Are you looking for a wine tasting day trip from Barcelona where you can try delicious wines, tour a family-owned organic winery, and picnic among the vines with views of the Mediterranean? Alella can offer you all of that, within a 30-minute drive of Barcelona! I joined an Alella wine tour from Barcelona with GetYouGuide and had a wonderful day in this unique Barcelona wine region. While you can do wine tasting in Barcelona, getting out of the city to this beautiful place was well worth the trip – you will love wine tasting in Alella!
Where is Alella Wine Region & Why Visit?
Alella is a hidden gem, less than 30 minutes drive from Barcelona, and is one of the smallest and oldest wine regions in Spain. Alella could almost be called an urban wine region as it is so close to Barcelona!
The vineyards lie between the Mediterranean coast just north of Barcelona and the Serralada Litoral hills, and the region is famous for its sandy granite soils (known as sauló) and crisp white wines, particularly from the Pansa Blanca grape.
There are just 7 family-run wineries in the Alella DO, so a wine tasting in Alella is a unique opportunity to try some lesser-known Catalan wines, in some stunning surroundings.
If you are visiting Alella without a tour, be sure to check the opening times of the wineries you are visiting, as some are only open at the weekends, and you may need to book the wine tasting in advance.
How to Get to Alella from Barcelona
Alella is easily reached by car or taxi from Barcelona, but public transport is a little more challenging. The e19 bus goes from the city centre (near Plaça d’Urquinaona) to the centre of Alella town, and then you could walk or take a taxi between wineries.
Hiring an e-bike from Barcelona is another option. The ride along the coast is quite flat until you start to go inland to get to Alella, when there is quite a steep hill up to the wineries, so e-bikes are easier than traditional push-bikes!
You can also join an Alella wine tour from Barcelona. Wine tours to Alella offer different options for transport, with some including a boat trip from the port at Barcelona to the port at Masnou, then a mini-van to the wineries, others just with the mini-van, and others by e-bike with a guide.
My Experience Booking an Alella Wine Tour on GetYourGuide
I had wanted to go to Alella for a while and had been looking at different options. In this case it was August and I get seasick so chose the easiest option – mini-van! I would like to try out the e-bike but not in the summer heat – I’ll give that a go when it’s a bit cooler.
I booked this Alella wine Tour from Barcelona on GetYourGuide which included a wine tasting and vineyard picnic:
As this was a new experience offered on GetYourGuide I was given a complimentary ticket for myself and a friend in exchange for a review on the GetYourGuide platform. I wasn’t required to write anything on the blog but we loved the experience so much I wanted to share it with you!
Transport from Barcelona to Alella
Our Barcelona wine tour to Alella began at Port Olímpic. The booking information gave us clear directions to the meeting point, and asked us to arrive 15 minutes early.
Bang on 10am the mini-van pulled up and we set off to Alella. Transport was smooth and fast, and took just 20 minutes from the meeting point. The rest of our group had booked the sailing option, but due to the wind direction in the morning they would return by boat to Barcelona and drive with us to the winery in Alella.
Bouquet d’Alella Winery
The winery we visited on the tour was amazing. Bouquet d’Alella is a family-owned organic winery in Alella, with beautiful views of the town of Alella, the Mediterranean and the surrounding hills.
The current owners are two siblings, a brother and sister who are the 24th generation of the Boquet family, which has maintained the estate for 6 centuries. The farmhouse is a beautiful building with a tower which was built to watch out for pirates attacking from the sea!
The property has 14 hectares of vineyards planted for over 40 years over different altitude levels – some close to the sea, and others in the hills of the Serralada Litoral.
They focus on local grapes: Pansa Blanca, Garnatxa (Grenache), Garnatxa Blanca (White Grenache), Monastrell and Syrah to create some incredible red, white, orange, and sparkling wines.
Alella Wine Tour Near Barcelona
We had a tour of the vineyard with Annette from the winery, who was great at explaining the process and how the different grapes and vines are treated. The winery is organic, so no additional watering methods are used, just whatever nature provides.
We walked around some of the vines, seeing the difference between some of the grape varieties and discussed how even small differences in the location of the vines can impact the growth of the grapes and flavour and quality of the wine.
We also went inside the cellar to see where the wine is stored in tanks and barrels before bottling, and saw some of the traditional winemaking equipment, like the original wine press dating from 1788.
We visited during the last week of August, when harvest had already begun so we saw some of the grapes during the destemming process, to have the stalks removed and go into the press. Harvest time is a great time to visit wineries near Barcelona (or anywhere!) as you can see some of the wine-making process which you wouldn’t see during other times of the year.
Wine Tasting in Alella
After the tour we settled down on some tables outside the farmhouse, under the shade of the trees and Annette guided us through a tasting of 4 wines from the cellar.
