Cycling in Western Slovenia's wine country

Sun-drenched slopes. Gentle hills sloping into fertile valleys. Terraced vineyards, orchards and olive groves. Every few kilometres, another pretty hilltop hamlet with a stone church, a small square and a different grape variety to try.

From the highest hills, views of the Gulf of Trieste to the south and Alpine peaks in the distant north. The air feels clean: Alpine fresh. The aromas are enticing: Mediterranean.

This is what it’s like to cycle through Slovenia’s key wine region, Primorska, in the country’s far west.

It’s a special place – especially for wine. Rebula (also sometimes called Ribolla here, after its Italian name Ribolla Gialla) and Refošk are the key grape varieties, but a few grapes are as local as the dialects.

Many French varieties, brought to the region in the second half of the 19th century, have found homes here, too. Italian varieties have spread from neighbouring Friuli, just over the national border to the west. It’s a vinous melting pot.

And the best way to explore the region? By bike… well, e-bike – there are a lot of hills.

Since 2025, three of Primorska’s sub-regions – Brda (or Goriška Brda), Vipava and Kras – have been linked by a 93km circular cycling route as part of an EU-funded project called Bike Time.

Serious cyclists could do it all in a day or two, but they would miss out on so much. Instead, base yourself in each of the sub-regions for a couple of days and go on loops from the hotel (this also means you won’t need to transport your luggage).

At a glance: Key areas, travel and bike hire

How to make it happen

• Nearest airports Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, or Trieste in Italy.
• Best time to visit Late spring to early autumn.
• Bike rental Bike Vibe delivers bikes to hotels in all three districts.
• Top tip Many cellars welcome cyclists, but book tastings in advance – the smaller estates sometimes require a reservation.

Key sub-regions

• Goriška Brda (Brda) Slovenia’s best-known wine region, which sits cheek-by-jowl with northeast Italy’s Collio. Known for highquality white and orange wines, particularly those made from Rebula, and red blends made from Bordeaux varieties.
• Vipavska Dolina (Vipava valley) Specialises in light, crisp white wines made from rare grapes Pinela and Zelen
• Kras (Karst) An iron-rich plateau that produces a notable red wine, Teran or Terrano, from the Refošk variety. This is also the region I go to for white and orange versions of Vitovska Grganja.

Day 1: Brda – The kingdom of Rebula

The bike route

Kabaj → Dobrovo → Medana → Gredič → Ceglo → Vipolže → Kaba

Focus on Rebula

The recommendation for your first day in the saddle is to get to know Rebula, the key grape in Brda.

Although it also grows across the border in Italy, Slovenians swear their version is more mineral, more elegant, more itself.

Rebula has been here since Roman times and now comes in a variety of styles, including unoaked, oak-aged, skin-contact, sparkling and passito.

Try them all, but don’t forget to spit – you’ll need your wits about you for some of the descents.

Wineries to visit on this route

The central town, Dobrovo, is home to Slovenia’s largest wine cooperative. Klet Brda brings together 400 growers and nearly 1,000ha of vines (more than half of the region’s roughly 1,900ha).

It’s a good place to get an overview of Brda’s wide range of wines. Try Bagueri’s Sauvignon Blanc for reference, then Bagueri’s or Krasno’s Rebula.

South of Dobrovo, in the border village of Ceglo, is the acclaimed biodynamic winery Movia, Slovenia’s most celebrated producer. A pioneer of natural wines, the charismatic and idiosyncratic Aleš Kristančič has now handed the reins to son Lan.

Highlights of a tasting include a complex Rebula, an orange Pinot Grigio and the unique sparkling wine Puro, which is disgorged in front of you – in an ice bucket filled with water.

Also in Ceglo is organic producer Marjan Simčič – another standard-bearer for Brda wines.

French and local grapes grown on marl-rich schist (opoka) are fermented with native yeasts and boosted with a little bit of skin contact – try the Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay to see a different side of these grapes before experiencing three different Rebulas.

Where to stay in Brda

A good base for this first part of the adventure is Homestead Kabaj Morel in the village of Šlovrenc, near Dobrovo.

Also known as Kabaj Wine & Dine, the homestead combines a top winery and charismatic French winemaker with an amazing restaurant and comfortable rooms.

Jean Michel Morel crafts wines that he likes to drink, regardless of trends and commercial viability.

Enjoy his skin-contact, low-intervention whites and old-school Bordeaux-style reds with dinner on the restaurant’s terrace. There’s no menu – the dishes are inspired by ingredients gathered in the market that morning.

Day 2: Brda beyond Rebula

The bike route

Kabaj → Biljana → Šmartno → Gonjače → Kojsko → Višnjevik → Kabaj

Wineries to visit

Brda is small but dense with excellent boutique producers. Whatever route you take, you’ll probably come across a good, family-run cellar.

Today’s loop explores the district’s other grape varieties and its underrated bubbles. Among the best sparkling wine producers in Slovenia is the specialist Bjana in the village of Biljana, east of Dobrovo.

