Visit to the winery with the best wine tourism experience in Spain

was inaugurated on May 10

, everything has been good news for this family business promoted by the Suqué Mateu family that started in an old farmhouse from the 1940s in the Girona town of Peralada, next to the imposing 14th century castle.

After 12 years of design and sketches, four of construction and 40 million euros of investment, a dream came true together with the local studio

(winner of the prestigious Pritzker prize in 2017) whose objective was to combine the world of wine with architecture , sustainability and wine tourism.

The pharaonic work of 18,000 square meters built underground, without doors or windows (so that the water does not enter with the swelling of the river), all diaphanous without pillars (except in the last room, called

) and with viewpoints over imposing rooms of barrels, it has become not only the most important in the DO Empordà, but also one of the

(it is the first on the continent with the environmental and energy certification LEED® BD + C).

The expectation to discover the impressive project was such that a few days before opening its doors to the public, on June 24, 2022, the new winery had registered more than 1,000 reservation requests to see the facilities.

In just over five months,

.

The main claim of the winery, with some 45 references of white, red and rosé wines, is that the visits (for small groups of a maximum of 15 people) are conceived as

, in which it is committed to the territory, architecture and sustainability.

All this has led him to win this week the first prize for

of the seventh edition of the International Wine Challenge Merchant Awards Spain 2022, an award that is given in the presence of great producers, sommeliers and professionals from the country.

The prestigious IWC awards distinguish the work of all those people and companies involved in the dissemination of wine culture in all its aspects, from the distribution sector to auxiliary wine industries.

What does the experience consist of?

Perelada's wine tourism program includes different types of experiences, ranging from

and basic visits (the most popular, which include a tour of the facilities, vineyards and tasting of three wines for 20 euros) to personalized ones with tastings at the

or private room and others more exclusive.

The classic visit starts on the roof of the winery (at ground level), where you can enjoy a beautiful panoramic view of the surroundings, the old buildings (where the store, the tasting room and a dining room are located) and the vineyards .

Afterwards, an eight-minute video explains the history of the family group and how the winery was built, in which sustainability was the fundamental basis.

Video room.

Then, a large elevator slowly descends about ten meters into the depths of the earth, where a labyrinth of concrete corridors begins that lead to five rooms in which the details of each of the estates in the group are displayed on a giant screen. where the wine comes from (Perelada-Garbet, Malaveïna, Pont de Molins, La Garriga and Espolla).

The itinerary continues through walkways located three meters high (so as not to interfere with the dynamics of the oenology teams or with wine production) over two impressive open-plan rooms: the production room and the barrel room (5,000 oak barrels French and American and acacia), both measuring 2,500 square meters without any pillars.

A concrete room with wooden formwork houses the bottle rack, one of the most beautiful spaces in the winery, where more than 800,000 bottles are aged at 15 degrees (they use geothermal energy for air conditioning with water recovered from the rain).

The tour ends in

, a pyramid-shaped room with overhead lighting where the top wines age in concrete and wooden barrels.

Barrel room.

Returning to the surface, the experience ends in the dining room dedicated to tastings, with the possibility of discovering the best old vintages, special formats of limited series wines and products for collectors.

This space houses some 1,100 bottles placed in a unique way on the wall as a library.

In the same winery, visitors can also enjoy the

and its offer of traditional dishes, prepared just as it was done in 1923 with an avant-garde touch, always paired with Perelada wines.

And there are also

which include lunch and a tour at Finca Malaveïna and wine tasting, or a private visit to the emblematic Finca Garbet, with a guide to the new winery, tasting the best wines of the brand and a tasting menu at the restaurant with a Michelin Star in Castell Perelada.

More information and reservations here.

Tasting room.

And it is that Perelada's proposal does not stay in the winery.

This is part of a cultural and historical complex that has become a tourist destination, called Peralada Resort, made up of a walled enclosure that houses

with the wine museum and glass collection, the exceptional library and the gardens;

the

, with its 14th century Gothic church and cloister;

and the

, with two wine shops and several gastronomic proposals, including the

restaurant , with a Michelin star.

Just a short walk from the winery, the

is held every summer , attended by thousands of people each year.

Where to sleep

Hotel Peralada

(Rocabertí, s/n, Peralada, Girona; tel.: 972 53 88 30).

Exclusive and quiet resort with a

and a golf course considered one of the best on the Costa Brava.

It has a pool and restaurant.

Price from 225 euros.

Reservations here.

Peralada Castle.

Where to eat

To pay homage,

(Sant Joan, s/n; tel.: 972 52 20 401), with a tasting menu designed by chef Javi Martínez with a Michelin star (115 euros).

The

restaurant (Rocabertí, s/n; tel.: 972 53 88 30), inside the Hotel Peralada, offers the essence of the Mediterranean through Paco Pérez with a proposal of contemporary dishes that include the best products and wines from Ampurdán.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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