Caves Codorníu – Cava Winery Tour in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia

Visiting Caves Codorníu Winery Guided Tours

Caves Codorníu is a place I’ve visited three times during my twenty years living in Barcelona, because it’s a wonderful outing with friends or family. It’s Catalonia’s most popular bodega visit, and the easy train connection makes it an ideal day trip from the city.

The first thing that strikes you on arrival is the walk down the long driveway, vineyards stretching out on both sides. At the end, a castellated stone wall and wrought‑iron gates open onto the magnificent reception building. Inside, the vaulted catenary arches of the brick ceiling — designed by the Catalan modernist architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch — are breathtaking. Look closely at the windows: they’re made from the cut bottoms of wine bottles, arranged in a hexagonal honeycomb pattern.

Your guide meets you in reception and leads you past the gardens surrounding the central estate house, built by Manuel Raventós between 1895 and 1915. The house has a neo‑medievalist character, clearly intended to project prestige. It includes a basement, ground floor, main floor and attic, with a circular tower capped by glazed tiles and two smaller turrets attached. The attic opens onto a gallery of semi‑circular arches, and the inner courtyard — with its columns, arches, and printed‑glass barrel vault — contains richly preserved furniture. This was once the home of the Codorníu family.

The tour then passes through several surface buildings before entering a plant room containing a vintage diesel generator once used to power the lighting in the vast underground tunnel complex. The engine is a four‑cylinder MTM‑series model from the late 1950s to mid‑1960s, built by the Catalan company Motores Moulins of Molins de Rei, a town roughly 25–30 km from the estate.

From here, stairs lead down into the cellar network. The original tunnels were hand‑dug and brick‑lined, eventually expanding into a labyrinth of around 30 kilometres. Their purpose was to provide naturally cool, stable conditions for the bottles undergoing second fermentation. The first fermentation took place in giant wooden barrels, some of which you can still see in the tunnels.

Codorníu followed the traditional French and Penedès method of rémuage (riddling), in which bottles were rotated once per day to gradually shift the yeast sediment toward the neck while increasing the bottle’s angle. A full riddling cycle lasted three to six weeks, depending on the style and cellar temperature. Premium cavas often took longer for a slower, more controlled sediment migration. One long passage still displays the old wooden riddling racks, once filled with millions of bottles.

Further inside the tunnels is a room containing a manually cranked rotary printing press from the mid‑20th century. The raised letterpress plates on its cylindrical drums were used to print Codorníu’s embossed labels. Nearby is the area where bottles were once wrapped in straw and packed into wooden crates for shipping.

The tunnel tour also reveals other archaeological features, including a chain‑winch elevator used to move bottles between levels. Eventually the route climbs back to the surface, emerging into a historic warehouse filled with enormous wooden barrels — about three metres in diameter and five metres deep — each holding between 20,000 and 30,000 litres of wine.

These aren’t transport barrels or small ageing casks. They’re giant wooden foudres, used for long ageing, blending, stabilisation, or storage before bottling. Similar vessels appear in other historic Penedès wineries such as Freixenet and Torres.

The next stage of the tour takes place in the modernist pressing hall — the second step after harvesting, when the grapes arrived from the vineyards to be crushed and pressed. Whole truckloads of fruit were unloaded here, and the must that would eventually become cava was extracted.

The hall is vast and cathedral‑like, its brick vaults and repeating arches giving the old machinery an almost ceremonial presence. Along the central aisle stand historic presses and crushers: early wooden beam presses, the iron screw presses that replaced them, and the first mechanical crushers capable of handling far more fruit than any team of workers. Each machine marks a moment in the evolution of winemaking, from hand‑powered labour to early industrial ingenuity.

Walking through the space, it’s easy to imagine the noise and movement of harvest season — the weight of grapes, the turning of great screws, and the flow of fresh must into the tanks below. Today the equipment is displayed almost like sculpture, but the physicality of the work remains palpable.

Within this hall is also the equipment used for distillation, a process once essential for producing spirits and fortified wines. Fermented liquid was heated to separate its components, concentrating the alcohol through a slow, controlled boil. The copper still, swan‑neck pipe, and cooling coil show how vapour was guided, condensed, and collected drop by drop. Standing before the furnace and long cooling spiral, you get a sense of the craft and patience behind this early stage of production.

The final stop is a tasting in one of the cellar rooms. Codorníu produces red, white, rosé, and sparkling cava, and here you can sample some of their premium bottles. After a couple of glasses, the tour returns to the reception hall and gift shop.

The visit lasts about an hour and covers the full journey from grape to bottle:

• Step 1: Harvesting the grapes
• Step 2: Pressing the grapes (prensa)
• Step 3: First fermentation in giant wooden barrels
• Step 4: Alcohol concentration in the stills
• Step 5: Bottling for second fermentation and daily riddling
• Step 6: Labelling and packaging

Top tip: The gift shop sells Gran Reserva Anna Codorníu, a cava reserved primarily for domestic sale due to its exceptional quality. It’s well worth picking up if you enjoy aged cava.

What to take with you for Caves Codorníu Winery Guided Tours

The guided visit includes both the historic modernist buildings and the extensive underground cava cellars. Temperatures in the tunnels remain cool throughout the year, so bringing a light fleece or jacket is recommended, even in summer.

The paths through the cellars are well lit and generally even, and no special equipment is required — there are no hard hats or torches involved. However, the tour involves a significant amount of walking, several staircases, and long underground corridors.

For this reason, the visit is not suitable for those with reduced mobility or anyone who cannot comfortably manage stairs or extended periods of walking. The historic nature of the site means that step‑free alternatives are limited.

If rain is forecast, a small poncho or waterproof layer can be useful for the walk from the train station through Sant Sadurní d’Anoia. The route into town passes several interesting modernist and historic buildings, making the walk part of the experience.

I usually bring my small 10‑litre rucksack so I can carry one or two bottles of cava home without any trouble.

Tickets for Caves Codorníu Winery Guided Tours

English‑language tours are available, but places are limited — especially on weekends and during peak seasons — so booking ahead is strongly recommended. The visit includes both indoor and outdoor areas, as well as time spent in the cool subterranean tunnels, so comfortable shoes and a light jacket are useful.

If you want to make a full day of it, combine your visit with the Simón Coll Chocolate Factory in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, which also offers guided tours. Paired with a stroll through the town’s historic centre, it becomes an excellent wine‑and‑culture day trip from Barcelona.

Getting to Caves Codorníu Winery Guided Tours

Address: Carrer de Can Codorníu s/n, Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, 08770

Caves Codorníu is located on the far side of Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, the capital of cava production. The winery sits about 2.3 km from the town’s Renfe station, making it accessible by public transport from Barcelona.

• By Train: Take the Rodalies R4 line from Barcelona to Sant Sadurní d’Anoia. The journey takes around 45–55 minutes depending on the departure station. From the station, allow 30–40 minutes to walk to the winery. The route passes several interesting modernist and historic buildings, making the walk part of the experience.
• By Car: Sant Sadurní d’Anoia is about 40 minutes from Barcelona via the AP‑7 or A‑2 motorways. Free parking is available at the winery for visitors.
• By Taxi or Ride‑Share: Taxis are available from the station, and ride‑share services operate in the area. This is the quickest option if you prefer not to walk.

Once in Sant Sadurní, clear signage directs you to the Codorníu estate. The modernist buildings are unmissable as you approach.

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