Metres ahead, up on the ridge, the air seems to be wobbling in the midday Catalonian sun. It is only when I reach the peak of the incline, light-headed and breathless, that I realise these wobbles are not heatwaves rippling from the road. Rather, clouds of white butterflies are dancing above the vineyards that drop down towards the village of La Granada. They flutter across my face and land on my arms. Behind them, like stone sentinels keeping watch from the horizon, loom the Montserrat mountains. If it wasn’t for the sunburn and my padded lyrca shorts, I would feel like a princess in a Disney film.
Enchanting moments such as this pepper my cycling expedition through Alt Penedès, a rolling region less than an hour’s train ride south-west of Barcelona.
My husband and I are sampling part of a new six-day cycling itinerary, pedalling between boutique guesthouses via an ancient web of lanes criss-crossing one of Europe’s oldest viticultural heartlands. Frequent stops at the wineries that produce the local cava are obligatory, obviously. The route starts in Sant Jaume dels Domenys, and winds its way through rolling vineyards to Cal Ruget in Rovira Roja and on to the sleepy village of Sant Llorenç d’Hortons – with stays in three rural hotels (our luggage is transferred by car).
Spectacular abandoned farmhouses line the roads, a reminder of how strongly history resonates in the region. Generalissimo Franco sought to crush Catalonia’s sense of identity but now the region’s bright red and yellow flag flutters from many homes, and independence is again freely debated in places such as the gothic quarter of Vilafranca Del Penedès, the capital of Alt Penedès.
Navigation is old-school: the daily 30km route is detailed on a paper map and printed directions (with details of wineries to look out for and suggested stops). At times the journey can be a fraught affair, with getting lost among the endless vineyards an ever-present risk. Long lunches (not included in the price) become part of our daily routine, a welcome respite from the heat. One culinary highlight is rice with squid ink which we wash down with some Raventos i Blanc de Nit Rose 2014 at Cal Ticus in the region’s cava capital, Sant Sadurní d’Anoia.
Many here are convinced cava’s time has come. Although its reputation has been somewhat muddied by cheapish, sugary bottles that might be found next to Lambrini in the supermarket, the success of prosecco as a non-luxury sparkling wine has articulated the market potential for what is ostensibly champagne at a brilliant price. Both champagne and cava are produced using the same méthode champenoise. Here, however, is a chance to sample a range of sophisticated tastes and flavours, with plenty of organic and biodynamic varieties. Beneath Alt Penedès lies an enormous network of deep subterranean halls crammed with fermenting bottles of the stuff.
Sampling another gran reserva brut natura in the gardens of the Parés Bàlta family-owned winery confirms that my rapidly acquired taste for bubbles could be permanent. Torres, one of the bigger wineries, even offers the chance to taste while perusing its museum.
The local cuisine dovetails perfectly for the requirements of a day’s cycling. Breakfast is an onslaught of bread flavoured with fresh tomatoes, garlic and olive oil, plus cheeses and cake. It’s a delicious carb load that powers us through several hill climbs. Days end with feasts at each guesthouse (often with a trademark fusion of land and sea such as chicken and langoustine).
However exhausting moments of cycling uphill are, there are few better feelings than the righteous glow after a day’s exercise. One such moment comes late one afternoon on the terrace of Hotel de Gimenelles in Sant Jaume. Before me stands a chilled bottle of Jané Ventura Reserva de la Música Cava 2012. Below are vineyards where the grape I am now tasting grew. Across the fields comes the sound of laughter from a farmhouse where friends are enjoying a lunch. Behind it lies the Mediterranean, a sliver of blue on the horizon. And to the right, hills which tomorrow we intend to conquer.
• The six-night Catalonia’s Cava Country tour was provided by Inntravel. The trip costs from £795pp half-board and includes luggage transfers between hotels, route notes/map and bicycle hire; flights to Barcelona and airport transfers extra. Available mid-April to 31 October. For information on Catalonia, visit catalunya.com
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