Start the day with a sip of Miran and Petra Sirk’s Cuvée Prestige Extra Brut – typically 50/50 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, roughly four years on lees. Another good family-run winery in Biljana is Marko Sirk Wines (contact: vina.marko.sirk@gmail.com).

Father Marko and son Miha produce two premium sparkling wines, excellent Sauvignon and Malvasia varietals, and a delicious red blend made from Merlot and Cabernet Franc, among others.

At the Ferdinand winery, a small detour off the road between Gonjače and Kojsko, winemaker Matjaž Četrtič has teamed up with Italian friend Robert Prinčič (owner of Gradis’ciutta in Collio) to create a special fizz, Sinefinis Rebolium.

It’s a blend of Rebula/Ribolla Gialla grapes grown on either side of the border, paying tribute to the Brda and Collio terroirs, which have been divided since the imposition of that border in 1947.

The other white grape to try in this part of the world – perhaps at the end of the day in the quaint medieval village of Šmartno, northeast of Dobrovo – is the underappreciated Sauvignonasse (formerly Tocai Friulano; now simply Friulano in Italy).

It makes a beautiful aperitif, but few producers like its official name; Kabaj calls it Ravan, Zanut calls it Zakaj, others call it Jakot (Tokaj backwards) and Sauvignon Vert.

Whatever the name, it’s a fitting glass with which to conclude your time in Brda.

Day 3: Vipava valley – Indigenous treasures

The bike route

Slap → Planina → Vipava → Slap

Wineries to visit

The beautiful Vipava valley, a broad corridor flanked by mountains and dotted with vineyards, is home to three of Slovenia’s rarest, most delicate whites (which sound more like Marvel heroes): Zelen, Pinela and Klarnica.

A key feature of the terroir here is the strong wind, known as the bora or burja, which can exceed 200km/h.

This is why the old villages have narrow streets, the terracotta roofs are littered with rocks to keep tiles in place and such finicky grapes are able to thrive here and nowhere else.

In the picturesque village of Slap, eighth-generation winemaker Urban Petrič at Vino Petrič is working hard to get more complexity into the typically light, easygoing Zelen and Pinela.

He’s harvesting later, maturing longer and selecting the best southeast-facing, limestonerich sites for planting.

Planina is a bit of a climb, but has two producers worth visiting: Guerila and Štokelj.

The terrace, tasting room and three apartments at biodynamic producer Guerila offer amazing views over the valley. These views are best paired with their benchmark versions of Zelen and Pinela, or a sparkling wine made from both varieties: Castra Brut Nature.

Meanwhile, among the Štokelj wines to try are the still and sparkling Pinelas, and a very serious Merlot-Barbera blend.

Next, head to Vipava, a picturesque town situated at the source of the river of the same name, which consists of nine karst springs. It has a large winery, the former cooperative Vipava 1894, which makes good-value conventional wines.

However, the bistro and wine bar Gustl has better views, a more eclectic wine offer, and some very tasty dishes – such as the Vipava jota, a stew made from turnips fermented in grape marc.

Where to stay

Majerija in Slap, a 300-year-old estate with 10 rooms located under the herb garden and a superb restaurant, is a good base for the next two nights. Owner Matej Tomažič offers traditional cuisine with a contemporary touch and some excellent pairing suggestions.

Day 4: Vipava valley – International interlopers

The bike route

Slap → Branik → Sveti Martin → Dobravlje → Podraga → Orehovica → Slap

Wineries to visit

The medieval Rihemberk castle, overlooking the village of Branik, is one of the best and oldest in the region. It’s a fitting place to begin a day exploring the other face of the valley: the invading varieties.

There’s a lot of good Merlot here, but plantings are in decline. It’s largely being replaced by in-demand white Malvazija Istarska. Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Rebula and Cabernet Sauvignon are also widespread among the valley’s 2,060ha of vines.

From the castle, head north and then east towards the village of Sveti Martin and the Stegovec family’s Vina Sveti Martin.

As well as offering white and skin-contact Pinela and Rebula, Peter Stegovec can pour a good Barbera and Merlot, among others.

Heading northeast towards Dobravlje, the Tilia Estate in Potoče stands out as a Pinot specialist. Matjaž Lemut even calls his winery ‘the House of Pinots’. It’s one of the few wineries in the valley to offer consistently good Pinot Noir and Gris.

Beyond Vipava, near the eastern end of the valley, there’s a cluster of top-notch wineries.

In the village of Podraga, Mitja Lavrenčič of Sutor has built a good reputation for precise, elegant versions of Chardonnay, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc.

A little further south, in Orehovica, the Burja Estate’s Primož Lavrenčič offers an excellent Pinot Noir (dubbed Burja Noir) and an exceptional red blend named Reddo that combines the valley’s traditional red grapes: Modra Frankinja (Blaufränkisch), Pokalca (Schioppettino) and Refošk (Refosco).

