The Traveler's Guide to the World's Best Wine

For as long as humans have been cultivating fruit, they have been fermenting it into wine. Historians have traced the earliest origins of the winemaking process to the Caucasus region in present-day Georgia, where evidence suggests that the locals were crafting their own version of the drink some 8,000 years ago. 

Today, wine ranks as a cultural touchstone for many countries, as winemakers around the world utilize unique geography, climate, and soil to produce hyperlocal varieties found nowhere else on Earth. Vineyards typically flourish in temperate regions, but with advances in horticulture, the list of wine-producing countries grows longer with each passing year. 

Best of all, in a small group of just 12 to 24 travelers, guests on Odysseys Unlimited tours can savor the experience of finding new favorite wines, complete with vineyard tours and unhurried time to learn from the vintners themselves. 

Below, we’ve highlighted our top 10 wines from around the world, along with the specific small group tours that offer tours and tastings of these local delicacies.

Mission Estate Winery
Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand

While Australia produces more wine than its Oceanic neighbor, New Zealand is home to some of the finest vintages in the world. Several of these come from the Hawke’s Bay region on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island, where the long, hot summers and cool winters create a climate perfect for producing a variety of both red and white wines.

Missionaries planted wine grapes here nearly 200 years ago, and although some 75 working wineries now dot the region, guests on our New Zealand Adventure small group tour visit the very first winery to have been built in Hawke's Bay: Mission Estate. This legendary facility ranks as the oldest winery in New Zealand, offering an unmatched air of history to go along with a range of superb vintages. 

Tenuta Santa Maria winery in Bologna

Tenuta Santa Maria
Verona, Italy

First established by brothers Giovanni and Gaetano Bertani in 1857, Tenuta Santa Maria remains among northern Italy’s finest winemaking collectives. Known as pioneers of Verona winemaking, the Bertani brothers were among the first Italian winemakers to bottle and sell Veronese wine, making it available to a customer base outside their native region. 

This historic, family-owned facility still produces the Amarone and Valpolicella varieties that made it famous, and guests on our Italy’s Classic Cities tour enjoy a full afternoon tour here. After exploring the estate’s lush vineyards and romantic gardens, guests are able to wander through the frescoed rooms of the Neoclassical manor house. And no tour would be complete without a private wine tasting, so our touring concludes with a pour and a toast.

Guests enjoy a port wine tasting on our Discovering Portugal tour

Port Wine
Porto, Portugal

Port wine owes its origins to three cultures and more than 2,000 years of history. When the Romans conquered Portugal in ~200 BCE, they planted grapes along the Duoro River which flows through the city of Porto. Local winemakers plied their trade here for nearly two millennia until British merchants, seeking a way to fortify the wine for its shipment back to England, added brandy. By the mid–19th century, this practice had evolved to adding brandy before the wine had fully fermented in order to produce a more desirable and hearty vintage. 

Today, port wine is world-famous, and guests on Across Spain & Portugal and Discovering Portugal enjoy a tour of a portmaking lodge, as well as a tasting of this sweet red dessert wine.

Champagne-Ardennes region of France

Authentic Champagne
Reims, France

All champagne is sparkling wine – but not all sparkling wine is champagne. Guests on our European Tapestry tour learn this crucial distinction during a stop in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France; this is the only wine-growing region in the world producing authentic champagne, where the chalky soil imparts the flavor unique to the famed bubbly. 

After touring the grand Reims Cathedral, guests make their way to the Couvert de Vignes restaurant in the Champagne countryside for a lunch thoughtfully paired with three champagnes. During the course of the meal, guests experience the wine's different tastes and textures, receiving an inside look at the factors that elevate true champagne above all other sparkling wines.

A lovely view at Chateau Roslane

Château Roslane
Rabat, Morocco

North Africa is not known for its wines – but Château Roslane is out to change that. It’s the first winery in North Africa to be classified “Château,” having earned the coveted “premier cru” distinction from France’s official wine rating service, the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Vin (BNIV). The estate dates back to 1948 and sprawls over 3,000 acres, including 1,500 acres of wine grapes, and its massive tanks can handle a capacity equivalent to 10 million bottles of wine.

During a travel day from Rabat to Fez on our Moroccan Discovery tour, Odysseys guests have the chance to explore this celebrated vineyard and enjoy lunch and a wine tasting at the facility’s restaurant overlooking the vast fields of grapevines. 

