Exploring the World Gastronomy Region 2025 is a great success

Catalonia is also a country to be savored. This is so because it brings together more than fifty Michelin-starred restaurants and because chefs such as Ferran Adrià, the Roca brothers, Carme Ruscalleda, and Carles Gaig, among many others, have become true ambassadors of Catalan gastronomy, which is considered one of the most recognizable. Over time, this signature cuisine, without great artifice but always featuring local and seasonal products, has become an international benchmark. It's no surprise, therefore, that it's one of the pretexts visitors from here and there use to visit Catalonia, even during Easter.

20% more spending than the conventional tourist

The food and wine sector is a visitor profile that appeals, "as it generates 20% more spending at the destination than a conventional tourist who travels year-round and is interested in exploring different places in our region." This was recently highlighted by the Director General of Tourism, Cristina Lagé, at the opening of the 1st International Wine Tourism Forum. Therefore, now, as the World Region of Gastronomy 2025, our country will work to promote various initiatives, including "the international promotion of Catalan wines and wineries, as well as the creation of immersive experiences that connect visitors with Catalan culture, gastronomy, and the wine landscape," Lagé explained.

The tourism model that Catalonia offers visitors is not only focused on savoring a tasting menu in one of its restaurants or a tasting in one of the wineries within its 12 Designations of Origin (DO). This includes fishing trips, visits to municipal markets, artisan cheese factories, and olive oil mills, the experience of enjoying one of the 300 wine and food activities and exhibitions organized throughout the year, and accommodation in one of our country's gastronomic hotels. The connection between gastronomy and wine tourism with the region is undeniable, so each of the experiences our country offers for the palate (and the rest of the senses) of those who visit us highlights the origin of each ingredient and the preparation process of each dish.

Try the Grand Tour, new this year

At the end of January, the Fitur exhibition was chosen to present a new route for discovering Catalonia through the palate. Tasta el Grand Tour, a two-week itinerary that, following in the footsteps of the Grand Tour of Catalonia, proposes a fifteen-day tour of the country while discovering the rich cultural and human heritage linked to Catalan gastronomy. This route will provide travelers with direct contact with Catalan producers, as well as the opportunity to participate in numerous food and wine activities for all ages. These include a visit to the Santa Caterina Market or a fish auction on the Barceloneta pier, accompanied by a fisherman; tasting artisanal ricotta after touring the surroundings of Montserrat by helicopter; exploring the vats at the foot of the Pla de Bages DO vineyards; following the Xató Route in Sitges; discovering how romesco is made in the Serrallo fishing district of Tarragona; Take a cooking workshop on rice dishes from the Ebro Delta; enjoy an astronomical meal at the Monastery of Les Avellanes in Os de Balaguer; take a guided tour about vermouth in Reus; or swim among Mediterranean bluefin tuna in L'Ametlla de Mar.

Wine tourism routes to get to know the region

Catalonia's winemaking legacy dates back 2,000 years, when the Greeks and Romans landed in Empúries. Today, the wine sector in our country covers more than 65,000 hectares of vineyards and produces more than 380 million bottles of wine and cava annually. The 12 Designations of Origin (DO) that comprise the region work hard to continue providing this legacy of the highest quality and to bring visitors closer to the key activities involved in the production of wines and cavas that have garnered so many recognitions and awards both within and outside our borders. One of the activities through which they do so isThese are perfectly structured wine tourism routes located in different areas of Catalonia. The DO Alella, one of the smallest and oldest Catalan DOs, is one of the organizers of these routes, specifically the DO Alella Wine Route, which covers 26 municipalities between Maresme, Vallès Oriental, and Barcelonès.

As noted by the DO's Wine Tourism Promotion Consortium, the route "gives you the opportunity to get to know the area's wineries up close, discover the history of each one, understand how they work the vineyards and how they make their wines, especially the Pansa Blanca, the most representative native variety of this territory." At the end of each visit, visitors have the opportunity to taste the wines and experience firsthand the flavors that define the DO. In addition to the winery visits, the Consortium emphasizes that visitors can also enjoy "unique experiences among the vineyards, such as yoga, tastings, gastronomic experiences with pairings, and family activities, including activities for the little ones." When describing how the DO Alella Wine Route encompasses the experience, the Consortium highlights the role of the Tierra de la Pasa Blanca, which stretches between the sea and the mountains, between the Cordillera Litoral and the Maresme coast, a contrast reflected in the character of the wines. It's an experience designed for both local and international visitors. "Throughout the year, we welcome locals, but also many foreign tourists, especially from the US, Germany, and England; all of them looking to discover authentic wines beyond the more conventional routes," notes the Consortium for the Promotion of Wine Tourism of the DO Alella.

For all types of wine tourists

Another wine route that brings together a total of 21 wineries spread throughout the Lleida region is the Lleida wine route. The route includes more than 50 experiences categorized by audience. Thus, explains its president, Montserrat Guardiola, "there are options for curious wine tourists, such as these winery visits and wine tastings; wine lovers, such as blind tastings or Tastabótes; for cultural ones, such as visits among vineyards of large sculptures and vaulted cabins; for foodies, such as casseroles at the farmhouse, breakfasts in the middle of the vineyard or local pairings; for the active ones, such as the Burricleta Tour, excursions to the wedge and Nordic walking, and for sustainable activities, such as grape harvest days, picnics among vineyards or Tastavinyes". The Lleida Wine Route, as Guardiola states, "also includes restaurants ranging from the most rural cuisine to Michelin-starred establishments; hotels and rural tourism accommodation; wine bars specializing in the entire range of wines from the DO Costers del Segre, oil mills and themed establishments." A proposal that arouses interest, especially among local tourists, since only 10% of those who travel it are international.

The Lleida Wine Route follows the course of the Segre River and its tributaries, from the Pyrenees mountains, through the Montsec mountain range and the plains of Lleida, to the Aiguabarreig. The route includes attractions such as the Iberian fortress of Vilars de Arbeca, the Morera Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Lleida, and the Espai Macià in Les Borges Blanques. If one in particular had to be highlighted, however, its president is clear: the Turó de la Seu Vella Monumental Complex in Lleida.