Biodynamic Pasji Rep has a superb Pinot Noir and Merlot, and one of the best examples of the valley’s traditional white blend, known as Vipaveca.

Pasji Rep’s iteration, Moser, contains Rebula, Welschriesling, Malvazija and Zelen.

Restaurant to know: Gostilna Pri Lojzetu

If you want a culinary crescendo to complete your visit, there’s the fine-dining theatre that is Gostilna Pri Lojzetu in Zemono Manor, near the town of Vipava.

You’ll have to book way in advance to land a table. Chef Tomaž Kavčič is one of the best in Slovenia and the wine list is a carefully curated love letter to Primorska.

Day 5: Karst – Where Teran rules

Karst plateau bike route

Štanjel → Sežana → Dutovlje → Krajna Vas → Gorjansko → Štanjel

Cycling the Kras wine road

It would be easy to concentrate on Brda and Vipava and skip the smaller (525ha of vines), more compact Kras, but Kras has a special terroir.

The Karst plateau, which underlies the region, is a table of limestone with a thin layer of rust-red, iron-rich (terra rossa) soil on top.

Refošk or Refosco is the signature variety, accounting for about 70% of plantings. It’s used to produce a wine called Teran (not to be confused with the Croatian grape of the same name) or Terrano, a dark, robust red with pronounced acidity, flavours of sour cherry and wild berries, and distinctive minerality.

To fully appreciate it, try it with fatty meats such as kraški pršut (Karst prosciutto). The region’s signature white Vitovska Grganja was once just a component in the local blend, but now produces elegant varietals and complex orange wines.

The Kras wine road connects almost 170 cellars across the plateau, along with two of the main settlements, Štanjel and Sežana.

The former – a medieval hilltop village – makes a good base. From there, make your way to the largest town, Sežana, in the region’s centre.

Wineries to visit

The Vinakras cooperative in Sežana, the area’s largest producer, is a good place to try different versions of Teran: from young, fruit-driven styles aged in tanks to full-bodied, oak-aged wines.

The ‘must-try’ is the single-vineyard La Marie Izbrani Teran, which is partially matured in concrete eggs. The La Marie Vitovska is also a good introduction to the variety.

On the way back to Štanjel, stop in the village of Dutovlje for Terans and Vitovskas from biodynamically farmed Renčel or family-run Domacija Lisjak – or continue to Krajna Vas for one of the area’s benchmark producers, Vina Štoka.

While Teran is central to their output, father and son Primož and Tadej Štoka also produce traditional-method sparkling wines that mature in a natural karst cave. Amazingly, these are also made from Teran and Vitovska.

But the ‘must-visit’ winery is Gorjansko-based Vina Čotar, a natural-wine reference in Slovenia. Father and son Branko and Vasja Čotar farm organically and bottle distinctive, terroir-driven whites (Vitovska, Malvasia Istriana, Sauvignon Blanc) and reds (Teran, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon).

Back in Štanjel, order a well-deserved glass of Vitovska in the castle’s prettily decorated bistro and reflect on your whole experience: Primorska isn’t just a wine and food destination, it’s a feel-good place where ancient grape varieties are kept alive out of love.

Where to stay

Hotel St Daniel is an ‘ecological’ boutique hotel in Štanjel with a range of rooms, suites and apartments, a restaurant that uses only ingredients from certified organic producers, and an outdoor pool.

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I arrived in Burgundy for a two-month stint in late spring of 2024 with only a limited understanding of the region, and even less sense of how to navigate it.

It wasn’t until a couple of weeks into living in Chalon-sur-Saône that I went to Beaune for the first time.

I soon realised that the key to enjoying Burgundy at its best was to think – and drink – like a local.

Burgundy is small enough, and its wine community close enough, that it doesn’t take long to notice how everyone is connected – winemakers, importers and friends-of-friends all circle back to the same handful of addresses.

Spend just a few evenings in Beaune’s wine bars and that web starts to reveal itself.

Get to the beating heart

The centre of that web is Beaune’s Saturday market – and more specifically, the Saint Romain Coffee cart in front of the giant panda statue.

Matt McClune, an artist from Boston, moved to France in 2004 with his wife, eventually landing in St-Romain, where he started a coffee roastery.

Saint Romain Coffee fuels the wine world in Burgundy and beyond. The coffees, which are all sourced from independent farms in Ethiopia, are carefully roasted in small batches at Matt’s shop, located in a cellar-like space on a steep hill just above a sea of vines.

The shop is open Mondays and Tuesdays, but it’s best to find Matt on Saturdays, pouring perfectly extracted espresso into ceramic mugs among a swarm of winemakers and market-goers.

It’s from this point that the world of Burgundy – its goings-on, its stories, its secrets – opens up.

Ease into local life

The market itself is one of the region’s best. Stalls of spices, cheese, fruit, bread, vegetables and cured meats roll into town before sunrise and take over every street, only to roll out again by midday.