We tried two white wines – a pansa blanca and a garnatxa blanca (which was more of an orange wine), an organic brut nature sparkling wine made with pansa blanca and chardonnay grapes, and a red wine blend of merlot, syrah and garnatxa blanca.
The wines were all excellent (we bought a couple of bottles to take home), and Annette talked us through the flavour profiles and styles of each wine. We didn’t have any food with our tasting (as we would have a picnic after the tasting), but others in the group had light snacks of Catalan bread with tomato.
A Private Picnic in the Vineyard
After the wine tasting, the day got even better when we were given picnic baskets and a map of the winery to find our way to the picnic spot. We walked up through the vineyard to find a table set up next to the vines just for us, with stunning views!
It was such a fun and exclusive experience, with no-one else around it would be perfect for couples, families or friends looking for an extra special activity close to Barcelona.
The picnic table was ready with everything we needed, including an ice bucket with a bottle of Bouquet d’Alella white wine, an umbrella for shade and even coffee cups for after our meal. We opened our picnic baskets to find a plate of cheeses, cold meats, bread and tomato, Spanish omelette, a bottle of gazpacho soup and some grapes.
We set out our beautiful picnic and tucked in. The food was simple but delicious, and the wine was the perfect accompaniment, with some still water to stay hydrated too!
We had around an hour and half to enjoy our picnic and the peaceful location before it was time to head back to the farmhouse. Although it was only a short walk back, it felt like we were miles from anywhere, soaking in this wonderful place.
Just a note, there is a fairly steep walk up the hill to the picnic spot, so if you have accessibility issues you may want to request the picnic be set up somewhere closer to the farmhouse for you.
We had time to buy a couple of bottles of wine to take home with us, use the bathrooms and take some final photos before heading to the car park where the mini-van was waiting. We were the only ones to be driven back, as the others in our group had the boat trip, and the driver whisked us back to Barcelona in no time at all.
Would You Do This Wine Tasting Near Barcelona?
If you want to get out of the city for the day, or even a few hours, Alella is a fabulous place to go – and this winery experience was out of this world. I really enjoyed my time here and highly recommend it!
You can book the experience directly on the Bouquet d’Alella website, although you would need to find your own way there.
The tour available on GetYourGuide that we did included the transport from Port Olímpic, which was more convenient for us and meant we didn’t have to worry about finding a taxi home. ➡️ Book the experience here.
Other Wine Tours from Barcelona
Barcelona wine tasting options range from tastings in city centre bars to day trips into the countryside. There are other wine tours from Barcelona that you could do, mainly to the Penedes wine region, although Emporda and Priorat are also possible, but a bit further away.
Penedes Wine Tours from Barcelona are often combined with a visit to Montserrat (like this amazing day trip to Montserrat, which includes wine tasting and a winery lunch). Some of my favourites include:
From Barcelona: Montserrat Half-Day Wine and Tapas Trip
- 7 hour, half-day tour
- Transportation in an air-conditioned bus
- 1-Hour guided visit to Montserrat Monastery
- 1-Hour free time at Montserrat
- Winery tour with 3 wine tastings
- Tapas with dessert
- Wheelchair accessible
- Maximum of 16 people
- Doesn’t include hotel pickup and drop-off
Taste delicious Spanish wines and tapas at a boutique winery on a wine tour from Barcelona that also includes a visit to stunning Montserrat. On this Barcelona wine tour, you’ll experience the best of Spanish wines and tapas together with one of the top attractions in Barcelona!
Free time during this tour does not allow enough time to visit the Museum of Montserrat, touch the Black Madonna, or ride the funicular at Montserrat. If you want to spend more time at Montserrat, you may be better off booking the full-day tour option below, or a different wine tour and a separate trip to Montserrat.
Private Organic Cava and Wine Tour in the Penedes
Barcelona Slow Travel offer this incredible private wine tour from Barcelona to the Penedes Wine region, visiting two small boutique organic wineries and including a private lunch with a winery owner. You’ll visit authentic premium wineries that you won’t find offered in any other tour, and will enjoy the very best hospitality from the wine makers and winery owners themselves.
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- 7-hour private experience guided by an expert in local wine and food
- Premium Chauffeured Transportation
- Pick-up and drop-off from the place of your choice in Barcelona
- 11am start time
- 2 organic, exclusive winery visits by the owners of the wineries
- At least 8 small-batch, premium organic wine and cava tastings
- Private lunch with a winery owner, set at an exclusive location within one of the wineries visited
- Exceptional wine pairing for lunch
I hope this has inspired you to take a wine tasting day trip from Barcelona to sample some of the amazing wine in Catalonia. I loved this Alella wine tasting near Barcelona and can’t wait to explore more delicious wines in the region soon!