For your next holiday, why not combine your love for wine with travel with the world’s best known wine-producing countries? Wine tastings, talks by famous vintners, wine festivals and vineyard tours are just a few exciting reasons to tempt you to look at Skyscanner’s list of famous wine-making countries below:
1. Argentina
The Spanish colonization of South America about 500 years ago also resulted in the introduction and gradual spread of wine-making in Argentina. It’s only in the last twenty years or so that Argentine wine has gained an international reputation. The endless green terraces of Mendoza’s and fertile stretches of San Juan’s wine-making regions are known for their Malbec and Syrah wines respectively.
But, one can also find excellent wines coming out semi-arid, mountainous Salta. For a truly unique experience, visit the Bodega Colome, created by Swiss art collector Donald Hess, that has the world’s highest altitude vineyards at upto 3111 metres above sea-level. The estate also has its own water turbine, energy station and lab, and harvests according to the moon and planets.
2. Australia
Commercial wine-making in Australia is about two hundred years old, thanks to nineteenth century new settlers establishing vineyards in parts of New South Wales, Tasmania, Western Australia, Victoria and South Australia. The amazing thing about Australia’s wine-making industry is that the land and soil, spread across different climate zones, enables the production of not only red and white wines, but also sweet, sparkling and fortified wines. The superior quality and sheer wine varieties have given this continent’s wine the international recognition it deserves.
3. Chile
Chile’s wine-making history has a similar story to that of Argentina’s in terms of the import of grape vines by colonial Spaniards. Although the wine industry grew over time in Chile, political instability and economic decline in the seventies and eighties led to a deterioration of the wine industry.
The early nineties saw a complete revival of the country’s industry with significant investments made in viticulture practices and modern wine-making technologies. This has put Chile firmly on the international map as a major exporter of quality, premium wines. The country now produces over twenty varieties, mostly mixtures of French and Spanish grape varieties, including Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir.
4. France
What would a wedding be without Champagne? Can a true wine connoisseur think of white wine without thinking of Chablis? Then there’s Burgundy, Bordeaux, Cotes du Rhone and Beaujolais – all excellent red wines named for the wine-producing region they originate from. It’s hard to imagine French wine without thinking of these names that have made their way into every decent wine cellar. There’s a reason France is the world’s largest wine producer. The industry is as old as time itself and French vines are so revered, they’ve found their way into almost every vineyard across the world.
French wine-making dates as far back as 6th century BC. They’ve even written the definitive rule book of strict regulations that governs where, how and under what conditions grapes are grown. For something special, drive along the Alsace Wine Route, which is a 170km stretch of charming villages and picturesque wine-making towns between the cities of Strasbourg and Colmar.
5. Germany
Forget Oktoberfest. Instead, join in the traditional wine festival celebrations of local villages in the famous wine-producing region along the river Rhine. There are streets garlanded with leaves and ribbons, colourful processions led by local vintners and the scent of wine is in the air everywhere. Local restaurants pair wine tastings with culinary events and there’s dancing too.
Add wine stalls, fireworks and funfairs and you have a setting for enough mischief to put even the god of wine, Bacchus himself, to shame. The Middle Rhine region is known for its rare quality of Riesling, one of Germany’s most popular wines, containing light notes of florals and citrus.
6. Italy
The Mediterranean climate is perfect for wine-production, which explains why each of Italy’s twenty administrative regions produces world-renowned wines. This is the country that produces Barolo wine, which some consider to be Italy’s finest export. Tuscany and the Veneto region produce the best wines but are closely followed by Puglia, Sicily and Emilia Romagna. The best time to visit is harvest time during the Fall, when the country-side comes alive with singing, dancing and music and you can witness the wine-pressing process.
7. Portugal
No longer recognised only as table wine, Portuguese wine has had an image change in recent years with Portugal’s vineyards starting to expand beyond their domestic borders and gaining more of an international reputation. Of all its wine regions, Portugal has two that are particularly intriguing. They are both protected as UNESCO World Heritage sites: the Douro valley wine region and Pico island wine region.
Douro’s most famous wine export is the sweet, fortified wine known as Port, named after the seaport Porto from where the wine was originally exported by sea. A quick visit to Porto’s wine cellars at Vila Nova De Gaia is a must. And volcanic Pico island, one of the Azores islands, is known for its wine-making and ship-building. It even had a thriving whaling industry.
8. South Africa
Most of South Africa’s wine-growing takes place in the south-west region, near the coast, where the weather is almost Mediterranean and best suited for growing the best grape varieties. The major wine regions of Constantia, Stellenbosch and Paarl, around Capetown, still form the historical heart of the country’s wine regions, though there is some expansion more inland and to the West. If you do visit this country, make it a priority to fit in a vineyard tour including a stay on the vineyard so that you can wake up every morning to stunning mountain views and the heady scent of grapes in the air.
9. Spain
Immerse yourself in the rich heritage of Aragon which includes its world-famous wine regions, wander around the wineries of Catalonia, indulge your wine wanerlust in Murcia or explore the vineyards that complement Navarre’s exotic gastronomy. You can plan a visit to the wine presses of La Rioja whose world-famous wine is named after the region, or take a wine-tasting course in Valencia, another globally recognised red wine. If you’re looking to combine your love for food with a serious love for wine, then you can’t go wrong with a visit to Spain. Wherever you visit, a vineyard won’t be far away.
10. USA
They say you can find at least one vineyard in each of the fifty states, but close to ninety percent of all wine-production in the USA comes from California. Washington and Oregon are the other two states worth a mention, but the sheer volumes of wine produced by Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley are hard to match. Sonoma’s first grapevines were planted in the 1820s by Spanish priests so that they could produce the sacramental wine to be used in their religious masses locally.
Today, almost every stunning vista of Sonoma Valley is of rolling hillocks with colourful grapevines. When you visit, take the Napa Valley wine train, a three-hour tour on a luxury train that serves you gastronomic delights as it delves into the heart of wine country.
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