Beaune’s narrow cobbled roads buzz with food and wine lovers.

Afterwards, with bags of Comté and produce in hand, locals retreat to Beaune’s brasseries for lunch. Crème Comptoir, an all-day café and wine bar on Rue Paradis, is a favourite – an easygoing spot, where bar seating wraps around an open kitchen.

Here Saturday afternoons reliably draw a crowd of local winemakers and wine professionals catching up over a bottle.

Listen in for long enough and you’ll pick up on the region’s rhythms. The Côte d’Or’s large expat community makes it an easy place to navigate without French, and postings for local wine and food fairs and concerts are usually pinned in the window.

In Burgundy, it’s nearly impossible to turn over every stone in a single visit – there is always another producer, another café, another thread to follow.

What remains constant is the promise of a region that opens itself up to those patient and curious enough to seek out its local community, not just its cellar doors.

Knowing where to begin is the hardest part – and that’s exactly what this guide, and the recommendations below, are designed to help with.

Many of the villages in Burgundy are accessible by train – the same line that carries you south to Lyon and north to Paris.

Having a car isn’t really necessary, but it’s helpful for organising vineyard visits and exploring the region beyond its towns.

Wineries to visit

The wineries listed here are a great start to discovering the wines of the region. Always try and book in advance, some wineries are open by appointment only.

Where to stay

Boutique hotels and guest houses are the perfect place to base yourself when travelling in Burgundy. Many of them marry historic touches and original features with contemporary decor and a sense of understated luxry.

Alfred Hotels, Beaune

A boutique hotel on the edge of Beaune that opened in early 2026, its 49 rooms are the perfect jumping off point for exploring the local town and the region beyond.

It seamlessly blends old and new, offering a comfortable stay while remaining enmeshed in Beaune’s historic landscape.

Maison du Colombier, Beaune

A historic guesthouse in Beaune’s city center with five independent apartments and a great wine bar that opens onto the iconic cobblestone streets.

Maison le Chevreuil, Meursault

Luxury 10-room inn and restaurant surrounded by the beautiful vineyards of Meursault.

Papotte, Bligny-sur-Ouche

A series of four design-forward homes and apartments located around a beautiful mill, offering longer-stay rentals. There is also a beautiful café.

Côté Park, Givry

An 18th-century château converted into four distinct guest rooms which overlook a quiet courtyard.

Ô Cœur de Chalon, Chalon-sur-Saône

There are some amazing homes for rent in downtown Chalon-Sur-Saône, and this is a great option for something central.

What to do

Where to eat and drink

Unsurprisingly good wine is not hard to come by in Burgundy, but the suggestions for restaurants and wine bars below offer something a cut above the rest; a well-measured combination of excellent wines, thoughtful and sensitive food and great atmosphere.

Crème Café, Beaune

All-day café and wine bar serving seasonal fare in a laid back setting.

La Dilettante, Beaune

Wine bar serving natural wine and French classics with a Japanese influence.

Caves Madeleine, Beaune

Often considered one of the best restaurants in Beaune for its hyper-local classic cuisine and amazing wine list. Make a reservation far in advance to get a seat.

The Publican, Beaune

Local evening haunt serving great local wine and beers on draft.

Le Soleil, Savigny-les-Beaune

A quaint inn and bistro set inside a gorgeous, sun-yellow home. Both the food and wine menus rotate daily – farm to table takes on a new meaning here, with deliveries being made by local farmers and winemakers at all hours of the day and night.

La Cave du Centre, Chagny

Opened in 2024 by wine writer Aaron Ayscough, it serves foremost as a wine shop offering unique and fan-favourite bottles alike, alongside a menu – written on the mirror of course – of classically French small bites.

Colette, Chassagne

Set among Chassagne’s beautiful vineyards, this is a wine bar, wine shop and coffee shop from Clément Colin-Morey – son of local legendary winemaker Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey – and his partner Emma.

Le Petit Chêne, Chassagne

One of the region’s best boulangeries and chocolate shops.

Le Soufflot, Meursault

Located in a former winegrower's house in one of Burgundy’s most iconic villages, the atmosphere here is relaxed and comfortable, but the food is refined and delicate, paired with an excellent wine list.

Haïka Coffee, Chalon-Sur-Saône

A great local roastery in the town center with a lovely terrace where you can catch the goings-on of the town while you sip.

La Maison Romane, Nuits-St-Georges

Restaurant, bakery, brewery and cellar, La Maison Romane is a true hub for community and connection in Burgundy, founded by Oronce de Beler, who decided to leave Paris in 2004 to learn winemaking.

Bruno, Dijon

An intimate wine bar helmed by Bruno himself, a local legend in Dijon, who has curated one of the most refined wine lists in Burgundy, serving charcuterie, cheese, anchovies and other great delicacies to regulars and tourists alike.

Cibo, Dijon

A new-wave bistrot serving refined seasonal fare inside of a stunning 17th-century stone building in downtown Dijon.

