Top 10 Cities for Wine Tourism
Wine tourism, also known as enotourism, is a blossoming trend among UK travellers. Many people are planning their holidays around visits to wineries and vineyards to do wine tastings and tour the facilities to learn about viticulture (winegrowing) and vinification (winemaking). If this is something that piques your interest, here are our top 10 cities for wine tourism.
Bordeaux, France
French wine is some of the best in the word, so we’ve put Bordeaux at the top of our list. Many people come here to travel along the Bordeaux Wine Route. The Bordeaux wine region is separated into the Left Bank, the Right Bank, and the Entre-Deux-Mers areas by the Gironde Estuary. Wine is made by more than 10,000 châteaux (wine producers) in the various regions. Before embarking on a wine tour in Bordeaux, you’ll need to decide which wines you’d like to try. Some of the best wineries in Bordeaux include Château Haut-Brion in Graves, Château Luchey-Halde, Château Pape Clément, Château Ferrand Pomerol, and Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey. If you’d like to participate in some other wine-related activities, you could visit the Cité du Vin Museum or plan your stay around the Bordeaux Wine Festival in June.
Napa, California, USA
Where better to try wine in the USA than Napa? The city of Napa is in Napa Vally, which is in California’s Wine Country. There are 16 American Viticultural Areas in Napa Valley and more than 400 wineries, many of which are open for tours and tastings. The top wineries in the area include Domaine Carneros, Robert Mondavi Winery, Chateau Montelena, Darioush Winery, and Stag's Leap Wine Cellars. There are many wineries along the Silverado Trail in Napa Valley, and you can hop on the Napa Valley Wine Train to stop by Domaine Chandon, Grgich Hills Estate, and Charles Krug Winery. Many wineries host special events throughout the year, such as vintner’s luncheons (where you get to enjoy lunch with locally produced wines), wine and food pairing events, and festivals.
Yantai, China
We’ve included Yantai on this list because it is in China’s most prominent wine growing area—the Shandong Province. It’s home to the Yan-Peng Sightseeing Highway and Nanwang Grape Valley, where many of the province’s wineries are. The main grapes grown around the city are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernet Gernischt, and Riesling. The most popular vineyards to visit are Changyu Pioneer Wine, Longting Winery, Treaty Port Vineyards, Chateau Tinlot, Chateau Junding, and Chateau Reifeng Auzias. Many tourists plan their visits around the Yantai International Wine Festival in June.
Florence, Italy
Florence is in Tuscany, one of Italy’s top wine regions. Florence is near the Chianti region and Carmignano region within Tuscany, and is one of the best places to purchase Vernaccia di San Gimignano, Greco, Brunello di Montalcino, and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Some of the best wineries in the area are Biondi Santi Tenuta Greppo, Castello Di Oliveto, Castello Sonnino, Podere Le Ripi, and Azienda Agricola Altiero. Florence is a prime location to arrange a tour of the many Tuscan wine routes. The end of September is arguably the best time to visit Tuscany, as it is when many of the wine festivals and events are held, and most of them are only an hour’s drive away from Florence. You can attend the Bacco Artigiano wine festival in Rufina, the Impruneta Grape Festival in Impruneta, and the Chianti Wine Festival. However, there is something to be said for visiting Tuscany in August to see the Calici di Stelle (Chalices of Stars) and Bravio delle Botti (Bravio of the barrels) events in Montepulciano.
Aranda de Duero, Spain
Aranda de Duero is in the centre of the Ribera del Duero region, which is famous for its production of red wine. Many people come to this region to travel along the “Golden Mile”, which is said to have the best wineries. While Aranda de Duero is not a part of the “Golden Mile” of Ribera del Duero, its location makes it perfect for getting to different towns and municipalities in the region, though it has enough appeal for wine lovers on its own. While there, make sure you visit the local wineries such as Don Carlos Bodega Historica, Territorio Luthier, Bodegas Balbás, and Bodega Tierra Aranda. Try to get a tour of the wine caves and get a membership to one of the local Peñas (wine clubs). If you’re visiting in September, make sure you take part in the Virgen de las Viñas (Virgin of the Vines) fiesta.
