Planning a wine-tasting vacation is not only about necking the nectar of the Gods: wine tourism gives you the chance to depart behind the hustle and bustle of on a regular basis life for a soothing vacation in essentially the most stunning settings.
And in addition to stunning rural surroundings, wine tourism means discovering a wealthy cultural and historic heritage, maintained with ardour. So it’s about savouring wines and related native meals, having fun with the recent air and scenic great thing about the winelands and studying. Briefly, it’s a terrific theme round which to plan vacation or a weekend break!
And staying at an open-air resort is the proper approach to go to the vineyards and their localities. Observe our information to plan an open-air wine vacation!
- Find out how to plan a wine vacation in France, Italy or Spain
- Wine tasting holidays in France: one of the best locations
- Wine tasting holidays in Italy
- Wine tasting holidays in Spain
Howto plan a wine vacation in France… or Italy, or Spain!
What to do throughout your wine vacation
Style some wine, in fact! However you don’t have to love to drink excessively to get pleasure from visiting a winery. Wine tourism is all in regards to the curiosity of visiting cellars and vineyards and the expertise of tasting native produce moderately.
It’s additionally a possibility to find the countryside – maybe you’ll be able to plan your itinerary to get round by bike? – and go to the villages and monuments of the area, to be taught one thing new.
What’s a wine tasting tour at a winery like?
Each property and each tour might be barely totally different, constructed across the land, the merchandise and the individuals who work there.
However it’s prone to contain assembly a winemaker and studying a number of the secrets and techniques of wine manufacturing and tasting. Discovering the wine-producing amenities: cellars and wineries. And naturally, wandering via the vineyards, which tackle totally different colors all year long, for an actual breath of recent air. And the go to normally ends with a wine tasting, in fact!
You normally must e book forward, however solely a day or two earlier than. You may get all the small print from the native vacationer workplace on arrival, or earlier than you journey, for those who prefer to be very organised!
When to go on a wine tasting vacation in Europe
In any season!
- Winter is chilly and provides the vines a bluish glow. That is the quietest season to find the winery otherwise.
- In Spring, life returns: the first buds seem on the vines and grass and flowers spring up amongst them. That is the time when the earlier yr’s wine comes out of the cellars, prepared for tasting, an thrilling time! The climate is milder, nevertheless it’s nonetheless a relaxed time to go to: excessive season hasn’t but arrived.
- The vines begin to bloom in June, and the grapes develop all through the season till the veraison (the second when the grapes change color) in August.
- In September comes the harvest, an distinctive time to go to the vineyards… if open, as some estates shut their doorways to focus on the work at hand.
- On the starting of autumn, the vines are decked out in a thousand colors, mushrooms are popping up, and the climate stays gentle. It’s a quieter time to go to than summer time, however don’t go too late or there’ll be no colors left to see….
The very best locations for wine tasting holidays in France
France is in fact a first-rate vacation spot for wine tourism. Visiting one of many important wine areas of France – and even one of many smaller ones – is an effective way to study French wines and vineyards and easily an effective way to spend a number of days or perhaps weeks.
And the nation is overflowing with open-air resorts and campsites, so that you’ll simply discover lodging close to the vineyard you’re eager to go to.
Listed below are a number of of one of the best wine locations in France.
Bordeaux: essentially the most well-known wine area on the planet
The Bordeaux space within the Nouvelle-Aquitaine area within the South-West of France is a must-visit for wine lovers, and there may be additionally lots to do close by.
The area’s capital, Bordeaux, is an attractive vacationer vacation spot, with its elegant structure, effective eating, UNESCO World Heritage districts and the Cité du Vin, a novel museum devoted to wine.
The realm additionally boasts stunning seashores, the very best sand dune in Europe and enormous forests to discover by foot or by bike.
This area produces a number of the most well-known vintages on the planet. As wine manufacturing and tourism is so established right here, there are many estates with nice visits. Listed below are some lodging choices:
Tenting Du Vieux Château, in Rauzan
Nestled on the foot of a medieval citadel, the Vieux Château campsite gives pitches, cell properties, chalets and lodges so that everybody can discover their lodging of desire. An excellent place to begin for exploring the encompassing vineyards (such because the cellars of Rauzan, or the neighbouring vineyards of St-Emilion), the caves and grottoes of the area, or just having fun with the actions organised by the campsite.
