Montserrat & Cava Winery Tour: Day Trip from Barcelona with Lunch

Wonderful trip with Feliciano on a Tuesday. Our meeting time was a bit earlier (7:40a) than many tours, but that allowed us to reach Montserrat ahead of many tour buses. Feliciano gave us a great overview of Barcelona and the region of Catalonia on the way to Montserrat, and the views of and from the Montserrat range were spectacular. He oriented us to the monastery itself upon our arrival. We then had an hour to view the monastery on our own before heading to the Joan Segura Pujadas winery in Torrelavit. The tour there was conducted by an expert oenologist who led us through the history of the winery and the production of cava (sparkling) and still wines, including allowing us to "disgorge," cork, and custom label a bottle of cava for ourselves. During a tour through the vineyards, we were served a traditional lunch of pan de tomate, beans and sausage, and dessert of sweet bread and chocolate that had been prepared by the wife of the vineyard owner. During the tour and lunch, we tasted five different wines: blush and white cavas, a red, a white, and a sweet wine. Feliciano was a wonderful host and very knowledgeable about a range of topics relating to the history and culture of Catalonia. We have taken many tours of sites and wineries in countries around the world, and this was definitely one of the best.