This piece is part of our series on Penedès, one of the great wine regions of Spain. We visited in July 2019.

After two culturally immersive weeks in Barcelona, where we drank enough Barcelona Water (Cava) to keep us fully hydrated in the summer heat, it was time to move on to the second stage of our Spanish journey: Penedès and a thorough discovery of Cava wine.

We visited four very different wineries:

So many gorgeous bottles we don’t see in the US! — The charming family-owned and operated Cava Guilera.

This was our second tasting. This artisanal winery is more earthy, casual, less grand than one of the big Cava houses like Juvé y Camps, but it’s full of spectacular history from another of the Penedès pioneering families.

AWARD-WINNING SPARKLING WINE

We wouldn’t have known about this gem had it not been for one our our favorite winemakers, Mark Cargasacchi, owner of Jalama Wines in Santa Barbara County, California, who messaged his recommendations to us. Cava Guilera was one of them. Thank you, Mark!

This winery offered the Cava experience that made our spirits soar, and we were in good company! According to Pedro Ballesteros, MW (Master of Wine) in Decanter magazine, Cava Guilera is one of the top ten Cava wines in Spain.

And, they keep racking up more and more awards including one of Spain’s most prestigious wine awards, Vinari Premis dels vins catalans 2018 (grand prize, old vintage sparkling), awarded for their Guilera Brut Nature Gran Reserva 2009. Apparently this award pretty much guarantees that every bottle of wine will be sold instantly, and sadly, this particular vintage was already sold out when we walked up.

Marta Guilera met us at the winery and straight away charmed us with her infectious energy, enthusiasm, and knowledge.

INCLUSIVITY

One of the first things she pointed out and wanted to explain was their commitment to inclusivity.

Several of their labels are imprinted with Braille, and their website will soon offer features with total inclusiveness for total access.

One of the first things that struck us was how vibrant and compelling the label designs were. Even had the wine been mediocre, the labels dazzle.

A CENTURY OF FAMILY WINEMAKING

As we began talking about Penedès, Cava, and the history of the Guilera family, Marta explained that landholding families joining forces in marriage and in business has occurred regularly here in the last century. Cava Guilera’s first bottles were produced in 1927 after the marriage of Isidre Guilera and Maria Sardá.

Today the winery is managed by the fourth generation brother and sister team of Marta and her winemaking brother Jordi. Their father Pere Guilera, grandson of the founders, is the president of the winery.

CAVA QUALITY DESIGNATIONS

As with each winery visit, we wanted to learn as much about the winemaking practices and culture of the area. Marta was happy to educate us. She started by thoroughly explaining the system for ranking Cava wines, and to better explain it, here’s an excerpt from their website:

A premium cava is a very exclusive product. According to the Consell Regulador del Cava (the Cava Governing Body) in 2016, only 2% of the cavas on the market were Gran Reserva, 10% Reserva and the rest were young cavas. You can easily identify each style thanks to the round seal indicating its age on the lees. The white seal: Crianza, Cava aged for a minimum of 9 months. The green seal: Reserva which is aged for a minimum of 15 months. The black seal: Gran Reserva which is aged for a minimum of 30 months and has passed all the quality controls required by the Consell Regulador del Cava.

Cava Guilera ages all the wines on their lees for at least 24 months, and many for up to 12 years. In essence, they don’t make Crianza wines (minimum of 9 months).

TO CALL IT CAVA… OR SOMETHING ELSE?

We also talked about the issues with the Cava designation, and the many local wineries leaving the name Cava off their wines and referring to them as Classic Penedès instead.

Cava Guilera has taken the position that although the name is used all over Spain, its heart and origins are in Penedès where 98% of the wine is made. They are a part of the movement to have the name Cava designated as a part of the Penedès DO. They feel the history and passion in the region is important enough to lobby for the name, and Marta does not agree that changing the name will change wrong perceptions of the region.

BEAUTIFUL, INTIMATE CAVES

After spending some time in the shop, we exited for the production facility.

The caves were built by the Guilera family and are overflowing with thousands of bottles beautifully aging. It’s a time capsule into the past, with original equipment, old bottle racks, the first corking machines they used. Over 9 decades they’ve also discovered ancient Roman artifacts in the earth and in the vineyards. These are so important that whenever the Guilera family discovers one, they inform the Spanish government.

One of the very cool things in the caves were a series of very old concrete riddling racks (pictured in the gallery above). They no longer use these racks for riddling, but Marta informed us that she has a secret marketing idea for them. They’d make amazing table tops covered with glass! We’ve added that to our wish list!

The cellar was such a wonderful experience with all the ancient dust, cobwebs and very old bottles of wine from years past - and a great relief from the summer heat!

TASTING WITH THE WINEMAKER

In the end it was time to adjourn to the tasting room. Like all wineries we visited in Catalonia, the tours are by reservation only, and the tasting is the last thing you do.

After about two hours with Marta, she introduced us to Jordi Guilera. Equally as charming as Marta, Gordi took us through a flight tasting of several of their wines, showing us the different styles based on aging protocols they use.

GOATS AND SATURDAY CONCERTS

A local goat herder brings his flock in to eat the lower shoots of the vines. This is their way of doing shoot thinning to allow better fruit growth. Everything they do focuses on sustainability and respecting the earth, including their packaging materials that are fully biodegradable and made with sugar cane rather than trees.

Marta and her boyfriend also have a supplemental club experience. Basically, you join the club for a token fee, and each weekend you can come relax, buy food from a food truck onsite, and of course order wine, and wine cocktails. By forming the club with private membership rules, they are able to offer food and drinks from the truck rather than a licensed public bar and eatery. Most Saturday nights include live music. The area is outside and the furniture is a clever repurposing of the Guilera grandparents’ old iron beds. They have been modified and fitted with sofa cushions.

HOW TO BUY THIS AMAZING WINE

At the end of our visit, we purchased several bottles and it didn’t take long to consume them once back at our hotel. We also discovered here that there is a service in Europe called Cargo Wine. If a winery joins the service, you can have 6 bottles shipped to anywhere in the U.S. for E97.

When you consider that these amazing wines sell for mostly under $25 euro, it’s an amazing deal! These same quality wines in the U.S. would probably sell for $50 and up a bottle.