Less than an hour from Barcelona, you can find a beautiful winery called MontRubí in the famous wine region El Penedès. Not long ago, this organic winery has also restored a few old buildings in the area, and it is now also a very special boutique hotel.

MontRubi — *MontRubí Winery. Photo © Barcelona Food Experience.*

The journey to the winery is already gorgeous, through vineyards along narrow, curvy roads. Once you arrive at the winery, you’ll see a lovely Modernist villa from 1902, where the restaurant, wine bars, and breakfast area are located.

We began our visit with a tour. The winery has a lot of interesting history, and they are also the first winery to make a 100% Sumoll wine called Gaintus. Sumoll is a rustic grape variety native to the Penedès region, and at MontRubí, they have worked hard to recover this unique grape.

One of the highlights of the tour was seeing the rooms where the grape-treading took place: you can still see the grape stains on the walls! It was also interesting to see the huge clay amphoras where some of the wines are aged. The amphoras are made by a local artisan, who currently has a waitlist of 3 years.

A fascinating detail was the space where grapes are stored and dried for sweet wines. These are old traditions that are kept alive, and I loved seeing and also tasting the sweet grapes.

The boutique winery hotel, Casa Gran 1771, has 9 unique rooms and is only a couple of minutes away from the winery. The rooms are beautifully restored, and we stayed in the Junior Suite with a patio that has a lovely round bathtub and a private terrace.

I was amazed by what the restaurant at MontRubí has to offer. It is a few minutes walk from the hotel, through the little village. This restaurant offers an authentic experience, perfect if you love food and wine. We opted for a tasting menu paired with many different MontRubí wines.

The dishes were based on seasonal ingredients. We began with a chestnut soup with octopus, botifarra negra, and local mushrooms in a Sumoll reduction. This gorgeous dish was paired with Durona Blanca, a 100% Parellada. This wine is made in clay amphoras and has a lovely mineral taste.

We continued the journey with a canelón with cabbage trinxat and smoked scallop, paired with One Night’s Rosé, with a bouquet of fragrances with notes of delicate pink rose petals, acacia blossom, and sweet grass. Doesn’t it sound dreamy..?

I don’t want to give away the whole tasting menu, but we loved every single dish, and the pairings were amazing. The dessert wines were also unforgettable, and I really recommend that you bring a few bottles of the different wines home with you.

The restaurant itself is beautiful, with views over the vineyard and the pool outside. We had both lunch and dinner there, but they also have a wine bar if you would like to just grab a bite and taste the different wines. If you want to visit the restaurant make sure to book in advance: especially the weekends are very busy.

MontRubí is an extraordinary place, not only for the unique wines they make. It is also a fantastic destination for gastronomy and to disconnect in nature. For more information and to book, check out their website here.

MontRubí, L’Avellà, El Penedès.

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