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An hour from the hubbub of Melbourne’s Central Business District, turning off the freeway and heading into rolling hills, the suburban sprawl falls away in the rear view mirror and the Yarra Valley opens before you like an oil painting.

The landscape is bucolic, the terrain undulates as it does in Tuscany, and birdsong supplants the distant din of the metropolis.

Not only is the Yarra Valley one of Australia’s most celebrated wine regions, chiefly famed for its Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, it is also one of its most accessible, with more than 80 cellar doors, award-winning restaurants and accommodation to suit most budgets, all a short hop from the country’s second biggest city.

Officially a cool climate region, there’s an abundance of varieties, from Italian grape émigrés to Bordeaux blends and a fresh, modern style of Shiraz.

The Yarra Valley is Victoria’s oldest wine region, but it has succumbed to the vagaries of fashion over its history.

Vines were first planted in 1838, but less than a hundred years later they had all gone, falling victim to the trend for fortified wines from warmer climes and making way for more lucrative crops.

The region’s renaissance began in the early 1960s, with the revival of heritage properties like Yeringberg, alongside new wave wineries including Yarra Yering.

Broadly divided into the Upper and Lower Yarra, based on the path of the Yarra river, the relaxed pace, Mediterranean flavour and spectacular scenery reward a few leisurely days touring, though it is perfectly possible to make a day trip from Melbourne, should time dictate.

Once in the valley, distances between wineries are short and there are handsome small towns, such as Healesville and Yarra Glen, to while away time over a flat white.

Wineries to visit:

Giant Steps

Established in 1997 by drinks industry pioneer Phil Sexton and named after his favourite John Coltrane album, Giant Steps has forged a reputation for single-vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir that showcases a profound sense of place.

The tasting room sits on the main street in Healesville, the team are lovely, booking is encouraged, though walk-ins are welcome.

Yarra Yering

A pioneer of the Yarra Valley renaissance, established in 1969 by an eminent botanist, Dr Bailey Carrodus, the winery’s first Merlot cost more than Penfold’s Grange at the time of its release.

These days the winemaker is Sarah Crowe, who crafts a mostly Bordeaux-inspired portfolio of wines that balance power, structure and understated finesse.

Ten minutes from Healesville, the tasting room is cosy so book ahead.

De Bortoli

The Yarra Valley outpost for a family-owned winery, run by Leanne De Bortoli and her winemaker husband Steve Webber.

The portfolio is impressively broad, with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir rubbing shoulders with newer arrivals such as Gamay and Grenache.

Located at Dixon’s Creek, there’s a large tasting room with commanding views and a popular Italian restaurant, ‘Locale’.

Levantine Hill

If money is no object then you can choose to fly to this state-of-the-art winery by helicopter from central Melbourne.

Most will choose to drive the 10 minutes from Healesville for a tasting flight or classy wine-paired lunch.

Veteran winemaker Paul Bridgeman oversees a prestige portfolio showcasing the elegance and finesse that defines the Yarra Valley’s fruit.

Soumah

Set up by a hospitality veteran, Brett Butcher, the theme is Mediterranean, the colour scheme a blazing azure, while every detail seems to have been meticulously thought through.

The wines are an eclectic and compelling range of mostly Italian varieties, including some Decanter medal winners and there’s a top notch trattoria, so food pairing is a no-brainer.

My perfect day in the Yarra Valley:

Start the day the Aussie way, with a flat white. It’s almost impossible to find bad coffee in these parts, but I’d recommend Montesanto Coffee Roasters in Healesville, where owner Mario knows his beans.

For the best introduction to what the Yarra Valley has to offer, head across the road to Giant Steps for a plot-specific, premium tasting flight, focused on the region’s signature varieties, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

A short drive along the Maroondah Highway, treat yourself to an al fresco lunch at Levantine Hill Estate, with a Mediterranean-inspired menu and paired wines against the backdrop of the valley’s rolling hills.

Book an afternoon tasting at Yarra Yering, just five minutes away, to experience some of the region’s modern history and award-winning cuvées in its homely tasting room.

For a brief diversion, head back into Healesville for a tasting and tour at the famous Four Pillars gin distillery on the edge of town.

Continue the Yarra-meets-the-Med theme with delicious pasta or wood-fired pizza at Soumah, an Italian specialist nestled on a knoll in the Warramate foothills, and stay the night in one of its well appointed vineyard cottages.

Where to stay:

Soumah: Four luxurious cottages and the four bedroom Villa Sophia sit alongside the vines at this Italian-inspired winery near Gruyere.

Chateau Yering: Step back in time at this grand Victorian mansion set amidst a 250 acre estate, with stunning views over the Yarra Valley and 32 suites.

Yarra Gables Motel: A restored farmhouse-turned-motel, with friendly, wine-loving owners, set in beautiful manicured gardens on the edge of Healesville.

Where to eat:

Jayden Ong: Locally-sourced dishes are served alongside the barrels at this Healesville winery and restaurant, which also has a seasonal outdoor barbecue.

