Cordedeu Wine And Cava Caves guided tours Sant Sadurni de Anoia

Historic wine and cava production facility dating back to the 16th Century that still produces wine and cava today but also provided guided visits of the instalations and caves. It is the oldest family buisness in Spain and one of the oldest in the world with 450 years of history.

In 1895 Manuel Raventas, the man who launched Codorniu on a large scale, hired the art nouveau architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch (a contemporary of Gaudi) to expand the winery. What he built symbolises the fruitful alliance between nature and human labour and is a homage in stone to the silence of cava. It was declared a Historical Artistic Monument in 1976 and constitutes one of the most impressive examples of architecture for cava making and cellaring.

Underground in a labyrinth of underground cellars, is where Codorniu's cavas have for over a century now undergone their second fermentation and aging at a constant temperature. In 1872 Josep Raventas Fatja made cava for the first time in Spain following the traditional method and using local grapes from the Penedes region: Macabeo, Xarelalo and Parellada. By doing so he started up an entirely new industry in the region linking the Codorniu brand to the history of cava.

There are a range of visits available which can be found under the wine tourism tab of the Codorniu website. The visits include a guided tour of the surface facilities for squashing, fermenting and bottling the grapes. Also included is a visit to the vast underground tunnels where the bottles are left to further ferment. Places and availability of tours in English are limited so booking in advance via the Codorniu website is recommended.

Top tip: In the gift shop there are Gran reserva Anna Cordedeu cava bottles which are reserved for domestic sale only within Spain because of their fine quality. I recommend getting a few bottles of these.

The Cordedeu Wine and Cava Caves are located 2.3km from the train station so allow at least 30 to 40 mins to walk from the Renfe Sant Sadurni d'Anoia station on the RODALIES R4 line. There are some interesting historical buildings in the town along the way also.