Penedès spreads inland from the Catalan coast between Barcelona and Tarragona, climbing from near sea level to around 800 metres in the hills behind. That spread of altitude is what gives the region its range: the warm coastal strip ripens red varieties, the middle terraces carry most of the vineyard, and the high ground stays cool enough for the sharp, low alcohol whites that sparkling wine needs.
Most of what grows here ends up as Cava. Xarel·lo, Macabeo and Parellada are the traditional trio, each contributing something the others lack, and the cellars of Sant Sadurní d'Anoia built an industry on them. Still wines matter too, and Penedès was the first part of Spain to take international varieties seriously in the 1960s and 1970s, planting Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Riesling when that was close to heresy. The still whites are light, aromatic and made to be drunk early.
