Enotourism: Why Everyone’s Talking About the Latest Trend in Holidaying
Enjoy fine wines and great food? Then a new type of holiday, enotourism, may well be for you. Travel around beautiful regions of our earth, meeting new people, walking through pristine, verdant vineyards, meeting people passionate about what they do. Here are some of the finest enotourism destinations on earth, why you should think about paying a visit to them, and why this new style of holiday is the latest trend for oenophiles, gourmands and lovers of the good life alike.
A glass of amontillado sherry, with olives (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Napa Valley, California
It was perhaps the hit road movie Sideways back in 2004 that first sparked off the enotourism or wine tourism craze. In that particular film the two main characters headed out to the California wine country, and if you want to recreate a similar journey, drinking wine and sampling fine cuisine, head to the Napa Valley 40 miles north of San Francisco. This peaceful, idyllic valley is full of vineyards, with some 400 individual wineries visited by up to 4 million tourists a year. Stop by famous names such as Duckhorn, Screaming Eagle, Mondavi and Spencer-Roloson during the day, sample their best wines, pluck fresh grapes from their vines and learn about the process that produces some of the world’s most valued vintages. At night, head into Napa town itself for gourmet cuisine made from astonishingly fresh, local ingredients.
Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
The small, dusty town of Jerez de la Frontera, not far from Cadiz in southern Spain, is famous for one thing – sherry. The aged, fortified and fermented wine hails from the town, and the city happens to be full of old sherry warehouses, bearing famous names such as Blandy’s, Harvey’s, Lustau and Gonzalez Byass. Tours around most of the sherry warehouses are offered, and you can try the world’s finest sherries with slices of Manchego cheese, strips of Iberico ham and dishes of Spanish olives. Combine your trip to Jerez by taking walking holidays around some of Andalusia’s best countryside, visiting vineyards and olive groves on your way. And after a long day hiking through rough terrain, enjoy tapas and a glass of Manzanilla as the sun sets.
Turin, Italy
The Italian city of Turin is most famously home to the Italian car industry, with automobile giant FIAT based out of the city. Yet it is for another product that wine lovers should head to Turin, for it is in this city that, in 1786, that vermouth, specifically the sweet variety, was invented. And today Turin remains the world capital for both vermouth production and consumption, with local Torinesi indulging in a glass or two of the popular aperitif at around 6 pm every day. Local producers include global giants Martini and Rosso, Cinzano, Toso and Filipetti. It is Carpano Antica, however, that you should try first, a rich, oak-aged vermouth made according to the original 1786 recipe, and considered the king of vermouths all around the world.
Champagne, France
Everyone loved a bit of bubbly, and the world’s favourite, and most expensive, sparkling wine varietal hails from the beautiful French region of the same name. With over 19,000 grape producers covering an area over 33,500 hectares, and more than 5,000 champagne makers concentrated in this tiny region, you would have to spend a lifetime travelling around the vineyards in order to sample all of them. The undulate soils here are said to be perfect for soil drainage, producing the slightly dry, slightly sweet signature taste that defines champagne. Yet the rolling hills and beautiful little villages are also ideal for cycling holidays in France. Pedal your way to gorgeous vineyards, toast your friends and companions, and then ride off on your bicycle to the next vineyard down the road, which is unlikely to be far away.
John is a travel writer who is passionate about fine wines and enjoys cycling holidays in France to regions such as Burgundy, Provence and the Loire.
