Your Travel Options for a Wine Country Adventure

All over the world, there are many vineyards producing wines from a variety of grapes and wine enthusiasts consider a trip into wine country the ultimate vacation. While there are many vineyards globally, there are a select few destinations that are the most desirable for a wine country adventure. Your budget, time and favorite types of wines should be your guide when it comes to planning the ultimate vacation around your favorite pastime – drinking wine!

California Destinations

In the mid 1970’s there were less than 30 vineyards in the popular Napa and Sonoma Valley of California but now there are several hundred. What that means for you in terms of a wine country adventure is countless options for travel from biking to vineyards to taking a tour bus or even taking a self-guided tour. As the demand for exploring and experiencing a true vineyard operation from the grape to the bottle product grew so has the tourism trade which means a well-rounded vacation for you.

Napa and Sonoma Valleys are the most popular wine country areas of California but others like the Russian River Valley and Dry Creek Valley are growing by leaps and bounds. Many of the vineyards that offer touring also tout some natural wonders that can add to the total vacation experience like the ancient petrified forests and natural hot springs.

European Destinations

Both France and Italy boast exceptional vineyards that produce perhaps the best wines in the world so you can bet their wine country tours are a dream. In France, there are many regions which may recognize by name alone as they have wines named after them like Bordeaux, Chablis and Chardonnay. In Italy, the Tuscany region boasts quite a number of different wineries offering such wines as Chianti, Piedmont and Abruzzo, also named after provinces much like in France.

Spain and Portugal offer a more Latin wine country flavor with their selection of wines and the vineyards that create them. In Portugal, there are almost 50 different regions that grow grapes which create some of the most unique wines in the world. Their Duomo Valley and Madeira island regions are among the most notable. Spain is home to three main wine country areas and a variety of vineyards that open their operations to local and foreign visitors. Andalusia, Aragon and Catalonia create distinctive wine flavors thanks to the rich soil and weather conditions for the grape growing.

Beyond California and various European places, there are some notable wineries in New Zealand, Australia, Chile and even South Africa. Each individual country basically dictates the tone and flavor of your wine country tour as well as the possibilities of other non-vineyard activities.