A Good Year for Wine Tasting Holidays

It’s no secret that wine has become a very popular drink, from the bottom of the barrel cheap bottle to a prestigious Bordeaux, wine has been around for thousands of years with evidence of wine production dating back from 6,500 years ago in ancient Greece. Its popularity is as strong as ever with many varieties all providing different tastes and suitability.

For some people going to the local supermarket is not enough, they want their wine from the source and travel to vineyards across the globe in search of the perfect taste. Wine tasting holidays are a popular vacation as it gives you something extra and different to do rather than lounging on a beach.

This kind of holiday has seen an increase in recent years thanks to the Golden Globe winning film “Sideways” about two friends who go on a wine tasting holiday before one of them gets married. The vineyards they visit are set in Southern California, a popular wine producing region. Another film sees Russell Crowe teaming up with Gladiator Director, Ridley Scott on “A Good Year” another film in which wine plays a vital part of the film’s story.

And in that lies the key to wine tasting holidays, wine is not location specific, or at least isn’t any more. For years there’s been a common misconception that all wine comes from France but figures from 2005 show that France is third in the top ten wine exporting countries behind Spain and number one spot: Italy. Other notable countries in the top ten are Australia, Chile and South Africa, all interesting locations suitable for holidays in search of fine wine.

The locations of these vineyards are usually very scenic mountainous regions, such as the Alsace region of France. holidays in these regions offer stunning views and are normally situated away from busy tourist towns so you can get away from the crowds and relax. With many cheap holidays and flights on offer more people are considering the trip, with some people taking their own car abroad to France or Spain and touring the various wine producing regions on their own terms, obviously sleeping off all that wine being sampled before moving on. There are plenty of rustic guesthouses and hotels near to the vineyards perfect for this and have perfect countryside views.

The more recent or “new world” wine producing regions such as Australia, America and South Africa can offer another experience too. Whether you’re a complete novice or have a distinguished palette there are guided tours at these and most other vineyards often set in attractive manors, windmills, farmhouses or chateaux’s. The guided tours give you a worthy insight into where the wine comes from and how it’s processed and stored the other major perk is that on these tours you may have the chance to sample some of the finest wines in the world which can sometimes retail for thousands of pounds for one bottle.

So if you’re a self confessed wine buff or simply want something different and relaxing to do when on holiday then you should look into visiting a vineyard or wine producing region. With the sheer number of different countries producing wine the potential destination for your trip could be a varied as the taste of the wine you are in search of!