THE WORLD’S BEST WINE DESTINATIONS

One of the many joys of going on holiday is sampling the local food and drink. Whether it’s trying a glass of bold Barolo with your pasta in Italy or crisp rosé from Côtes de Provence in France - there is something special about that first glass of wine on your holiday.  

As wine tourism is growing in popularity, with Google searches for ‘wine holiday’ and ‘vineyard tours’ up 22% and 50% respectively in the past 12 months, we were curious to discover where in the world is the best destination for wine lovers to go on holiday. 

The World's Best Wine Destinations

To reveal the best places to sample the most highly-rated wines we analysed data from the world's largest wine marketplace and review the website, Vivino. We looked at the top 50 red, white, rosé, and sparkling wines, and cross-referenced the region they were from with their average score (out of five stars) to discover which region is home to the highest-rated bottles of wine.  

The analysis of these 200 wines revealed that the best holiday location for wine lovers is France’s Champagne region totalling a score of 188.3 for its wine quality. The total score was calculated by taking the top wines for each region and combining their average Vivino score out of five to give a grand total. 46 of the top 200 wines were from this famous French region, with the top-rated bottle being Dom Pérignon Brut Champagne 2012 costing £250.  

France takes the top two spots, as Côtes de Provence follows Champagne scoring a total wine rating of 72.7 for the 20 wines from this region that featured in the top 200 list. Although the region produces wines of all varieties, it is most famed for its rosé, with the top-rated tipple from this world-renowned wine region being Château d'Esclans Garrus Rosé 2019 which costs £102.  

The USA claims a place on the podium as Napa Valley in California is the third-best holiday destination for wine lovers, scoring 41.2. This region is home to 400 wineries and is most famous for producing quality Cabernet Sauvignon; in fact, the top-rated wine from this region on Vivino is Joseph Phelps Vineyards Insignia 2015 which is considered to be one of the finest wines to come from The Golden State. 

The World’s Top 20 Wine Destinations 

Europe’s Top 20 Wine Destinations 

Europe outperforms any other continent that features in the top 20 regions list. France features more than any other country, occupying seven of the top destinations for wine tourism around the globe; including Champagne, Côtes de Provence, Puligny-Montrachet, Bandol, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru, Saint-Julien, and Condrieu.  

Italy features three times on the top 20 list; Bolgheri, a coastal winery best-known for its red wines, is fourth, Toscana (Tuscany) is sixth with its highest-reviewed vintage being the £160 a pop Antinori Tignanello 2018, whilst the sparkling region of Franciacorta rounds off the top 10.  

Spain also features three times, as Ribera del Duero, Rioja and Rias Baixas all claim a spot in the top 20 wine destinations for those seeking a wine retreat. There are just two other European places, Alentejo in Portugal (which covers more than 30% of the country) is 12th on the list whilst Fthiotida in Greece is joint 20th. 

The World’s Most Beautiful Vineyards 

As well as enjoying local cuisines and sampling the best tipples the area has to offer, the scenery is also something to be enjoyed. So, the travel experts at CV Villas turned to Instagram data to discover the most beautiful vineyards the world has to offer.  

By taking a long list of vineyards from all around the globe, we ran their names through Instagram to see which ones have been shared the most on the social media platform. The vineyard claiming the prize as the most beautiful in the world is Boschendal, in South Africa’s Cape Wineland district, which has been shared with the world 95,501 times. Located between Franschhoek and Stellenbosch, Boshendal is one of the country’s oldest wine estates dating back to 1685. Over the past 100 years, this region has continually developed its wine offering - from Chardonnay to a complex Sauvignon Blanc - and has also started to offer wine tours, a farm shop, hiking tours, fruit picking, and so much more. 

Second on the list is Penfolds Magill Estate in the foothills of Australia’s Adelaide with 94,761 Instagram hashtags. Penfolds Estate is home to Australia’s most-awarded wine and offers visitors the chance to sample a variety of produce from their finely-grown grapes which have been growing there since 1844. To complete the experience, you can embrace your surroundings by eating at one of their restaurants - ranging from fine dining to casual eateries.  

The United States claims the world’s third-most beautiful vineyard with Castello di Amorosa with 88,784 Instagram hashtags.  The vineyard is overlooked by a stunning Tuscan-inspired castle which has been visited by Hollywood’s finest, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Adam Sandler, Bon Jovi - and many more. This Napa Valley institute offers guests wine tasting, vineyard tours, great food and even the chance to tie the knot.  

Top 30 Most Beautiful Vineyards In The World  

Countries With The Most Beautiful Vineyards 

Although a South African vineyard is crowned the most beautiful in the world, the country doesn’t rank in the top 30 list as much as France, which claims seven spots on the top 30 list. The most beautiful vineyard in France is Champagne Billecart-Salmon (6th on the top 30 list), where 2.5 million bottles of Champagne are made every single year. The estate boasts 300 hectares of vineyards, giving visitors plenty of opportunities to take an Insta-worthy picture while sipping a glass of sparkling wine. Other notable French estates that feature in the list are Chateau Margaux, Château La Coste, Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Château d'Yquem, Chateau Haut Brion and Champagne Taittinger.  

The United States appears five times with each of the vineyards being from Napa Valley; Castello Di Amorosa (3rd) which is Insta-famous for its 13th-century Tuscan-inspired castle, Domaine Carneros (7th), Chateau Montelena (14th), Wölffer Estate in 16th, and Robert Mondavi Winery (29th). Meanwhile, South Africa has four vineyards ranked as the world’s most beautiful, with Boschendal (1st), Tokara Winery (19th), Waterkloof (20th) and Spier Wine Farm completing the top 30 list.  

Three Italian wineries make the cut, too; Donnafugata-Marsala has been shared on social media more than any other vineyard with 65,445 hashtags, with a lot of the images swooning over the typical architecture of a Mediterranean Baglio. Ferrari Trento - an official Formula 1® partner - is 12th on the list and Ceretto, which is a family-run vineyard bottling organically farmed red and white wines is 25th. 

Spain features twice with Marques de Riscal in eighth, which has been making great wines since 1858, and Familia Torres - Pacs del Penedes in 19th. Argentina also has two stunning vineyards included in the most beautiful list, whilst the UK features just the once with Nyetimber ranking 18th just over 22,000 times.  

If this has tempted you to book a wine vacation then check out our beautiful villas located in the highly-rated wine regions.  

Methodology 

To reveal the best destinations to taste the world’s best wines, CV Villas analysed data for 200 of the top wines on Vivino (50 of each type: red, white, rose and sparkling). Wines were sorted by region and totalled the Vivino ratings of the wines from each region to give a total score. Total scores were sorted from highest to lowest to reveal the places where tourists can taste the best-quality wine.  

To reveal the world’s most beautiful vineyards, CV Villas sourced a thorough list of 200 wineries from reputable sources and analysed the number of associated hashtags each one currently has on live Instagram posts. The number of hashtags was then sorted from highest to lowest. Those with the most hashtags were named the most beautiful. 

Sources 

Wine ratings and regions: https://www.vivino.com/GB/en/  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/  

Vineyards:  

https://www.thetravel.com/the-worlds-best-wine-regions-when-to-visit/ 

https://www.28degreescard.com.au/travel-inspiration/the-top-10-wineries-in-the-world.html 

https://vinepair.com/wine-blog/12-impressive-wineries-world/ 

https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/greatest-vineyards-decanter-names-top-12-sites-490766/ 

https://www.worldsbestvineyards.com/list/