From time to time I may have mentioned our love for wine. Of course, this love has already influenced some of our travel destinations.
I hope, in the future we will visit even more of these places. Thereby we still have so many places on our bucket list like Bordeaux in France, South Africa, California or Washington State. These places lead our personal ranking at the moment.
As we’re from Bavaria, some might think we should be more in love with beer. We actually never made some kind of beer tasting. If Jan wants, he can definitely do this with his friends. I stick to the wine.
By visiting wine regions, we don’t mean we always made professional wine tastings or discovered every single vineyard. It was more like, ok this place is known for it, the vine yards are everywhere and look amazing and we tasted some of the local wine. We’re surely no experts!
1. Luberon, Provence, France
I don’t know where to start here. Before we headed to Provence, we knew the Rosé from the Luberon region tastes good. That it’s even better at the place you made the effort to travel to, seems like a miracle.
We tried a few of the tasty wines at the Domaine de Tara. Just in general, we can totally recommend you a trip to the country of lavender, wine and canyons. Great love for Provence!
2. Côte d’Or, Burgundy, France
This area is known for the making some of the best wines in the world. It’s also known as Burgundy’s gem and really does the region credit.
If only the weather was on our side we would definitely have borrowed bicycles to explore the vineyards. Burgundy is also known for its fabulous cuisine. Together with the regional wines, it’s unbeatable.
If you’re somewhere near Beaune, you have to visit Chateau de Meursault. The wines are expensive, but they taste fantastic.
3. Alsace, France
There are just too many reasons to visit the Alsace. The beautiful fairytale towns Colmar, Riquewihr and Strasbourg, the Crémant d’Alsace (especially the Rosé version is to die for), the yummy food and of course the really photogenic vineyards are the main reasons to come here. I really want to go back soon!
4. Mosel, Germany
Who said, Germany can’t do World Class wine? Everyone already knows the Riesling and if you haven’t tried one of the Mosel wines, you definitely have no clue! Aside from the fact that the Mosel region includes some of the most beautiful castles in Germany (Cochem Castle and Eltz Castle, just to name two), the region’s wine enjoys a very good reputation internationally.
5. Rheingau, Germany
The idyllic Rheingau is not far from Frankfurt. Castles surrounded by vineyards as far as the eye can see. Rüdesheim am Rhein in the Mittelrheintal is known worldwide. Every summer, thousands of people want to see the Loreley before they dedicate themselves to the Rheingau wines. Especially the ‘Weinprobierstände’ (Wine tasting booths) got our hearts. We’ve been here three times so far. The fourth time is soon to come!
6. Wurttemberg Weinstraße, Germany
After our trip to Alsace, we made a trip through the amazing landscape of Württemberg. The wines are exquisite and the little villages with their cute half-timbered houses were so cute. Outside the state the wines are quite unknown. We’re actually unsure if the traditional people of the region even want it.
7. Franconia, Germany
At least within Germany, everyone knows Franconian wine. With Würzburg and Rothenburg ob der Tauber and generally all those half-timbered houses villages, Franconia has a lot more to offer.
8. Valais, Switzerland
Switzerland is expensive and has been so for a long time. Somehow or other, you should save a few pennies before you come here, if you really want to enjoy your stay.
Not only, but the wines of the Valais want to be tasted. We actually had this place on our radar only last year. As the country doesn’t produce huge amounts, Switzerland is still not known as a wine country. Maybe this will change someday.
9. Porto, Portugal
To be honest, we haven’t been to this place yet. But for diversity reasons, we had to put it on the list. You can drink the Vinho Branco from Portugal’s north everywhere in the country. It tastes fantastic and will soon lead us to its birth place.
10. Chianti, Tuscany, Italy
Is there anything in Italy, that’s not beautiful? Right, nothing! Our trip to Tuscany leads us through the amazing Chianti region. We love the red wines from here. Italy without wine is just not working anyway. You should definitely take part in a wine tasting in one of the local wineries here.
11. Orebic, Croatia
Croatia is one of those countries you don’t relate with cultivating wine. In the past years, they actually developed a lot and while Bosnia (in our opinion) still has to learn a lot, wines in Croatia are really good. In the region surrounding Orebic, they sell wine bottles in little cute wine stalls along the road. You definitely have to try them when in Croatia.
What are your favourite wine regions? Where should we head to next?