JUNE 2020, UPDATED 2025

Everyone who knows me, knows I love a good glass of wine, so it is no surprise I love visiting wine regions. Over the past years I have visited several wine regions, some of which I loved more than others. I decided to dedicate a blogpost to the best wine regions in the world. Wine regions usually offer a combination of beautiful nature with cultural highlights, and are interesting to visit, even if you don’t love wine. All wine regions have their own advantages and disadvantages. In this blogpost I will give you the pros and cons of the different wine regions.

Wachau Valley – Austria

The Wachau Valley is my unexpected number one of this list. I had just learned that this region existed before we visited and I was surprised I liked it this much. The Wachau Valley is located near Vienna and makes for the perfect day trip, but it is definitely worth an overnight. It is the home to one of my favorite wines: the Gruner Veltliner, so I am a little biased when it comes to this region. Hielke and I visited the Wachau Valley in 2019 and visited the region by bike, which was ideal. The Danube flows right through the Wachau Valley and at the base of the river you will find bicycle lanes. These will take you through all the cute villages along the way, such as Durnstein and Weissenkirchen. To do a tasting you do not have to make any reservations, which makes tastings very accessible. The Wachau Valley is relatively undiscovered, which makes absolutely no sense. The rest of this list is in a random order, but the Wachau Valley was my absolute number one.

Mendoza – Argentina

Mendoza had been on my bucket list for a very long time, so I was super happy I got to finally visit it in 2019 during our three month travels. We stayed in Mendoza for four nights, so we could fully experience the region. Having recently visited Stellenbosch, I was a bit surprised that Mendoza was less fancy. Mendoza is a super low key location offering delicious Malbec wines. We explored the nearby wineries by bike and also had a wine picknick and a multi-course-lunch including wines. As Argentina is experiencing economic problems, it is actually very cheap to enjoy the gastronomy of Mendoza.

Stellenbosch – South Africa

Hielke and I did a trip with my family to South Africa in 2018 and one of the highlights was our visit to Stellenbosch and nearby Franschoek. Of all the wine regions we ever visited, Stellenbosch is definitely the prettiest. The nature in this region is very beautiful, but the wineries are on another level. The wineries are all built in the clean Cape Dutch style and they have very well landscaped gardens as well. Even though the region is incredibly beautiful and it has amazing wines, it is not my favorite. I found that you could still experience segregation in Stellenbosch, which made us a bit uncomfortable at times.

Champagne – France

One of the most famous regions in the world: the Champagne in France. It is located very close to The Netherlands, so I got to visit it twice. I didn’t know I liked champagne, but I loved learning about the process. The French are very proud on their champagne and there still is some secrecy, which makes your visit all the more fun. The little town Hautvillers has beautiful views over the region as well as a charming old town. I would advise to stay there, as I didn’t love Epernay (even though the balloon ride was super cool). The Champagne has a nice variety of small, family-owned champagne houses as well as large ones that have English spoken tours. Reservations are necessary for most champagne houses, especially if you want an English tour.

Alsace – France

The Alsace is mainly famous for its Riesling. Colmar is the perfect hub to explore this area, it is a super beautiful town, with little canals and half-wood-timbered colorful houses. Nearby you will find many small towns, that are worth exploring and where you can do wine tastings. I visited the Alsace with my mother and sister and we were equally impressed by the natural beauty of the Alsace. The downside to this region is that it is very popular. For good restaurants you definitely need reservations and it is extremely hilly. We rented electric bikes, but still had difficulty cycling around. Also, the towns are not indicated very well and you often have to cross busy roads with your bicycle.

Ronda – Spain

Spain also has its fair share of wine regions with delicious wine. I visited Ronda with Hielke and my mother in 2018 and we were excited to visit some wineries. However, in Ronda it was difficult to arrange a tasting, the wineries often did not reply to my emails or had difficult opening times. In the end we mainly tasted the wines in restaurants, which was a waste as the region is incredibly beautiful. Pros ares that Ronda has some interesting sights as well, usually has very good weather and is not very popular yet.

Soave – Italy

The Soave region also was a nice surprise for me. Hielke and I visited Soave as part of our Italy trip in 2016. We didn’t know Soave wine yet, but were keen to sleep on an “agriturismo”. In Italy it is very easy to sleep on a winery, which is definitely something you should experience if you love wine. Our agriturismo had a wine-fridge, with a good variation in white and red wines, which we loved to taste in the gardens. Besides Soave, the region is also known for its Valpolicella and Ripasso wines, which are some of my favorite red wines. The infrastructure in Soave is not very well developed, you will definitely need a car in this region.

Puglia – Italy

Puglia is an up-and-coming holiday destination in Italy. Hielke and I got to visit it as part of our honeymoon in 2019. One of the wines that comes from Puglia is the red Primitivo wine, another one of my favorite wines. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a lot of time, so we didn’t arrange a wine tasting, but we made up for that in the cave bars of Ostuni. Puglia is much cheaper than the North of Italy. You can sleep in a traditional trullo, which adds much fun to your holiday. I would love to go back to Puglia, to explore more and do some wine tastings!

Mosel

The Mosel in Germany has an undeserved bad reputation. It mainly attracts elderly people, but it is also interesting for different types of tourists. We were happy to visit the Mosel several times and enjoy the delicious white wines. As the Mosel terraces are quite steep, you can even do good hikes in the area! What is better than cooling down with a cold glass of wine after a grueling hike? Cochem is the most well known location in the Mosel, with stunning half-timbered houses. If you are looking for a more quiet destination I would recommend staying in Beilstein instead. Another great location is Bernkastel-Kues! If you want to do tastings, I would advise to do some research in advance, as the wineries often close on Saturday afternoons.

Rheingau Valley

You may have never heard of the Rheingau region, but it actually is one of the best wine regions in Germany! It is more off the beaten path than the Mosel, somewhat less spectacular, but it houses very good wineries and hotels. I visited the Rheingau from Wiesbaden and I stayed in Eltville am Rhein in a wine hotel. Eltville is a great destination as it has a “Weinprobierstand“, where you can taste local wines underneath a ceiling of leaves. It also features a lovely castle with a rose garden.

Porto & Douro Valley

Is Port wine? I have included it on the list 😉 It is quite easy to join a port tour while you are in Porto. I highly recommend doing this as it is part of the local history. We loved Porto and Port so much, that we decided to extend our trip to visit the Douro Valley. The Douro Valley is a stunning piece of cultivated nature, with very steep vineyards and luxurious restaurants at discounted prices. The Douro still can be considered a hidden gem and hasn’t been discovered by the masses!

Bordeaux

If you are looking for a wine region with good camping opportunities, Bordeaux is a very good location! The wines are world famous and you can sleep with a campervan or tent at local wineries. We stayed at Chateau Marquis de Vauban with our campervan, joined the wine tour, visited Bordeaux and brought home lots of wine!

Loire Valley

The Loire Valley is a great location if you are looking for a combination of wine tastings and castles. The Loire is home to some of the most beautiful castles in France, such as Chateau de Villandry and Chateau de Rivau. These castles often offer great gastronomy as well and the opportunity to taste the delicious local white wines. The Loire was never really on my radar, but we stopped here on the way to Spain and fell in love with this gorgeous, not too busy region. Will definitely go back here to explore more!

Istria

Istria in Croatia is a wine region that deserves more attention! We originally did not visit for the wines, but when we were here we loved the gastronomy scene. A Konoba is a Croatian version of the Greek taverna and it usually offers great local wines and wine tasting opportunities. Istria is also known as the truffle region of Croatia, so you can combine truffle and wine tasting! I have a great recommendation near Kotli for you.