Sant Sadurni d'Anoia

The municipality of Sant Sadurni d'Anoia is 50 km west of Barcelona and is the center of production for Spanish champagne, known regionally as Cava. It’s home to 60 wineries specializing in the production and export of Cava wine, including the Freixenet winery. 
Originally a small parish town, Sant Sadurni d'Anoia has benefited from its location on the main route between Barcelona and Tarragona, and it’s home to many notable buildings in different architectural styles including the Moorish Can Ferrer del Mas, the pre-Romanesque chapel of Sant Benat,  and the Gothic towers of the central church.  Perhaps the most famous buildings in Sant Sadurni d'Anoia are the noucentista (Catalan anti-modern) buildings at the Codorníu cava house, which were designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch—a famous contemporary of Gaudi. 
Visitors have many opportunities to visit vineyards to see and learn about the production of Cava. Sant Sadurni d'Anoia is also known for its many festivals, which include the Festival of the Phylloxera every September, a colorful event full of fireworks and pantomime where locals re-enact their struggles with a plague of Phylloxera insects that devastated most of the vineyards of Europe in the 19th century.

Practical Info

The town of Sant Sadurni d'Anoia is most easily reached via the A-7 highway, or the R-4 rail line that connects Barcelona to Manresa. Vineyard tours can be arranged through individual wine producers, and most wineries maintain facilities in the town center.