Soumah: The culinary theme is Italian at this relaxed trattoria tribute featuring a pizza oven and pasta, while the vineyard views are sublime.

Levantine Hill: High end Mediterranean cuisine, with wine pairing, in a swish restaurant boasting beautiful views of the Yarra Valley from the outdoor terrace.

How to get there:

Melbourne is the nearest international airport, served by Qantas and (from January 2027) by British Airways, around one hour’s drive from the Yarra Valley.

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Why the Rhône is ideal for camping

One of my earliest memories is of my dad putting up a tent on holiday in France. I can’t remember where exactly, but I remember the warm sand underfoot and the resinous smell of pine trees.

I don’t think I was much help. Now it’s my turn to hammer in the tent pegs while the kids leaf through comics. Camping in France is a rite of passage for the English: it’s the closest sunny place to our rainy island.

The Rhône is the perfect region to pitch up. It’s reliably warm and dry from April to August, there’s a wealth of fabulous produce to enjoy, and there are endless affordable wines of all kinds to discover.

If you’re planning a trip, here are some ideas of where to base yourself, places to stay and some practical tips for wine lovers.

What kind of camping do you want?

Camping, glamping and yurts

If you own a mobile home, or a tent and all the gear, then you can just book a pitch and turn up.

If not, don’t let that stop you – there are many other options depending on your budget and the kind of experience you prefer.

Many campsites have permanent and semi-permanent structures for hire, including wood-and-canvas constructions, yurts and cottages. Some even offer treehouses or repurposed wine barrels to sleep in.

Some people relish the idea of getting back to basics, with minimal creature comforts. But if you don’t like the idea of shared shower blocks, there are plenty of places with private bathrooms and kitchen areas.

Either way, you’ll get to spend your days surrounded by nature. Whether you’re six years old or 60, there’s something magical about falling asleep under the stars listening to the hooting of owls.

There’s also the social element to enjoy – campsites have a friendly, festive atmosphere that you’ll never find in a hotel.

The only downside about the natural setting is the mosquitos – just pack some insect repellent.

Where to stay: Area guide to camping in the Rhône

No car? You still have options

If you don’t have access to a car, your choices are restricted, but you still have options.

Take the TGV (fast train) to Avignon, then either a local train, bus or taxi to nearby campsites such as Camping Fontisson in Châteauneuf-de-Gadagne or Camping de Coucourelle in Pernes-les-Fontaines.

But the Rhône valley is big enough to offer all kinds of landscape: gorges, mountains, coastal sites... if you have access to your own transport, then all of these open up. Stay near towns and villages or choose more secluded spots – vineyards and wineries are never far away.

Northern Vaucluse

If wine is your priority, it makes sense to be in the middle of the action on the east side of the main river. Position yourself somewhere near Vacqueyras or Châteauneuf-du-Pape and all of the major crus of the southern Rhône are just a short drive away.

The only difficulty will be deciding which wineries to visit! A few to consider include:

• Domaine de Beaurenard (Châteauneuf)
• Domaine de la Solitude (Châteauneuf)
• Domaine du Grapillon d’Or (Gigondas)
• Domaine des Bosquets (Gigondas)
• Domaine la Monardière (Vacqueyras)
• Domaine Montirius (Vacqueyras)

You’ll be surrounded by wonderful places to eat, such as L’Oustalet in Gigondas, Coteaux et Fourchettes near Cairanne and Le Café de France in Caderousse.

Another benefit is the proximity to Avignon, with its wealth of wine-focused restaurants (Le 46, Pollen), wine shops (Cave Liquid, Le Vin Devant Soi) and cultural attractions.

Campsites to consider are Les Rives de L’Aygues, an environmentally friendly site with access to the gentle Aygues river.

I’m also told that Domaine des Favards, an organic wine estate with its own campsite near Violès, is worth a visit.

Southern Ardèche

If you want to fill your days with outdoor action, the southern Ardèche is the place to be.

Many of the companies that offer activities such as caving, canyoning, canoeing and climbing are situated close to Vallon Pont d’Arc, so it makes sense to base yourself nearby.

But not too close; the village can be extremely busy in summer and there’s not much by way of wine fun there. For that, you can visit Mas de Libian, Domaine Saladin and Domaine Gallety.

There are two branches of Huttopia nearby: Sud Ardèche and Le Moulin.

This company has 152 campsites worldwide, including five in the Rhône valley. They’re notable for their cleanliness, friendly staff and packed programme of activities for kids and adults alike.

There are many other campsites to consider; if you want something smaller, wilder and more remote, try Camping Mille Etoiles.

The Luberon

In the southeast of the Rhône valley, bordering the winelands of Provence, is the Luberon – one of the most beautiful and unspoiled parts of France.

There are endless ancient villages to explore (don’t miss Bonnieux, Gordes and Lourmarin) and some equally picturesque wineries to visit, such as Château la Canorgue, Château la Verrerie and filmmaker Ridley Scott’s Mas des Infermières.