Reims, France
France is so famous for its wine production that we couldn’t pick just one French city to go on this list. Reims, in the Champaign region, is known for its production of champaign and pinot noir. Take a tour and have a wine tasting at of some of the best champaign producers in the city, such as Maison Ruinart (the oldest Champaign house), Maison Taittinger, Maison Mumm, Maison de Champagne Charles de Cazanove, and Domaine Vranken-Pommery. Many of these wineries have chalk cellars, locally known as “la crayères”, which you will also be able to get a tour of. The vintners of Champaign love to celebrate wine, and the first festival of the year is the Route du Champagne en fête (Champaign Route Celebration), which is held in July every year. This is something you won’t want to miss, but you’ll have to do a short drive out of the city to take part. Many wineries have a cochelet (a festival to celebrate the end of harvest), which is usually held in September.
Mendoza, Argentina
Argentina produces the most wine in South America, and if you’re planning a trip to the Mendoza Wine Region, we recommend that you stay in Mendoza city. The Mendoza area is known for the Malbec grapes grown there, as well as Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Torrontés, Sauvignon Blanc, Douce Noir, and Tempranillo. It’s a part of the Argentina Wine Route, and is home to some of Argentina’s best wineries, such as Bodega Catena Zapata, El Enemigo Wines, Bodegas Salentein, Bodega Tapiz, Andeluna Cellars, and Domaine Bousquet. Mendoza’s National Wine Harvest Festival (Fiesta Nacional de la Vendimia) is held at the beginning of every year and consists of musical performances, a parade featuring the “Queen of Vendimia”, and displays from the local wineries.
Pokolbin, Australia
Pokolbin is a city in the Lower Hunter Valley in New South Wales. Hunter Valley is considered to be Australia’s wine country, and along with the cities and towns in the Broke Fordwich and the Upper Hunter Valley, Pokolbin is one of the most popular destinations in the country for wine lovers. The most popular grapes grown here are Sémillon, Verdelho, Chardonnay, and Shiraz. Pokolbin is the best place to stay if you want to attend the Hunter Valley Wine Festival in July. You can try many of the region’s wines at the local restaurants, wine bars, and markets but it’s also worth taking tours of some of the larger wineries and family-run vineyards, such as Pepper Tree Wines, Audrey Wilkinson Winery, Tamburlaine Organic Wines, Drayton's Family Wines, Tulloch Wines, and Piggs Peake Winery.
Haro, Spain
Like France, Spain is a top wine producing country, so we’ve included another Spanish city on this list. Haro is the capital of the La Rioja province, and is one of the top cities in the Rioja wine region. In this city, you’ll find plenty of wine bars and it’s not far from some of Rioja’s best wineries, such as Bodegas Muda, Ramón Bilbao, Bodegas Manzanos Haro, Bodegas TIHOM, and Bodega CVNE. The most common grapes grown in this region are Tempranillo, Bobal, and Garnacha. The biggest wine festival in the region is held in this city at the end of June on San Pendro’s Day every year. People come from all over the world to attend the Haro Wine Festival, where they get to try all sorts of delicious wines and take part in the Batalla de Vino (Wine Battle).
Stellenbosch, South Africa
Many wine lovers travel to Stellenbosch for the chance to attend the Stellenbosch Wine Festival in August and to visit some of the 200 vineyards along the Stellenbosch American Express Wine Routes, such as the JC Le Roux winery, the Alto Wine Estate, the Spier Hotel and Wine Farm, the Warwick Wine Estate, L'Avenir Wine Estate, and the Lovane Boutique Wine Estate. The grapes commonly grown in Stellenbosch are Chenin Blanc, Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Shiraz.
Wine tourism is a unique and exiting type of travel, though we do caution you to drink responsibly. Any accident, illness, or injury caused by your impaired judgement due to consuming too much alcohol may not be covered by your travel insurance policy.
