Penedès () is a natural and historical region of Catalonia, Spain. It is located in the south of the Principality of Catalonia between the pre-coastal mountain range (''Serralada Pre-litoral'') and the Mediterranean Sea. The comarcal division of the Generalitat de Catalunya in 1936 and 1987, divided Penedès into three administrative comarques:

Alt Penedès Alt Penedès () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, northern Spain. The capital is Vilafranca del Penedès Vilafranca del Penedès, or simply Vilafranca (), is the capital of the ''comarca'' of the Alt Penedès in Catalonia, Spain. The Spanish ...

Baix Penedès Baix Penedès () is a Comarques of Catalonia, comarca in Catalonia, Spain. The area has been settled since the times of the Iberians, with ancient ruins remaining in Banyeres at ''Can Canyís'', in the capital El Vendrell at the village of ''Guà ...

and

Garraf Garraf (), better known as El Garraf (), is a comarca (county) in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, northern Spain. It is named after the Garraf Massif. The GR 92 long distance footpath, which roughly follows the length of the Mediterranea ...

, and their capitals are

Vilafranca del Penedès Vilafranca del Penedès, or simply Vilafranca (), is the capital of the ''comarca'' of the Alt Penedès in Catalonia, Spain. The Spanish spelling of the name, ''Villafranca del Panadés'', is no longer in official use since 1982 (Law 12/1982, of ...

, el Vendrell and Vilanova i la Geltrú. From the historical point of view, Penedès was since the start of the ninth century a border region inside the county of Barcelona, which had its center in the former military town

Olèrdola Olèrdola is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Alt Penedès in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the northern side of the Garraf massif, and the highest point of the municipality is the '' Puig de l'Àliga'' at 468 m. Olèrdola cas ...

, fortified again because of the Christian advance in 929. Olèrdola lost its defensive significance and the capital in the second half of the twelfth century and then Vilafranca del Penedès became the capital. During the thirteenth century formed the

Vegueria The ''vegueria'' (; pl. ''vegueries'') was the feudal administrative territorial jurisdiction of the Principality of Catalonia (to the Crown of Aragon) during the Middle Ages and into the Modern Era until the Nueva Planta decrees of 1716. The ve ...

of Vilafranca including all Penedès and most of Anoia as the sots-vegueria of Igualada. The provincial division of 1833 divided the region between the provinces of Barcelona, which includes

and

, and the

province of Tarragona Tarragona (, ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is bordered by the provinces of Castellón, Teruel, Zaragoza, Lérida and Barcelona and by the Mediterranean Sea. The province's p ...

, which includes Baix Penedès.GGCC, Penedès
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Wine production

Penedès is a wine-producing region having a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) (''Denominació d'Origen Protegida'' in

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

). Penedès DOP includes all Penedès region and municipalities of four other comarques: Anoia, Alt Camp,

Baix Llobregat Baix Llobregat () is a comarca (county) on the coast of Catalonia, Spain. Its capital is Sant Feliu de Llobregat. Municipalities Proposed changes It has long been proposed to split the northern part of Baix Llobregat into a separate comarca. ...

and

Tarragonès Tarragonès () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of the three comarques formed in the 1936 comarcal division of Camp de Tarragona. It lies on the Mediterranean coast, between the comarques of Baix Penedès to the northeast and ...

. The area is framed by the coastal hills of the

Serra del Garraf The Garraf Massif ( ca, Massís del Garraf, ) is a mountain range of the Catalan Coastal Range, Catalonia, Spain. Its cliffs reach the Mediterranean waters. Its highest point on the coastal side is La Morella, 593 metres above sea level and furth ...

and the higher inland mountains which skirt the

Catalan Central Depression The Catalan Central Depression ( ca, Depressió Central Catalana) is a natural depression between the Pre-Pyrenees and the Catalan Pre-Coastal Range in Spain. It widens towards the west, linking with the Ebro Depression, ca, Depressió de l'E ...

. Long considered one of the country's best wine-producing regions after the Rioja, it is also one of the most ancient viticultural areas in Europe. Perhaps better-known for its Cava production, a sparkling wine which has had its own ''Denominació d'Origen'' since 1986, white grape varieties predominate, although the region also produces some highly regarded, oak-aged reds.

References

External links

Official Penedès "Denominación de Orígen" website

"Consejo Regulador de Cava" - Cava DO Regulator website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Penedes Natural regions Functional territorial sections of Catalonia

Wine production

See also

References

External links