Wine grapes on the vine in Burgundy

Château de Marsannay
Burgundy, France

Where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire. And where there’s centuries of adulation for a certain region’s wines, there is indeed great wine to be found. During our Essential France: Provence to Paris small group tour, we spend a full day learning about Burgundy’s renowned wines and vineyards. Known for its fruit-forward chardonnays and dry pinot noirs, Burgundy takes great pride in its terroir, which refers to the environmental factors that affect their wines’ characteristics. It is said that when you drink wine from Burgundy, you can “taste” the area where it was made.

The highlight of our touring is a trip along the Route des Grands Crus – the famed 34-mile-long trail through the vineyards and villages comprising one of France’s most treasured wine regions.  During our scenic drive, we stop at beloved Château de Marsannay to tour the grounds and taste some of Burgundy’s fabled wines for ourselves.

A recent Odysseys group at Marchesi di Barolo

Marchesi di Barolo
Barolo, Italy

From one world-renowned wine to another — this time, the deep red of Italy's Barolo variety. On the way through Piedmont from Stresa to Cinque Terre, guests on our Northern Italy tour stop to explore the small town of Barolo, and sample what many consider to be "the king of wines." Made from the nebbiolo grape, Barolo is famous for its heady aroma and ability to acquire complexity and depth as it ages. To fully appreciate this complex wine, guests visit Marchesi di Barolo, perhaps the premier vintner of this variety in all of Italy.

Veramonte winery in Chile

Veramonte
Casablanca Valley, Chile

In the 16th century, conquistadors from Spain planted Old World vines in the Chilean soil, and the rest was viticulture history. The region proved ideal for cultivating wine grapes, and foreign investment and improved technology have transformed Chile from a chiefly domestic winemaker into one of the world’s leading wine exporters. A number of Chilean vineyards now enjoy international acclaim, producing Chile’s celebrated reds, sauvignon blancs, chardonnays, and other award-winning varieties.

On the final full day of our Patagonian Frontiers small group tour, guests travel from the capital of Santiago for a tour and tasting at Veramonte Winery in the Casablanca Valley. Known for its cool climate and weather patterns influenced by the Pacific, this valley in particular produces a number of delicious white wines – with Veramonte’s ranking among the finest.

Lavaux's vineyards look over sparkling Lake Geneva

Lavaux
Switzerland

Strung along the northern shores of Lake Geneva in southwestern Switzerland, the terraced vineyards of Lavaux produce wine of such surpassing quality and heritage that they have been designated as a UNESCO-protected site. Evidence of winemaking here dates back to the Benedictine and Cistercian monks of the 11th century, and the main wine grape grown here is the Chasselas, which produces a dry, fruity white wine. 

On the way to Lausanne during our Majestic Switzerland tour, guests visit a local vineyard to enjoy a tour and tasting of these delicate and celebrated wines. 

Guests enjoying a wine tasting at Winery Caric in Hvar

Winery Caric
Hvar, Croatia

“Queen of the Dalmatians,” the island of Hvar lies off the southern coast of Croatia amid a number of Adriatic sea trade routes. It’s an island of cultural connection, with invasions from the Greeks, Romans, Turks, Austrians, and French having left their impression over the centuries. This extends from architecture and culture to the wine of the region, where the predominant varietal is a bold red called Plavac Mali. 

During our Pearls of Dalmatia tour, guests spend two nights on the island of Hvar, and enjoy a tour and tasting at Winery Caric outside the town of Stari Grad, one of Croatia’s oldest cities.

A variety of options at Rupert & Rothschild

Rupert & Rothschild
Cape Winelands, South Africa

South Africa is one of the finest wine-producing countries in the world – and some of its best vineyards lie a mere 45 miles east of Cape Town. During the Cape Town portion of our Southern Africa Odyssey tour (as well as the optional Post-Tour Extension to Cape Town on Africa’s Wildlife), guests embark on a full-day excursion through the Cape Winelands region, which has been producing wine since 1679. Traveling northeast out of Cape Town and past Stellenbosch, guests stop to visit Rupert & Rothschild Vignerons, a local winery concentrating on producing three distinct, superb varieties: a chardonnay, a Bordeaux blend, and a classic red blend. 

The world – and your local shop – are both full of great wines. But even the best bottle at home pales in comparison to the experience of strolling through terraced vineyards, soaking up the local terroir, and sipping a delicate variety just feet from where its fruit was grown. If you’re the type of oenophile who seeks these on-the-ground experiences, explore one of the tours above and join us for a glass.