The EcÔtelia property, Le Nizan
If you’d like an actual change of surroundings, take a look on the EcÔtelia property, an eco-camp positioned at Le Nizan. Positioned within the coronary heart of the Graves and Sauterne wine route, it offers you entry to the estates making these well-known wines. It gives a lot of glamping choices (together with tree homes, pods and bubbles) and is eco-responsible, centered on concord with nature.
Champagne: bubbles par excellence
The Champagne area within the North of France – the birthplace of that glowing substance all of us affiliate with celebration and famend as one of the best place for it on the planet, nonetheless immediately – is well accessible, inside an hour of Paris on the practice.
Épernay is a must-visit if you’re fascinated about wine tradition – it’s the Champagne capital, its kilometre-long Avenue de Champagne mentioned to be essentially the most beneficial highway on the planet, as a result of greater than 200 million bottles of champagne in cellars beneath it! You possibly can go to many of those wineries, from well-known ones like Moët et Chandon and Mercier to smaller, extra intimate ones.
The bigger city of Reims, close by, additionally has some champagne homes and a effective cathedral. And also you may like to interrupt up the sightseeing with a go to to the brand new Reims pool, a giant swimming complicated with separate swimming pools for severe swimmers and for households, with waterslides and video games, in addition to an adults-only spa space.
Between the 2 cities are kilometres of vines, which make for a fairly panorama to go to by automotive, by bike or on horseback…. Together with your exploring punctuated by some champagne tasting, naturally! For extra structured exploration, the Montagne de Reims park is a park with walks, discovery trails, exhibitions and different actions to be taught in regards to the native flora.
Tenting in Châlons-en-Champagne
Walkable from the centre of Châlons-en-Champagne city, this spot gives lakeside cell properties in a relaxed setting.
Châlons-en-Champagne is house to the Joseph Perrier home, the place you’ll be able to go to 4th century Gallo-Roman cellars with fascinating chalk pits and, in fact, style the wine. It additionally has a charming city centre, with a UNESCO-listed church and a museum devoted to champagne. You possibly can hire bikes from the vacationer workplace, and there are many greenways and cycle routes to discover the area.
The Loire Valley: castles, caves and vines
The Loire Valley is house to tons of of the world’s most well-known châteaux and the Loire, Europe’s final wild river, gives extraordinary landscapes. One other comparatively flat and accessible space to plan to get round by bike, with many good cities and villages comparatively shut to one another, interspersed with castles, caves and different sights of curiosity.
Additionally it is a extremely popular wine tourism vacation spot. Finest identified for its whites and glowing wines, it additionally has some good mild reds and rosés: there’s a Loire Valley wine to go well with all tastes.
Tenting Les Rives du Douet, Concourson-sur-Layon
A fairly little campsite with lodges and glamping tents accessible to hire, Tenting Les Rives du Douet is within the Layon vine-growing valley . The valley produces the well-known candy wines of the Coteaux du Layon. An out-of-the-ordinary wine tasting expertise.
Additionally it is near Doué-la-Fontaine and its zoo, Saumur and its unbelievable citadel overlooking the Loire and Brissac citadel. It’s within the coronary heart of Anjou, a peaceable rural area the place you’ll actually calm down. And the campsite has a heated swimming pool and glorious kids’s play areas… so that you may even get to calm down alone for a number of hours!
Tenting Les Patis, Nazelles Négron, Val d’Amboise
A household campsite with bushes and a soothing ambiance, Les Patis is ideally located within the Val d’Amboise. E-book a pitch, a teepee or a lodge on this fascinating spot!
The village is near the well-known castles of Amboise, Clos Lucé, Chenonceau and lots of others. Blois isn’t far both, and from there, Chambord. Briefly, a number of the most exceptional castles of the Loire might be in your doorstep!
The Touraine-Amboise area can also be overflowing with stunning vineyards that produce whites, rosés and reds, together with Chenins and Pineaux de la Loire. Treats for the eyes and the style buds.
Alsace: the primary area to develop a wine route
The Alsace wine area is thought for its vineyards specialising in Riesling and Gewürztraminer wines, excellent refreshment for a scorching summer time’s day. The Alsace Wine Route web site is a superb supply of details about the 50 vineyards and different issues to see on this well-known wine area on the border of France and Germany.
The realm can also be filled with outstandingly fairly villages, any considered one of which is nice for a wander round for some time and have lunch: Bergheim, Eguisheim, Turckheim, Kaysersberg, Riquewihr, in addition to the bigger city of Colmar. Colmar’s cobblestone streets are lined with fairly, half-timbered medieval and early Renaissance buildings and it has a number of areas to go to, together with Little Venice and the Tanners’ space. You possibly can even go to by boat, alongside the canal. In truth, you’ll don’t have any scarcity of issues to see and do round right here for a number of days.
