Penedès

Southwest of Barcelona, the low, vine-clad hills of the Penedès are the source of 95% of the world’s cava—and offer an interesting day trip

‘Cava’ means simply a cellar. In the old days the better Catalan wines, those that were laid down, were called ‘cava’ wines, and somehow through the years that came to be the name given to Catalonia’s beloved bubbly.

And beloved it is. Catalans don’t save their cava for New Year’s; some of them find it perfect for an everyday drink at the bar. It is still de rigeur for celebrations though: on the memorable night in 1975 when Franco died they drained every last bottle in Barcelona.

Cava's origins go back to decadent 19th-century Paris of the 19th century, when champagne first became synonymous with high times. In 1872, an old aristocratic Penedès vintner named Josep Raventòs made a visit to Champagne to see how it was done, and decided to try it at home.