If you like music festivals, then make sure to visit during the first weekend in June. Lourmarin, just north of the D973Y road, is home to Festival Yeah!, co-founded by Laurent Garnier, one of France’s greatest DJs and music producers.

Camping Les Hautes Prairies, just down the road, is on my list to try in 2027. If you’re looking for a quieter day out, take a wander around the colourful ochre quarries in the village of Roussillon, north of the D900.

The northern Rhône

The northern Rhône isn’t as geared up for visitors, but this can be a blessing – the southern Rhône is a more established tourist destination, so the north is less busy.

It’s also not as hot during summer, which can be a good thing if you’re camping. And if you’re a fan of Syrah, you’ll be in paradise.

For something a bit different, spend the night at the Safari Peaugres in the heart of St-Joseph. It’s an 80ha site with about 1,300 animals from more than 120 species.

There are also 20 treehouses for hire above the wolf and bear enclosures from which you can watch them roam below. Don’t worry, the structures are solidly built!

Another option is to base yourself near Tournon-sur-Rhône, which has several good restaurants, an excellent Saturday market and a footbridge to Hermitage.

All of the northern crus are within easy reach (though Condrieu and Côte-Rôtie are a 45-minute drive). Camping Ferme de Simondon in Plats (restaurant-gite-camping-simondon.fr), a 20-minute drive southwest from Tournon-sur- Rhône, has a lazy, pastoral vibe and stunning views over the valley.

It’s also just 15 minutes from Mauves, home to Rhône royalty Domaine Coursodon, Domaine Bernard Gripa and Domaine Marsanne.

Other areas to explore

Out to the east of the region, beyond Valréas and Vinsobres, the Baronnies Provençales regional nature park is great for walking and exploring local villages at a relaxed pace.

A little south of this extensive, 1,800km2 area, the slopes of Mont Ventoux (well known to cycling fans as the demanding mountain climb stage of the Tour de France) have countless craggy stone villages to explore, such as Caromb, Méthamis, Venasque and Le Barroux.

North of the Baronnies, the Diois region has a distinctly alpine feel compared to the rest of the Rhône valley; the cooler weather here is a draw for many.

By contrast, for proximity to the sea, consider the Camargue – where the Rhône runs into the Mediterranean – with its famous wild horses and pink flamingos, and some great Costières de Nîmes wineries.

For ideas of where to stay and visit in each, check out the tourism section of Vins Vignobles de la Vallée du Rhône.

Practical camping tips for wine lovers

Accommodation

When booking your accommodation, it’s worth asking whether sheets and towels are provided, as this can vary.

You might also want to enquire about options for bike hire – it’s the most wine-friendly way to explore your surroundings.

Cooking

Having the option to cook for yourself is a big advantage. On arrival, ask which nearby villages have the best food markets and on which days they’re held.

Some sites have shared barbecue pits, and many larger cabins will have their own gas-fired grills. Find out what’s available. Take a sharp knife (or a knife sharpener) with you as those provided are often quite blunt.

Wine glasses

If you don’t want to drink out of thick tumblers, take your own glasses. Stemless ones, such as Riedel’s The O Wine Tumbler collection (from £32.50 per pair, Riedel), are a practical choice.

A chillable bottle cooler sleeve is invaluable for picnics. And don’t forget a corkscrew.

Where to store your wine

When it comes to camping, there is one problem for wine lovers. No doubt you’ll want to buy some wine on your travels, but where do you store it?

Leaving it to slowly cook in the tent or car is unwise. There are two options: either you book accommodation with air conditioning and leave it running all day – not exactly environmentally friendly – or you hire a fridge, a service offered in many campsites.

It will be small, so if you can, hire two: one for food, one for wine.

Camping with children

Finally, a word about children. Campsites are brilliant places for kids, offering them an element of freedom and autonomy to explore and make friends – which has the added benefit of offering a degree of rest and relaxation for parents.

But they can find winery visits boring, and working cellars can be potentially hazardous. So keep them close – for the winemaker’s peace of mind as much as yours – pack games, books and entertainment for the little ones and offer gratuitous bribes for good behaviour.

Matt Walls is a Contributing Editor to Decanter and the DWWA Regional Chair for Rhône. His latest book, The Smart Traveller’s Wine Guide to the Rhône Valley, is available from Académie du Vin Library (£12.99)

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The Marlborough: 'Few hotels come with an origin story like this...'

Location: Blenheim, New Zealand

Drive Rapaura Road and the Marlborough wine region reveals itself in full: vines stretching to the horizon, the tawny Wither Hills rising in the distance, the bustle of a working wine landscape on either side.

What you don't expect to find at the end of a quiet driveway is a former convent turned into an elegant hotel, replete with stately Victorian verandas and a small Gothic chapel.

