6 fabulous holidays for wine lovers
Wine tours are on the rise, with some travel companies reporting a rise of up to a 30 per cent in interest, proving that our love of vino isn't going to end anytime soon.
The result of this ever-growing travel trend is an array of brilliant wine tasting holidays on offer, with plenty of other activities packed in, so you can combine travelling with a fine tipple or two.
And gone are the days when a wine holiday was limited to just visiting vineyards and hearing about the production process. These days it's about tasting a region’s best bottles as you relax on a river cruise, touring picturesque medieval cities and even getting active and exploring beautiful landscapes on foot (because balance!) .
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As there's no better way to get to know a place than through its food and drink, we've rounded up the best destinations for a wine tour this year.
1 Douro Valley, Portugal
Taking you from Porto (home, of course to the famous fortified wine) all the way into Spain, it’s the vineyard-lined stretch of the valley around Barca de Alva that makes for the most unforgettable part of a river cruise through this UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Wines produced in the Douro Valley include light clarets and rich Burgundian style reds, and there are plenty of pretty towns and villages to visit along the way, such as Favaios – famed for its deliciously sweet muscatel.
BOOK NOW Titan Travel offers an enchanting eight-day river cruise from £1,999 per person.
2. Moselle Valley, Germany
Starting in the low, densely forested Vosges Mountains of France, the Moselle River winds its way through the north-east, before cutting through Luxembourg and then on into Germany, where it joins the Rhine at Koblenz.
It meanders through the pretty Moselle Valley, one of the most scenic in the whole of Europe, where you'll find picture-postcard villages, fairytale castles and vineyards lining the river, including producers of some of Germany’s best Rieslings.
BOOK NOW Cruise down the Moselle on our sister site Prima's exclusive eight-day tour from £999 per person.
3. Franschhoek, South Africa
South Africa’s Franschhoek is legendary among wine lovers, with the village that gives the area its name a picturesque French Hugenout settlement home to pretty galleries, shops and boutiques, as well as terrific restaurants.
The wine estates themselves offer unique experiences where wine tastings can be combined with sampling delicious handmade Belgian chocolates or cheeses, such as at the Franschhoek Cellars Wine Estate. The landscapes here are also stunning – think sweeping vistas and towering mountains – while the climate is delightful almost all year round.
BOOK NOW Good Housekeeping offers a highlights of South Africa’s stunning Cape region from £2,395 for 11 days.
4. River Rhone, France
Winding its way through south-eastern France, including possibly the world’s best-known wine-growing region – Burgundy – a cruise down the River Rhone combines rural beauty with gastronomic delights.
Along its banks are picturesque villages that produce some of the world's most sublime wines – Meursault, Volnay, Pommard, Gevrey-Chambertin and many more – while nearby is medieval Beaune, Burgundy's wine capital.
BOOK NOW We're hosting a Rhone cruise with Bake Off's Prue Leith this summer, from £1,999 per person for eight days.
5. Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico
Treasured for its rustic charm and farmsteads serving up some of the best fresh, hyper-local produce, wine growing region Baja California is enjoying a growing reputation among wine-loving holidaymakers.
Varieties grown here tend to come from southern Europe, and include Sangiovese, Nebbiolo, Zinfandel, Vermentino and Viognier. Its main town, Ensenada, hosts annual wine tasting festivals during harvest season in August, with live music and, of course, plenty of eating and drinking.
BOOK NOW Check out the incredible places to stay in Valle de Guadalupe on Booking.com
6. Piedmont, Italy
Piedmont, the region on Italy’s north-western border with France and Switzerland is famed for its stunning red wines, with Barolo and Barbaresco widely considered to be some of the finest in the world.
These come from grapes grown in Langhe, a hilly area near Turin that is a UNESCO World Heritage site thanks to both its long history of winemaking and outstanding natural beauty.
BOOK NOW Explore offers an eight-day walking and wine tasting holiday from £779 per person.
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