Penedès, sometimes spelt Penedés or Panadés, the largest and most important denominated wine zone in cataluña in north-east Spain (see map under spain), producing an innovative range of wines from 15,200 ha/36,500 acres of vineyard in 2013. With its proximity to Barcelona, Penedès has always had a ready outlet for its wines. In the 19th century, it was one of the first regions in Spain to begin mass production and France, stricken by phylloxera, became an important market. The phylloxera louse reached Penedès in 1887, by which time José Raventós had laid the foundations of codorníu and the cava industry. Vineyards that had once produced strong, semi-fortified reds were uprooted in favour of white grapes for sparkling wine. Cava has subsequently developed a separate nationally organized do.
