Cavatast (Sant Sadurní Cava Festival) is one of the wine festivals that anchors the Catalonia calendar, drawing both local visitors and international wine travellers each year. It is held at Sant Sadurní d'Anoia in Barcelona, in the heart of one of Spain's most distinctive wine areas. It has been running since 1996, with a long unbroken local tradition behind it.
Cavatast brings together around 25 Cava houses each October in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia — the village that produces around 75% of all Spanish Cava. The programme includes producer-led tastings in the Plaça Nova town square, food stalls pairing Cava with regional dishes (esqueixada, escalivada, cava-and-anchovy combinations), guided cellar visits to Codorniu, Freixenet, Recaredo, Llopart, Gramona, Raventos i Blanc and others within the village, masterclasses on the traditional method and the indigenous grape varieties, and concerts in the historic Casa Raventos. The event is organised in cooperation with the Cava DO regulatory council. Wine festivals across Europe typically combine producer tastings with food pairings, live music, and a strong sense of place. Visitors can expect access to wines from a range of producers in the appellation, alongside food stalls offering regional specialities, masterclasses or vineyard walks for those who want to learn more, and an opportunity to buy directly from producers at cellar prices. Many events run across multiple days or weekends, allowing visitors to sample different parts of the programme according to interest, and combine well with the area's wider tourism offer. The event is organised by Ajuntament de Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, which sets the tone and direction of the programme each year.
Catalonia is the wine region surrounding Barcelona in the northeast of Spain, encompassing some of the country's most distinctive appellations. Penedes is the heart of Cava production (around 95% of all Spanish Cava is made here), while Priorat is the second of Spain's two DOCa regions, producing concentrated reds from old-vine Garnacha and Cariñena on slate soils. Other Catalan zones include Conca de Barbera, Costers del Segre, Emporda and Montsant. The region has been at the forefront of Spanish wine modernisation since the 1960s under producers like Torres and Raventos i Blanc.
The 2026 edition is scheduled for October 2-4, 2026. Cost details: Tasting pack ticket required for sampling. Full programme, ticketing and updated information are published on the official site at https://www.cavatast.cat. Visitors are advised to check directly with the organiser for the latest schedule, as festival programmes are sometimes updated close to the event date.
Catalonia is reached via Barcelona (El Prat airport, AVE rail to Madrid and Paris) or Girona. Penedes sits 30-45 minutes south of Barcelona by car or train, with Vilafranca del Penedès and Sant Sadurní d'Anoia (the Cava capital) as the main bases. Priorat sits further south near Tarragona, around 2 hours from Barcelona by car, with Falset and Gratallops as the main wine-tourism villages. Catalan cuisine pairs the wines with pa amb tomaquet, calçots (charred green onions), botifarra sausage, fideua and crema catalana.
