CAVATAST 09
Anita
Hello fellow wine and food lovers!
Last year I went to CAVATAST, a wine festival celebrated in October in Vilafranca del Penedès.
Even though I live in Barcelona, I hadn’t visited this beautiful city in years and I was happy to see it, so beautiful with a party atmosphere and ready to receive visitors.
We went by train from Sants and the journey was short, we arrived in just 45 minutes. Straight away we were in the fair! They gave us a glass for the tasters with an ingenious device to be worn around the neck. We all looked like professionals! There were plenty of exhibitors from wineries, some very famous like Torres, others much smaller, well-known, unknown, specialists in Cava, white wine, red, rosé… personally I prefer red wine, but the truth is that trying the white wine over and over again has converted me into a fan, the same with Cava. Don’t forget that Vilafranca is where the wineries Codomiu and Freixenet are. You don’t need to reserve a visit but you can turn up on the same day and do everything.
For just a little more than 3 Euros you can try 3 different wines or Cavas and they can give you advice according to your tastes and recommend different types of wine.
Also, the new wines of the year are there, I love the new red by Torres, el Atrium. Wow, what an experience.
Anyway, I think the thing that I liked the most were the talks about the wineries with their own demonstrations and the party atmosphere with street entertainment.
The town itself is very pretty. It has interesting buildings from the turn of the century and lots of people are in the streets, walking around and enjoying the atmosphere.
As red wine makes you hungry, there are many places with local food (the rooster from Penèdes was my favourite: I had never eaten rooster before!), typical sweets, cheese and regional sausages. Well, a party for the palate!
I liked it so much that this year we have organised an activity at school to all go together. You can’t miss this chance to see a charming little town that is the heart of wine in Cataluña, with the most famous and acknowledged D.O.: el Penedès.
We are all going to go together by train, mid-morning with a teacher who’ll explain and guide you a little around the festival. The visit includes the journey, a touristic train through the prettiest part of Vilafranca, 3 glasses of whichever wine or Cava you would like, a souvenir cup, a taster of local food or sweets and then we will return in the evening, most definitely smiling!
All of this for 35 euros! You simply can’t let this occasion pass you by!
Cheers,
Anita