This campsite in Colmar is simply 2 km from the city centre, so simply accessible if you’re planning a practice or bike-packing vacation. E-book a glamping tent or chalet or cell house and discover the city and the area by bike.
In a forest setting on the foot of the Grand Ballon mountain, the Huttopia Wattwiller campsite is a four-star campsite with a variety of lodging (Canadian tents, trapper tents, cell properties, chalets, huts, and many others.).
From right here, you’ll be capable to head as much as the Grand Ballon mountain resort over 1000m excessive, with mountain climbing and bike paths, horse-riding, fishing, a pool and a playground. And discover the mountains, forests and pure parks of the Vosges.The campsite itself has a lot of actions too.
Burgundy: vintages famed worldwide
Burgundy is one other notorious wine vacation spot. Distinctive vintages and meals to go along with them, picturesque villages and vineyards identified all through the world.
Tenting Le Lac de Saint Level Lamartine – Southern Burgundy
You possibly can keep in stunning countryside within the south of Burgundy at tenting Le Lac De Saint Level Lamartine. Uncover Alphonse de Lamartine’s citadel, calm down within the beautiful lakeside setting between valleys and forests, select from a spread of glamping or conventional lodging.
The campsite could be very near the well-known Solutré vineyards, which delight wine lovers with their Pouilly Fuissé, white and pink Mâcon, Burgundy and St-Véran. The area has a lot of cycle paths to will let you uncover it beneath your personal steam.
Tenting Moulin de Collonge, Saint-Boil, on the greenway
Burgundy and biking go very nicely collectively, in actual fact. The Moulin de Collonge campsite is 300 metres from a 117km lengthy greenway that’s excellent for hikers and cyclists. An effective way to find the architectural and wine heritage of Burgundy.
Select a caravan, cell house or chalet and calm down amid the hills. The campsite is midway between Châlon-sur-Saône and Mâcon, so you’ll be able to uncover the wines of each. For relaxation and leisure, head for the campsite’s swimming pool or the banks of the onsite fishing pond.
The Rhône Valley: historical past, mountain climbing, biking and wines
The Rhone Valley can also be a splendid vacation spot, with an unbelievable range of vibrant and preserved landscapes, and numerous appellations. There is no such thing as a scarcity of actions: city tourism within the Roman metropolis of Nîmes and the close by Pont du Gard, or Avignon, its Popes’ Palace, bridges and splendid walled metropolis. Mountaineering within the mountains, alongside the banks of the Rhône or via the Ardèche gorges. And naturally, tasty excursions to go to the vineyards of the area!
Les Truffières campsite, Ardèche
How a few mixture vacation the place you uncover the Ardèche gorges or tackle a well known biking problem, in addition to get to know the Rhone wines? The Truffières campsite is ideally positioned to fulfill each nature and wine lovers! Its cell properties give you consolation amid vineyards and truffle oaks, with pitches for you tent or campervan additionally accessible to get even nearer to nature.
The campsite gives an attractive view of Mont Ventoux, dotted with vines. The mountain is a revered problem for dedicated highway cyclists, with three totally different ascents of roughly 20kms every. The well-known Grignan-les-Adhémar winery and Madame de Sévigné’s citadel are close by. As a bonus, there are fields of lavender, so far as the attention can see, for nearly a month in the summertime.
La Pinède campsite in Provence, Orange area
Between Languedoc-Roussillon and Rhône-Alpes, the Orange area can also be a preferred vacation spot for wine lovers, as a result of well-known Châteauneuf-du-Pape reds.
Tenting La Pinède in Provence is a superb base for exploring the area. Nestled in an enthralling pine forest, it gives pitches, tents and cell properties, with a swimming pool to calm down in between exploring. Highway or mountain biking, strolling, mountain climbing on the GR4, excursions to Orange or Avignon… you gained’t be wanting issues to do round right here.
Wine tasting holidays in Italy
However wine isn’t the only reserve of the French: Europe is stuffed with fabulous wine areas. Not all are arrange for tourism, with winery visits and lodging simple to rearrange, however Italy and Spain have a superb few choices.
Italy is the world’s largest wine producer. It is aware of how you can produce amount, but in addition high quality. With historical past, meals and exquisite landscapes including to the wonderful wines, there are many nice locations to go on an Italian wine-themed vacation.
