Penedès has long been associated with innovative vineyards and wineries. In the 1970s, it became the first area in Spain to use stainless steel equipment and cold-fermentation. Since then the Penedès producers have been making excellent modern wines blending native with French varieties.

They are helped by the variety of altitudes, landscapes and microclimates which allow many different grapes to grow well here. More recently there has been extensive research work on recovering native varieties, on the development of integrated and organic cultivation techniques, and on experiments with further new varieties and densities of planting. There is a wine museum in the area's main town, Vilafranca del Penedès.