Empordà
Catalan wine region in the far northeast near the French border. Garnacha-led reds, fresh whites, and the sweet dessert wine Garnatxa de l'Empordà.
DO Empordà is the northernmost Catalan wine region, hugging the Mediterranean coast from the Costa Brava up to the French border. The vineyards sit on a mix of granite, schist and clay soils, exposed to the strong tramuntana wind that funnels down from the Pyrenees. The dominant varieties are Garnacha (Garnatxa Negra) and Cariñena (Carinyena) for reds, and Garnatxa Blanca and Macabeo for whites. The region is best known internationally for its sweet Garnatxa de l'Empordà, a fortified dessert wine aged in glass demijohns under the sun, which produces an amber, raisin-and-fig wine eaten with desserts or aged cheeses. Smaller production than Penedès or Priorat, but increasingly serious wines and a tight tie to the Costa Brava restaurant scene.
How it's served
Reds at 16-18°C, whites cold (8-10°C). The sweet Garnatxa de l'Empordà at room temperature in a small glass, after dinner with dessert or aged cheese. The region's wines pair naturally with Catalan coastal cooking: suquet, fideuà, grilled fish.
Regional variation
Empordà splits into two subregions, Alt Empordà (the northern, cooler half) and Baix Empordà (the southern, warmer half). The sweet Garnatxa de l'Empordà is the most distinctive product; modern Empordà bodegas (Espelt, Castell Peralada, Mas Estela) also produce serious dry reds, rosés and orange wines. Closely linked to the Costa Brava restaurant scene around El Celler de Can Roca and the wider Empordà gastronomic tradition.
- Origin
- Empordà, northeastern Catalonia
- Etymology
- From the Greek Emporion ('trading port'), the ancient Greek colony at modern-day Empúries on the Empordà coast.
- Also called
- DO Empordà
Where to try it in Barcelona
One restaurant on Guidavera mentions empordà in their kitchen description.
Frequently asked
What is DO Empordà?
A Catalan wine region in the far northeast, near the French border, covering the Costa Brava coast. Makes Garnacha-led reds, fresh whites and the sweet dessert wine Garnatxa de l'Empordà. Smaller production than Penedès or Priorat, but increasingly serious wines. Closely tied to the Costa Brava restaurant scene.
What is Garnatxa de l'Empordà?
A sweet fortified dessert wine made in the Empordà region from late-harvest Garnacha grapes, aged in glass demijohns under the sun (a technique called sol y serena). The result is amber-coloured, raisin-and-fig in flavour, served at room temperature with desserts or aged cheeses. Long history; rarer outside the region.
How is Empordà wine different from Priorat?
Both Catalan, both Garnacha-and-Cariñena-led, but very different regions. Priorat is high-altitude mountain country with extreme black-slate soils, producing concentrated structured reds. Empordà is coastal, cooler, with mixed soils and a strong sea-wind influence, producing fresher, lighter reds and a distinctive sweet wine tradition.
Related terms
- PrioratA small mountainous Catalan wine region producing intense, mineral red wines from old-vine Garnacha and Cariñena on dark slate soils. One of only two Spanish regions with DOCa/DOQ status.
- PenedèsCatalan wine region southwest of Barcelona, the heartland of cava production and a serious zone for both white and red still wines.
- Denominación de Origen (DO)Spain's protected geographical indication system for wine and food. Sets rules on what can be made where, how, and from what.
- CavaSpanish traditional-method sparkling wine, mostly made in the Penedès region of Catalonia, from local grapes (Macabeo, Xarel·lo, Parellada).