Piedmont: wine, delicacies, hills
Crimson wine lovers will know the well-known wines of Piedmont, together with Barolo and Barbaresco. The area has many stunning vineyards on the hillsides, the place you’ll be able to get pleasure from unbelievable surroundings and do your soul and abdomen good.
Nature and peaceable waters for a soothing vacation! Tenting Röse in Dormelletto is fantastically located on the shores of Lake Maggiore, with entry to the seashore. It gives cell properties and tent pitches. Not removed from Novara, it’s a nice base for visiting the Piedmontese vineyards and having fun with the great thing about the Italian Alps.
Tuscany: match wines with stunning cities
Tuscany is one other area well-known for its wine manufacturing. Chianti is the area’s greatest title, nevertheless it produces many appellations, together with the celebrated Brunello di Montalcino, whose vineyards stretch south from Siena. It’s a main vacationer area, with picturesque and peaceable countryside and unbelievable city locations to mix holidays and tradition.
Siena’s vineyards are world well-known. Town itself is price a go to: Florence’s everlasting rival, it’s a medieval gem, centred round its magnificent Piazza del Campo. Its cathedral, museums and charming metropolis centre make for nice sightseeing.
Town of Florence itself can also be, in fact, an unbelievable vacation spot, with its wealthy architectural heritage together with the Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, Giotto’s Campanile tower and lots of museums. The encompassing vineyards and bucolic landscapes are an ideal antidote after a day of metropolis sightseeing.
Mix visiting town and the encompassing vineyards by staying in an open-air resort within the great Tuscan countryside. Right here’s an choice close to Siena and one close to Florence:
This open-air resort is ideally located on the 573-metre-high plateau of Sarteano, for an exquisite view of the realm. It has a big balneotherapy pool, fed by the thermal waters of Santa Lucia, to mix consolation with leisure.
Village Internazionale Firenze, Florence
The Village Internazionale Firenze is positioned amongst pines, oaks and olive bushes, simply 5 kilometres from the historic centre of Florence. The quantity 37 bus, 700 m from the campsite, takes you there in 20 minutes! The campsite gives pitches for tents, caravans and a camper van space in addition to cell properties for a snug vacation.
Wine tasting holidays in Spain
Whereas Italy is the largest wine producer on the planet, Spain has the most important wine-growing space on the planet. So you’ll be able to count on the nation to be filled with wine tourism locations!
Catalonia: 12 AOCs and a novel tradition
Catalonia is stuffed with terroirs with distinctive personalities. Priorat, with its many small terraced vineyards on slate soil, is essentially the most prestigious. A wine tourism vacation within the area is an effective way to fulfill your style buds, but in addition to find an space with a novel tradition and heritage.
And there’s no scarcity of locations to remain within the open air! A small choice:
Verneda Tenting Mountain Resort, Lleida
The Verneda Tenting Mountain Resort gives bungalows, cabins and pitches within the Lleida wine-growing space.
The wines of Lleida are grown at altitude, 1000m above sea stage, so that you’ll benefit from the mountains in addition to the wines. There’s a Lleida wine path to comply with. The native space produces the D.O.C. Costers del Segre.
Ampolla Playa campsite close to Tarragona
In Catalonia, wine tourism will also be mixed with the seashores of the Mediterranean. Tenting Ampolla Playa, south of Tarragona, gives you the possibility to benefit from the seashore and the panorama of the Ebro Delta Pure Park. The realm is wealthy in wineries, within the terroir of the DO Tarragona, which produces many white wines.
Aragon: off-grid mountain exploration
Somontano is considered one of Spain’s most well-known DOs. The title means “foot of the mountain”: the land lies within the shadow of the Pyrenees. Wine rising has been a convention right here since Roman instances and even earlier than.
Tenting Isabena within the province of Huesca is a superb base for locating the wines and the area. The campsite is located at an altitude of 700m and gives a variety of walks, rafting and canoeing, in addition to peaceable and exquisite surroundings. It gives a wine vacation mixed with nature and leisure, in a area far off-grid and unknown to mass tourism.
Santé! Salute! ¡Salud!
As you’ll be able to see from the quick synopsis, there is no such thing as a scarcity of locations in Europe for planning a winetasting vacation, or a wine tasting weekend, within the open air! Wine tourism might be by the ocean, within the mountains, within the countryside and even within the metropolis – so you may make it the theme of a vacation in your favorite kind of setting.
So sit down with a glass of wine this night, browse the chances and e book your subsequent break!
