The mini-break is always being re-invented, whether that’s because a host of trendy new cities are in the spotlight or people are sports-tripping and race-cationing all over the place.
But the next travel trend? According to QuoteZone, it could well be the vineyard mini-break, and that’s why the insurance website has developed an index to identify which famous wine-producing regions are best for a cheeky vacay.
Their analysis covered the average cost of a winery tour, three-night hotel stay and bottle of wine, as well as the weather conditions and awards won (for wine quality or the vineyard itself), and it found that Rioja sits top of the rack.
It’s the largest (and arguably most iconic) wine region in Spain, having been producing wine for the last 2,000 years, boasting 600 wineries and a staggering 65,000 hectares of vineyards. It’s a highly-decorated region at that – last year, it topped the Decanter World Wine Awards and the World’s Best Vineyards.
But Rioja also did well thanks to its glorious weather. There’s a very low chance of rain in this part of north eastern Spain, thanks to its sheltering from the Atlantic in the north and west by the Sierra Cantabria and from the Med to the south by the Sierras de la Demanda and de Cameros.
It’s also super reasonably priced. The region has a strong French influence thanks to a trading boom with merchants from Bordeaux during the second half of the nineteenth century, but in Rioja you can expect to pay around £22 for a bottle of wine and a mere £19 for a winery tour. In Bordeaux, that’s more like £34.36 and £15.20 respectively.
Two Italian regions, Piedmont and Tuscany, claimed second and third place. Read on for the full top 10 wine regions in Europe.
These are the 10 best wine regions in Europe
- Rioja, Spain
- Piedmont, Italy
- Tuscany, Italy
- Bordeaux, France
- Douro Valley, Portugal
- Rhone Valley, France
- Champagne, France
- Burgundy, france
- Tokaj, Hungary
- Mosel, Germany
Fancy a top up (of info)? Read QuoteZone’s study in more detail on the website.
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