Wine is also for winter: four getaways through Catalonia glass in hand

In winter, the vineyards change their skin. The vines lose their leaves, the fields remain bare, and the rows of vines stretch out under the fog or the cold sky of the winter months. The harvest ended long ago, and activity shifts, for the most part, inside the wineries, where thousands of bottles rest in the dark while the wine continues its journey. Outside, meanwhile, it is time for calçotades, for stews that call for a good glass of red wine, and for villages that regain their calm after the months of highest tourist influx. Because, although we often associate getaways among vineyards with spring or autumn, winter is also a good time to discover the country, glass in hand.

This is, precisely, one of the objectives of the Catalan Wine Routes Network, promoted this 2026 by the Catalan Tourist Board. The initiative brings together the nine wine tourism routes distributed throughout the territory, with 244 wineries and 633 companies linked to the sector, including restaurants, accommodations, wine shops, and guiding services. The goal is to go beyond traditional winery visits and combine wine with gastronomy, heritage, culture, and landscape throughout the year. It is not a minor sector: Catalonia receives about 700,000 annual visitors to wineries, which generate a direct economic impact of 46 million euros.

Among all the possibilities offered by this network, we propose four to discover that, when the cold arrives, wine tourism does not stop.

1. DO Tarragona Wine Route: a glass of wine among calçots

• Where: Alt Camp and Tarragonès
• When: from January to March
• Ideal for: lovers of traditional gastronomy and calçotades

When the cold arrives, the calçotada season begins in Alt Camp. Between January and March, farmhouses and restaurants fill up with embers, calçots, and long tables where a good bottle of wine is never missing. It is a great excuse to discover the Tarragona DO Wine Route, which combines visits to wineries with seasonal gastronomy. The getaway can be completed with a visit to Valls, the cradle of the calçotada.

2. DOQ Priorat-DO Montsant Wine Route: the secret of rancio wines

• At: Priorat
• When: from late November to winter
• Ideal for: lovers of unique wines, tastings and vineyard landscapes

In Priorat, winter leaves the vineyards bare and the villages surrounded by a landscape that invites you to explore the region at a leisurely pace. It is a good time to enter the wineries and discover aged wines and traditional rancid wines. At the end of November, the Sant Andreu Fair in Falset includes an exhibition dedicated to rancid and sweet wines, an opportunity to taste some of the most unique products of the territory.

3. Penedès Wine Route: a journey to the underground of the wine cellars

• Where: Alt Penedès
• When: during the whole winter
• Ideal for: sparkling wine lovers, visits to cellars and local gastronomy

While outside temperatures drop, thousands of sparkling wine bottles rest underground in galleries and cellars. Winter is a good time to visit the wineries of the Penedès, discover how wines are made, and participate in guided tastings. In Sant Sadurní d’Anoia and the surrounding municipalities, there are numerous proposals to do so. In December, furthermore, Vilafranca del Penedès celebrates the Fira del Gall, which combines gastronomy and wines from the region.

4. Lleida Wine Route: among vineyards and blooming peach trees

• Where: Segrià and other regions of Lleida
• When: from late February to March
• Ideal for: nature lovers, flowery landscapes and getaways among vineyards

In the lands of Ponent, the end of winter reserves a special spectacle. Between late February and early March, the peach trees of Aitona begin to blossom and dye the landscape pink. It is a great opportunity to discover the Lleida Wine Route, linked to the wineries of the Costers del Segre Designation of Origin, and to combine wine tastings with a getaway among fields, villages, and agricultural landscapes.