine and/or the Pingus, the new upstart. But don't forget the Pesquera. Its easily available in the US and is fantastico.

Hey, we did exactly the same thing that Bailey did!

We visited, and tasted wine at, the Torres winery in Penedes and then drove south and had lunch at a wonderful seaside resturant in Sitges. We also drove a little further south to Tarragona, before we returned to Barcelona.

The Priorat region, also south of Barcelona, now produces some of Spain's finest reds.

there are a number of wineries outside barcelona as mentioned.

google.. penedes region.
turismo enologico barcelona area

see what comes up.

freixenet also has great "cava" well established winery.

good restaurants in area.

ther should be tours leaving from barcelona in english if you want to join a group...