Penedès Via Augusta Wine Route

The Via Augusta connected Roman vineyards to the port at Tarraco. Today, drive this ancient route through Penedès — Spain's sparkling wine capital. Torres claims vineyard sites planted since Roman times.

What to do there

4 things to do

1. 1 Decode the Roman Milestone Stones Along the Via Augusta History · Free

   The original supply route that fed Roman wine from Penedès to the empire — still marked with stone pillars

   The Via Augusta was 1,500 kilometers long — the longest road the Romans built in Hispania, stretching from the port of Cadiz to Rome itself. For 600 years, wine from Penedès vineyards traveled this road. Roman amphorae stamped with the names of Penedès producers have been found across the empire — at Pompeii, in Lyon, in Roman Britain. The vines planted to feed that trade are still here. Three milestone locations are accessible along the Via Augusta Penedès route (viaaugustapenedes.cat): Can Bas (where Roman mansios — roadside inns — are explained), Can Cartró (Roman aqueduct), and La Granada (milestone with inscription). The 51km walking/cycling route begins at Gelida and ends at Bellvei. Drive or cycle the Via Augusta route stopping at each milestone. At Can Bas, find the information panel explaining how the Roman mansio system worked — every 30 Roman miles, a way station. At La Granada, stand beside the actual milestone marker and read the Roman numeral distance markings carved into the stone. Download the route from viaaugustapenedes.cat before you go (has offline GPS waypoints).

   Backup: The Olèrdola archaeological site (admission €7, managed by Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya) sits directly on the Via Augusta and shows 4,000 years of continuous settlement, with a visible medieval wine press and Roman fortification walls. It's unmissable even if the other milestone stops are skipped.

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2. 2 Find Roman Amphorae at VINSEUM — Spain's First Wine Museum Wine · Price: low

   2,700 years of Penedès wine in one Gothic palace — entry includes a cava tasting

   Spain's first wine museum, founded in 1934 inside a Gothic royal palace built by the Kings of Aragon, holds original amphorae, oinochoes (wine jugs), and askois (animal-shaped wine vessels) from the period when Penedès wine was exported across the entire Mediterranean. These weren't luxury items: Penedès was the bulk wine supplier for the Roman legions. VINSEUM (Plaça Jaume I, Vilafranca del Penèdes) covers material from 600+ excavated sites across the Penedès — from the Paleolithic through the Roman occupation. Start on the third floor (the journey runs top-down through history). In the Roman section, find the stamped amphora handles — the Roman equivalent of a wine label, pressed into the clay before firing to identify the producer. These specific stamps have been cross-referenced with finds at Pompeii. Then descend through medieval and modern eras until you arrive at the tavern tasting. Order the local Penedès white with Xarel·lo — the same grape Romans were cultivating here. Open Tue-Sat 10:00-14:00 and 16:00-19:00, Sun 10:00-14:00. Closed Mondays. Admission €7 (reduced €4, children under 12 free, first Sunday of month free). Includes audio guide and final cava tasting.

   Backup: The museum's first Sunday of each month is free entry. If visiting Vilafranca during festival season, watch for Castellers de Vilafranca rehearsals (Mon/Wed/Fri evenings, public welcome) — human tower building is as intertwined with Penedès wine culture as the grape harvest itself.

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3. 3 Taste the Wine That Left DO Cava to Become Something Better Wine · Price: moderate

   Gramona in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia — the producer who walked away from Spain's biggest sparkling wine appellation over principles

   In January 2019, Gramona did something almost unheard of in wine: they resigned from DO Cava, the appellation that had given them commercial identity for decades. Their reason: 86% of all Cava is released after just 9 months aging. Gramona's minimum is 30 months. Their flagship — the III Lustros — ages for 84 months (SEVEN years) under cork before release. They co-founded Corpinnat, a stricter private certification, with other producers who felt the same way. This was a commercial risk taken purely on principle. Gramona winery sits in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia (the 'Cava Capital' — 30+ producers in 15,000 inhabitants, 40 min from Barcelona by train R4 line). On the tour, ask to see the underground cellars where the long-aged bottles lie in riddling racks. The guide will show you bottles that went in when some current visitors were in primary school. When you taste the III Lustros, ask: 'What does 84 months do that 9 months can't?' The answer — autolytic complexity, the yeast-bread-brioche character that only time creates — will be immediately obvious in the glass. Book at gramona.com. Tour + tasting from approximately €39.

   Backup: Torres winery (torres.es) in Pacs del Penedès offers tours at €33, including a solar-electric train ride through the Mas La Plana vineyard. They've been farming here since 1870 and claim vineyard sites in continuous use since Roman times. If Gramona is fully booked, Torres is the larger-scale, always-available alternative.

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4. 4 Climb to Olèrdola — Where Romans Fortified the Wine Country Adventure · Price: low · Optional

   An Iberian-Roman-Medieval hilltop with a 2,700-year wine press still carved into the rock — 45 min from Barcelona

   This hillfort was occupied continuously from the Bronze Age through the medieval period — 4,000 years of people choosing this same vantage point over the Penedès wine country. The Iberians first planted vines here around 700 BC. Romans then fortified the position and expanded wine production. The medieval wine press — carved directly into the rock — is still fully visible and intact. The presses in Penedès today use stainless steel and pneumatic bladders. Romans used gravity and human feet on this exact stone. Olèrdola MAC (Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya) sits in Olèrdola village, 8km from Vilafranca del Penedès. The hilltop is accessible by car (park at the base) with a 15-minute walk up to the fortification. At the summit, find the Roman cistern — a massive stone tank cut into bedrock that collected rainwater to sustain the garrison and vineyards through Catalonia's dry summers. Then find the medieval wine press carved into the rock below the Romanesque church of Sant Miquel. Put your hands in the press channel. This is where Penedès wine has been made for 2,700 years — the same channel, the same gravity, the same grapes (mostly). Admission €7.

   Backup: The site's small archaeology museum holds original Roman and Iberian wine artifacts from the excavations. If the hilltop climb isn't possible, the museum alone is worth the €7 entry.

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Insider tips

• Torres and Gramona are the prestige producers — book ahead

• VINSEUM wine museum in Vilafranca has Roman artifacts

• Visit smaller family Cava houses for authentic experiences

• The region is beautiful during harvest (September)