Sant Sadurní d'Anoia Cava Caves
Modern cathedrals of sparkling wine built on Roman cave techniques. Freixenet and Codorníu have underground cellars stretching for kilometers. The méthode traditionnelle echoes Roman wine storage practices.
A Wine Memories experience · winememories.fi
How to Complete
5 steps curated by Wine Memories
- 🍷 Log Memory
You're standing in front of a building designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch in 1895 — the third pillar of Catalan Modernisme alongside Gaudí and Domènech i Montaner. The family behind this building has grown wine on this land since 1497. That's BEFORE Columbus landed in America. The Raventós family were making wine when the New World didn't exist on any European map. Walk the grounds at Codorníu winery exterior, Sant Sadurní d'Anoia — arrive 15 minutes before your tour. Find the original 1895 Puig i Cadafalch building with its arched stone entrance and stained glass windows. Look for the family motto carved in stone and ask yourself: what was happening in the world in 1497?
🔄 BACKUP: If the main building is closed for renovation, the gardens around the cellars still display the full Art Nouveau facade from outside — photograph the roofline against the sky.
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Beneath this Catalan Modernisme building, Puig i Cadafalch's masterpiece hides 30 KILOMETRES of underground tunnels across five floors — the world's largest underground wine cellar network. The deepest point is 16 metres below the surface, where temperature is constant year-round. Every bottle here is going through its second fermentation, exactly as Josep Raventós Fatjó invented the process in 1872 after returning from Champagne with a notebook of secrets. Board the small electric train for the Codorníu Iconic Tour (book at codorniu.com, tours run daily, ~1.5 hours). As you glide through the corridors, watch the ceiling — the brick arch technique is the same one the Romans used for their aqueducts. When you reach the deepest level, tap the wall. That's Penedès limestone.
🔄 BACKUP: If Codorníu is sold out, Freixenet (Carrer Joan Sala 2, same town) offers a nearly identical train experience for €19.50 — their cellars reach 16m depth and include 2 cava tastings.
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You're about to taste the reason wine critics lose their minds over cava. A Gran Reserva cava — aged minimum 30 months on its lees — develops the same brioche, toast, and hazelnut flavours as top Champagne. The production method is IDENTICAL. The grapes are different (Macabeo, Xarel·lo, Parellada — impossible to grow outside Penedès). The price is a fraction. At the tasting table after your cave tour (included with the Iconic Tour at Codorníu with 3 cavas + chocolates), ask specifically: 'Do you have a Gran Reserva I can try — one aged 30 months or more?' Smell first: look for brioche, toast, apricot. Compare mentally to any Champagne you've had — the mousse is identical. Ask which grape gives the local terroir character (Answer: Xarel·lo).
🔄 BACKUP: If only Reserva (18 months) is available, it's still exceptional. Ask the guide to explain the difference between Reserva and Gran Reserva aging — the story of how time transforms the same wine is fascinating.
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In 1872, Josep Raventós Fatjó returned from Champagne and made Spain's first sparkling wine. He had three local grapes and a technique he'd stolen from the French. Nobody believed it would work. The town of Sant Sadurní d'Anoia had 80 cava producers within 20 years. Today this single municipality — a town of 12,000 people — produces 95% of ALL cava made in Spain. In the museum area within Codorníu, look for the 1872 production records, the original pressing equipment, and any display of the first harvest. If a guide is leading your group, ask: 'What year did phylloxera hit the Penedès, and how did cava save the region?' The answer will make the glass in your hand feel like economic history, not just wine.
🔄 BACKUP: The Cava Interpretation Centre (CIC Fassina) in the same town covers the full origin story if Codorníu's museum area is limited — it's a 15-minute walk and often included in combined tickets.
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Every year on the first October weekend, the cava capital throws open its doors. Thirty-plus producers who never normally share a table pour side by side at Sant Sadurní d'Anoia town centre + Parc Lluís Companys (2025: October 3–5, book tickets at cavatast.com). You can compare Codorníu, Freixenet, Gramona, Recaredo, and 26 others in a single afternoon. Free guided tastings with the actual winemakers run Saturday and Sunday. Arrive for the 12:00 Saturday opening, get your commemorative glass immediately. Start with smaller artisan producers who have shorter queues, work toward the big names by late afternoon. At the free guided tastings, ask every winemaker: 'Which cava do you drink yourself at home?' Their answer will be different from what they're pouring you.
🔄 BACKUP: If October doesn't work, many individual producers offer open-house events in May during the Sant Sadurní wine fair — check penedes360.cat for the latest schedule.