7 Top Tips for Creating the Best Wine Tour for You

Wine is like love, simply irresistible. A muse to a wine lover’s heart, wine can cast a magical spell on you. If you are a wine lover in need of taking this relationship to the next level, then a wine tour is the right option for you. Being a beginner going on a wine tour might seem intimidating, but there’s nothing to have cold feet about because today more wineries than ever are more than excited to welcome you. Whether you are a beginner or a veterinary, these tips will help you get the most out of your wine tour.

Plan out your tour:

Planning is the best way to avoid any inconvenience. Make an itinerary of your wine tour beforehand for a smooth sailing holiday.

Visiting the countryside has its share of problems like lack of connectivity, in situations like this keeping handy a scratch-off map can turn out to be very useful.

Make all your bookings in advance because hey, you’re not the only wine lover in town. Wineries have limited availability and hence making all your bookings at least a week before will keep you on the safer side. Take it from someone who has been on a wine tour recently; planning saves you a lot of trouble. From the Casablanca Valley, Chile to the Bordeaux wine festival, plan out your tour keeping in minds the dates, weather, footfall, etc.   

The early bird catches the worm

Starting early on, your wine tour will prove out to be very beneficial, especially on weekends. Most wine lovers will head out on weekends which can lead to an increased footfall. The best parts about a wine tour are the conversations with winery owners or winemakers, they have so much to tell, and you have so much to learn. As a wine lover myself, I have a lot of questions that I want to be answered, reaching early always gives me the time window I need to build a conversation with locals, winery owners or winemakers. If it gets busy, they won’t have the time to speak to you and hence reaching early will increase your chances of one on one conversation.

Managing the commute

Since you will be drinking wine all-day, driving can be an issue. Most wineries are spread far out and might require some traveling. Public transport can turn out to be very unreliable if you are not acquainted with the timings. Hiring a car or a designated driver is the best option in such cases. If you are looking for cheaper options, then joining a group of 4-5 people can work out well for you. This way you’ll get to interact with like-minded wine lovers as well. In tours like this car roof racks can be handy as it’ll help your group adjust the luggage and use the limited space in a car efficiently.

Know your wine

Even if it’s your first time on a wine tour, always be prepared with the answer to the question “What kind of wine do you like?”. Consider this question as one of the ice-breakers on a wine tasting tour. Knowing the wine you like will not only help you relate to other people better but it will also help in prioritizing and categorizing which wines to taste first.

Be a local

Wine tasting can turn out to be a rewarding experience when paired with the right food. Food and wine go hand in hand. Some wineries even have inbuilt restaurants to keep the wine lovers well-fed. Go for the local dishes, ask the winemakers how to pair your wine with the right food. Eating is a wise decision because it will help in lining the stomach while drinking. Culturally rich places like Santorini, Greece; Tuscany, Italy; Napa Valley, Italy offer beautiful wineries as well as some amazing wine tours.  

Kids or no kids

A wine tour can be turned into a family getaway, provided the wineries you are planning to visit must have provisions to keep the children busy as well. A lot of wineries offer a family-oriented wine tour keeping in mind the involvement of the kids by introducing activities like juice tasting for kids. Do your homework before taking the family out.  

Tasting does not mean buying

Many wine lovers find themselves in this dilemma while visiting wineries. Even though it is considered a good gesture to buy a bottle or two, don’t feel pressured to buy the wine if you don’t want to. Wine tasting is not the same as wine shopping, you were there for wine tasting so there is no need to feel obliged to buy a bottle. Being polite is important because if you are visiting a smaller winery than it might be a part of someone’s home and you might just be speaking to the owner himself, and hence it is important to respect the fact that people are opening their homes to you.

Wine tours are the perfect getaways from the hustle of our fast-paced lives. Whether you are a beginner or an expert on wine, wine tours are a wonderful way to explore your love for it. Not only it will relax and rejuvenate you, but wines are also known to have certain health benefits. They are known to be rich in antioxidants and help cut short the cholesterol levels. If you have been considering the idea of going on a wine tour alone or with family then now is the time to go for it.

Happy Wine tasting!

This article, written by Rebecca Siggers  thus provides you with a list of places that you should focus upon traveling in your next holidays. To be able to travel with ease and reach your destination in the least possible time with comfort, always carry a world map scratch along with you. The alluring qualities of the afore-said cities will make you want to travel several times over and over again in the years to come.