The best wine holidays Europe has to offer are only a short flight, drive, or train ride away. Some of the finest wine regions in the world – such as Champagne, Piedmont, Rioja, and the Douro Valley – can be found in France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. But there are less obvious choices too.
How about visiting the wineries of Santorini while holidaying on the gorgeous Greek island? Perhaps seeing the vineyards in Europe’s urban wine capital, touring the wineries of a German valley, or heading to Hungary, where wine-making involves noble rot?
Whatever you want from your next European break, you might like to include the following wine-producing areas on your itinerary.
Author Bio: Jessie Moore
Jessie Moore is a luxury travel expert with years of experience travelling the world to find the best destinations, hotels and adventures.
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1. Bordeaux in France
Bordeaux is one of the top wine regions in France – and may not be around for much longer due to climate change.
The Bordeaux wine region is in southwest France, on the Garonne River and around the city of Bordeaux.
With six sub-regions, the area offers plenty of scope for wine tasting and tours.
These are Bordeaux; Blaye and Bourg; Entre-Deux-Mers; Graves and Sauternes; Médoc; and Saint-Emilion Pomerol and Fronsac.
The best way to visit a wine region is to take an organised tour, as you don’t need to worry about driving!
Book a full day trip to Médoc and Saint-Emilion, which includes a trio of wineries, a picnic in a French chateau, a UNESCO-listed village and tastings.
You can reach Bordeaux from London by Eurostar plus a high-speed connection.
2. Tuscany in Italy
Tuscany’s wine region is the best known in central Italy, and stretches inland from the Ligurian coast.
Most Tuscan wine is red, and made using Sangiovese grapes. The most famous Tuscan red wines are Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Brunello di Montalcino.
Vernaccia di San Gimignano, however, is a white wine, while Vin Santo is a popular dessert wine from Tuscany.
A 13-hour combined Tuscan highlights and wine tasting tour includes a three course lunch in a vineyard, washed down with Brunello di Montalcino.
3. Douro Valley in Portugal
Portugal is also home to one of the best wine destinations in Europe.
The Douro Valley is a riverside wine region that produces dry red wine in large quantities. Dry white wine is also made here, though in smaller amounts.
Most organised tours of the Douro Valley depart from Porto, which itself is famous for port production.
The finest way to see the valley and vineyards is from the water, and therefore most tours include a boat ride.
Examples include a 10 hour Douro Valley tour from Porto with lunch, a river cruise, and tastings of olive oil as well as wine.
4. Champagne in France
For lovers of fizz, wine tasting holidays in Europe don’t get any better than touring the Champagne region.
Only sparkling wine made in this specific part of northwest France can be called Champagne, and other strict criteria also apply.
Though you can take day trips from Paris or Reims, Épernay also makes a popular base in the region, and enjoys a spectacular setting among the vineyards.
Tour options include a full day trip from Paris with lunch and tastings, a 4.5 hour family wineries tour from Reims, and a two hour vintage van tour from Épernay with tastings.
5. Rioja in Spain
Rioja is undoubtedly Spain’s most famous wine region, and is also known for red wine.
The area’s vineyards are spread across the Ebro Valley, in the shadow of the Calabrian mountains in northern Spain. The historic town of Haro lies at the heart of the region.
Bilbao makes the ideal base for day trips into the wine region, as many tours depart from the forward-thinking, arty city.
The choices include a private wine tasting tour led by a local expert, and a day trip from Bilbao to the Rioja region including a picnic lunch.
6. Santorini in Greece
This beautiful Greek island may not be such an obvious choice when it comes to Europe’s best wine regions.
But this breathtaking holiday destination is also a renowned wine producing area. Sweet vinsanto and dry white wines are mainly made here, though you can find reds too.
Assyrtiko, Athiri and Aidani and Mandelaria grapes are typically used.
A popular day trip is a 9 hour Santorini wine tasting tour which includes island highlights like Perissa black sand beach, pretty villages, and picturesque blue-domed churches at sunset.
If you’re planning a visit, have a read of my Santorini guides before you go:
- 10 incredible luxury hotels in Santorini
- 7 best locations to stay in Santorini
- 10 dreamy day trips from Santorini
7. Tokaj in Hungary
The Tokaj wine region in Hungary offers something a little different. It’s in central rather than western Europe, for starters.
The area is also famed for sweet wines, and these are made from botrytis or botrytised grapes.
Which essentially means the grapes are affected by noble rot, a fungus which increases the sweetness of the fruit.
As the Tokaj region is only a couple of hours’ drive from Budapest, day tours are available.
For instance, take an eight hour wine region trip from Budapest to Tokaj, including lunch at a local restaurant as well as a winery visit.
8. Piedmont in Italy
The Alps in northwestern Italy provide a scenic backdrop to the Piedmont wine region.
The area is best known for producing red, full-bodied Barolo, aka the King of Wines. Nebbiolo grapes are used in this, and also in Barbaresco, another popular Piedmont wine.
It’s not all about red wine, however: crisp or fragrant whites like Gavi or Moscato d’Asti are also made here.
The town of Alba at the heart of the region makes an ideal base, and is also known for white truffles.
From here, it’s easy to take a four hour tour to Piedmont wineries in Barolo and Barbaresco, with tastings.
9. Mosel in Germany
The Mosel – or Moselle – Valley in Germany is one of the country’s 13 wine regions, and is the longest established.
White wines made from Riesling grapes are what the area is most known for. These can range from very dry to semi-dry and sweet late harvest wines.
A Reisling that’s deeper yellow in colour is more aged than one with a light straw colour.
Taking a 2.5 hour vineyard tour from Kröv via covered wagon is a novel way to see the vineyards. A tour and tastings accompanied by bread and dips are included.
10. Vienna in Austria
Along with Chardonnay, Grüner Veltliner and Pinot Blanc, Riesling is also used in the Vienna – or Wein – wine region.
In terms of cities and wine production, Vienna is unbeatable. Grapevines were planted here back in the 12th century, and today Vienna has around 700 hectares of urban vineyards.
You can visit the countryside wineries surrounding the city by taking a half day tour from Vienna to the vineyards, including tastings and a traditional Austrian lunch or dinner.
Do you have any favourite wine destinations in Europe? Let me know in the comments below!
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