Wine tasting vacations

Try the best of Old World wines in Italy, France and Portugal, where thousands of years of winemaking history mean you can conduct tastings in chateaux and stop in on Roman ruins on your wine route. Alternatively, head to the likes of South Africa, Argentina and Australia for a taste of New World wines and to soak up the stunning scenery where they are grown. We’ve also got a few more unexpected locations in the cellar: Croatia may not export much wine, but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t have fantastic bottles to buy when you’re there, and Georgia and Armenia harbour some of the oldest viticultural traditions in the world.

Small cosy cellars made for intimate tasting sessions, tiny tucked away boutique hotels with only a handful of rooms: wine tasting vacations make for fantastic tailor made breaks, and some wineries will give you highly personalised experiences. You don’t always need a car for our tailor made experiences: some are walking and cycling vacations and others come with transfers. If you want your own four wheels, though, our self drive vacations allow you flexibility to linger over that long lunch, or cram in a few more stops if you’re feeling curious. If one of you needs to be behind the wheel, make sure that you’ve agreed a designated driver each day.

Wine country makes great cycling country. You’ve got rolling hillside, stunning scenery, quiet roads between wineries and short distances to cover if you’re hopping between small and independent businesses. On our wine tasting and cycling vacations, you could head to the Douro Valley in Portugal for riverside pedals in a UNESCO-listed landscape, to Catalonia for tastings in the Baix Emporda region, or into France’s Champagne region for a spot of effervescent exercise. No one appreciates a long leisurely lunch like a hungry cyclist: it’s fitting that many wine regions are also rich agricultural regions, producing high quality local food.