Italy is the world’s best wine country

Wine lovers have plenty of choice for finding their preferred tipple, and plenty of places to visit if they’re keen on following the grapes to their source.

But where are the best places for aficionados to travel if they want to feel surrounded by wine culture? New research from lastminute.com finds the world’s best wine countries, basing options on wine awards won, vineyards open to visitors, and wine tasting experiences, as well as the travel itself.

Unfamiliar Wine Destinations
While some of the top options should come as no surprise to those who know their Merlot from their Pinot Noir, others might stand out as new and exciting options – like Georgia, the 7th best wine trip, where visitors can expect to find two excellent red wine regions in the form of Racaha and Kakheti, and Serbia, the 8th, with Vojvodina, Central Serbia, and Kosovo, each dedicated to both red and white.

Top Wine Locales
Despite some unfamiliar wine hotspots coming out among the best options, the top five options reinforce some classic beliefs in high quality wine:

On the other side, despite an up-and-coming wine market in the United Kingdom, recognised with 971 awards, a lack of publicly accessible vineyards and comparatively few wine tasting experiences (with only 35 being listed on TripAdvisor compared with 993 in Italy) means that the country is relegated to last position, falling behind the US, China, and Japan.

A representative from lastminute.com commented: “Wine is so varied, not just between grapes, but even with a single type, that you could travel to three different wine regions and have completely different experiences – even putting aside the trip itself!

“We’ve created this study to show the areas where you’re most likely to get the most out of your wine travels, but if you know what wine suits your palate best, this study will be a great way to plan out your next trip.”

(TDN)