The Penedès is the benchmark region for Catalan wine, a true production heartland located halfway between Barcelona and Tarragona. The Penedès Wine Route invites us to journey through a committed territory, with DO Penedès being the world’s first 100% organic DO, where the spirit of an ancient history is preserved. Here, the classic varieties of the area unite in harmony to give life to sparkling wines with a traditional character, while Xarel·lo—the star variety of the denomination—establishes itself as the great standard-bearer for aged white wines with a contemporary personality. From Font de la Canya to VINSEUM The history of viticulture in the Penedès can be touched with your own hands. In the municipality of Avinyonet del Penedès lies the Iberian archaeological site of Font de la Canya, an exceptional place where researchers have found carbonised grape seeds dating back to the 7th century BC, making it the oldest documented discovery of viticulture in the whole of Catalonia. Later, Roman communication routes (led by the Via Augusta) allowed wine to be traded throughout the Empire from Tarraco. During the Middle Ages, monasteries such as Santes Creus (a Cistercian medieval masterpiece that bears the UNESCO World Heritage seal) protected the cultivation of vines and taught the secrets of winemaking to the region’s new farming communities. At the end of the 19th century, the territory received a boost from the production of its first prestigious sparkling wines following the traditional method of the French Champagne region, using the three benchmark white varieties: Macabeo, Xarel·lo and Parellada. This golden age coincides with the emergence of Catalan Modernisme, which has left behind architectural masterpieces of the highest order. Sant Sadurní d’Anoia stands as the great capital of these Modernista jewels and sparkling wines. Today, the Penedès occupies a central place in the world of wine in Catalonia, as evidenced by the VINSEUM - Museum of the Wine Cultures of Catalonia, located in Vilafranca del Penedès. With its impressive and modern exhibition The Wine Cultures of Catalonia, it offers an educational and entertaining look at the cultural significance of vines from one end of Catalonia to the other.