Experience an authentic Catalan calçotada

Enjoy a Traditional Catalan Calcotada Combined with a Winery Tour

Our Calçotada tour is an irresistible combination of calçots and wine. We take you to the region of the Penedes, where you are given a private wine tour and tasting at one of Spain’s top cava producers, before enjoying a full, traditional, three-course calçotada lunch at another local cava winery.

What is a Calçotada?

Calçots are sweet and tender members of the onion family, somewhere between a spring onion and a leek, Calçots are grown exclusively in Catalonia and calçot season is one of the main events on the region’s culinary calendar, with people counting the days until their arrival.

Traditionally calçots are flame-grilled outdoors over vine canes pruned at the end of the wine harvest. This helps give them their unique sweet, smokey taste.

A Catalan calçotada is for those who like getting hands-on with their food, and although potentially messy, a calçotada is a meal guaranteed to be fun and delicious. Don’t worry about your clothes though, restaurants in Catalonia fully equip guests ordering a calçotada by arming them with napkins, gloves and even bibs to ensure they are fully protected!

The secret to a great calçotada is the romesco sauce you dip them in. A blend of almonds, roasted garlic, olive oil, and tomato a good romesco sauce makes for a mouthwatering calçot, and most families in Catalonia have their own jealously guarded recipe.

How to Eat Calçots?

The art of eating a calçot is to pinch the base where the roots are and gently slide the clean cooked onion out of its charred skin. The next step is to dip the white base of the calçot into the romesco sauce enjoy. But your guide is there to help master the technique!

Calçot Season

Calçots are seasonal from November to March. The first ones usually appear in early November, but as the season progresses, they get a bit plumper, so the prime time to eat them is from late November to late February.

Calçotadas in Barcelona

If you would like to try calçots a bit closer to Barcelona we take you to a Catalan Masia on the outskirts of the city. Calçots should be flamed grilled so it’s necessary to leave the city if you want to try an authentic calçotada.