3 Wine-focused Journeys That Will Ignite All 5 Senses

For me, wine is a ardour. And it’s greatest appreciated if you marry that tasteful enjoyment of your glass with a stunning setting or a novel exercise. An expertise like that is what I prefer to name “wine with all 5 senses.”

Wine-focused travel delivers a really sensorial expertise. Combining the style, scent, and really feel of a wine with the sounds and surroundings of a selected location ensures an indelible reminiscence. Listed below are three of my favourite wine-centric journeys.

Zonda at Lagarde Vineyard, Mendoza, Argentina

Lagarde in Luján de Cuyo has been producing mouthwatering malbecs for greater than 125 years. In late 2022, the vineyard added a brand new restaurant, Zonda, which provides guests a novel eating expertise that showcases the total bounty of Mendoza. (In 2023, the restaurant acquired each a Michelin star and a Michelin Inexperienced Star for sustainability.) 

First, friends take a tour of the backyard and vineyards, the place plucking grapes proper from the vine is inspired. Subsequent comes a fun-filled cooking class the place they will study to make empanadas. And eventually, they will sit all the way down to a scrumptious several-course meal — with excellent wine pairings, after all. 

Quinta das Carvalhas, Douro Valley, Portugal

Relationship again to 1759, Quinta das Carvalhas boasts among the oldest vines in Portugal in addition to among the oldest grape types of the Douro region, making a go to right here really feel like a step again in time. The views are spectacular, too. 

Standing on the prime of the terraced vineyards, you’ll be able to look out over the Douro and Torto rivers and soak up that dreamy and undulating Douro Valley panorama you’ve seen in footage. Your senses might be heightened it doesn’t matter what time of 12 months you go to, however harvest time is the very best. 

You possibly can spend the morning selecting grapes on the Quinta das Carvalhas winery, in addition to its sister winery Quinta do Casal da Granja in Alijó, after which take pleasure in a conventional Portuguese lunch. Afterward, roll up your pants and prepare to stomp on grapes within the vineyard’s outdated mills designed for guide crushing. 

Coquelicot, Belmond, Champagne, France

Are you an enormous fan of bubbly? Champagne, after all, is simply produced within the area that bears its title, within the northeast of France. And there’s no higher technique to expertise the world (and reap its rewards) than aboard Coquelicot, Belmond’s ultra-luxurious, three-stateroom barge, which glides down canals and waterways previous vineyards and storybook cities, like Châlons-en-Champagne. 

When you’d little doubt be pleased sipping bubbly and having fun with farm-fresh, chef-prepared delicacies on the highest deck, Belmond has additionally curated unique on-land experiences, together with a behind-the-scenes have a look at Ruinart, a non-public lunch on the Krüg household home, and excursions of Dom Pérignon’s Abbaye d’Hautvillers and the cellars of Moët & Chandon.

Meg Nolan is a member of Journey + Leisure’s A-Listing and makes a speciality of wine-focused journeys. You possibly can create a tailored itinerary with Nolan by contacting her at meg@friendofafriendconsulting.com.