Probably the biggest question that I get asked for are recommendations for people visiting wine regions. It could be a region I’ve visited or one that I’ve just read about. I love these types of questions because I LOVE to travel (and research travel). One of my more off-the-wall study techniques is to pretend that I’m planning a trip to a wine region- picking out the producers I’d want to see, mapping out my route and figuring out where I’d eat and what hotels/towns I’d stay in. It helps me to really understand a region holistically and bring it to life off of the page. So, here are my tips for those of you planning your next trip to a wine region:
Research the top wine towns of that region. Going to Cape Town? You’ll want to look at places like Stellenbosch and Franschhoek Valley. Going to the Mosel? You could stay in Bernkastel or Trier. There are of course many towns within singular wine regions, so you’ll want to research the different options and choose where you want to stay and where you may just want to visit for an afternoon. Once you narrow that down, you can plan your route.
I like to stay in the “bougie” areas that have nice restaurants and things to do, but aren’t necessarily the most remote or the largest options. Condé Nast is really helpful with figuring out where this is because a lot of the time their top hotels for certain parts of the world are in these more bougie areas.
Rent a car. It’s the best way to explore a wine region- they’re often remote and unless you are shelling out for a private driver or coach it is much cheaper than doing guided tours everywhere.
What kinds of activities do you want to do? Research what all there is to do and what might be going on in the region. There might be local wine festivals you could plan your trip around, or cool hikes to go on, or activities like taking a wine train between wineries. Don’t just taste wine. Wine regions are nearly always in the middle of gorgeous natural landscape. Go for a vineyard hike, take a horseback ride through a vineyard, take a local cooking class, visit a museum, bike ride through the towns, try other local beverages like beers and cocktails.
Pretty much anywhere outside of the US, it’s not as easy as just booking a wine tour visit on a website. You often have to fill out the contact form on a webpage or email an address listed on the website to inquire about the visit. This requires planning- many wineries around the world are available by appointment only. You’ll want to start reaching out to them more than a few weeks ahead of your visit.
Which wineries do you want to visit? Try to limit it to a maximum of 3 per day. I like to start by reaching out to the ones whose wines I like seeking out in the US. If you don’t know any wineries or wines of that region yet, that’s not a problem either. A quick google search can help you find wineries, or you can look at a fine dining wine list and see what producers they support from that region to get an idea of some high quality wineries. I’ll usually have a target list of who I want to see; some will get back to me and some won’t. The ones that do get back to me are who I might ask to recommend some other wineries nearby to reach out to.
I feel like I’ve said this a few times already, but wine regions tend to be remote. It’s a good idea to do some research on restaurants (or ask your hotel or the wineries you’re visiting for recommendations) and go ahead and make some dinner reservations.
Happy traveling!