Few hotels come with an origin story quite like this one: a convent designed in 1901 by noted New Zealand architect Thomas Turnbull for the Sisters of Mercy, constructed from native timbers — Matai, Rimu and Kauri — including a carved staircase that remains a centrepiece today.

The building was relocated in five pieces to its current site in 1994 and reopened in 2017 as The Marlborough Boutique Hotel & Vineyard after a full refurbishment.

A 1911 chapel, relocated from a nearby town, now serves as the Chapel Bar.

Heritage bones, contemporary character

Ten individually designed guest rooms occupy the two floors of the historic main house across Premium, Deluxe and Queen categories, each unique in shape and décor.

Owner Angela Dillon took the lead on the interiors. Her vision: the warmth of a friend's grand country home, with a distinct New Zealand identity.

She achieved this with works by local artists, restored vintage pieces alongside contemporary additions, and the preservation of original hand-blown glass windows.

While each guest room is distinct, many feature bold wallpapers, statement headboards, marble ensuites with freestanding soaking tubs, and balconies with views across the landscape.

Common spaces accentuate the building's Victorian character, from a small library with a fireplace, a light-filled orangery and the intimate Chapel Bar where guests gather before dinner.

From there, the evening naturally drifts outside to a monumental stone fireplace crafted from local Wairau River rock, where wool throws and wicker chairs invite lingering past dark.

The surrounding gardens and grounds unfold across 16 acres, encompassing over 400 native and exotic trees and shrubs. Birdsong from tui, bellbirds, and darting fantails fills the grounds from dawn to dusk.

A one-acre organic garden supplies the kitchen while a five-acre working vineyard planted with Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Merlot, and Malbec stocks the cellar.

Bottles of estate wine feature in every room's minibar, a welcome introduction to the property’s range.

Harvest restaurant and the Secret Shack

Harvest restaurant forms the heart of the dining experience. The kitchen, helmed by Executive Chef Wieland Matzig, has held a Cuisine New Zealand Hat Award for three consecutive years.

Menus highlight the seasons and the region, drawing from the on-site garden and nearby farmers and fishermen.

A Mibrasa charcoal oven anchors the kitchen, turning out local wagyu steaks, spiced charred chicken thighs, and free-range lamb from Lumina, widely regarded as the country’s top producer.

Seafood comes from the waters of the Sounds, often hand-speared, while Havelock’s green mussels arrive under a gratinated crust.

As for the wine list, it naturally focuses on Marlborough and broader New Zealand.

Guests keen for a deeper wine experience can join the estate's sommelier for a one-hour wine appreciation session that moves from the tasting room to the vineyard.

For a more private evening, reserve the Secret Shack, a secluded spot beside the crystal-clear waters of Spring Creek.

There, a private chef prepares a bespoke three-course dinner for two to four guests, paired with your choice of wines.

Beyond the vines

The Marlborough Sounds are easily overlooked with so many cellar doors beckoning, yet the journey 20 minutes north rewards handsomely, with its ancient drowned valleys, bush-covered hills and the liquid song of the bellbird echoing across the water at dawn.

The Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre, home to Sir Peter Jackson's thrilling collection of Great War aircraft, is worth an afternoon.

Then again, the grounds make a persuasive argument for staying put with a game of pétanque on the lawn and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc in hand by the outdoor heated pool.

Address: The Marlborough, 776 Rapaura Road, Rapaura

Good to know: Rates include full breakfast, a welcome drink on arrival and hosted evening cocktails and canapés.

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It wasn’t the lure of fine bottles that first brought me to the Dordogne almost two decades ago.

This corner of southwest France promises medieval bastides, honey-coloured villages, culinary delicacies such as truffles and foie gras, and even vineyards, but as I mapped out my wine stops before my first trip to the region, it was Bordeaux – its famed neighbour to the west – that occupied most of my attention.

With the exception of Monbazillac, known for its noble sweet wines, Bergerac was hardly on my radar.

Little did I know I would end up falling for a region punching well above its weight. Bergerac offers remarkable value for money with excellent bottles for a fraction of what you’d pay for Bordeaux.

And things continue to improve as producers embrace fresher, more approachable styles while maintaining a commitment to quality and sustainability (roughly 35% of the vineyards are certified organic).

Bergerac: Rich in history

Spanning 10,500ha, Bergerac’s history dates back to Gallo-Roman times. Thanks to its prime position on the banks of the Dordogne river, wine trade flourished in the 13th century.

The region now counts seven sub-zones (Bergerac, Monbazillac, Côtes de Duras, Pécharmant, Montravel, Rosette and Saussignac) covering 10 APs, with everything from zesty whites to handsome reds.

Though predominantly planted with Bordeaux grape varieties, each appellation has its unique character and terroir.

Authentic and worth discovering

In and around the town of Bergerac, the pursuit of the French art de vivre is palpable, especially in summer when festivals and events spotlighting local producers are in full swing.

Whether you’re watching the sun set over Château de Monbazillac or revelling in enchanting landscapes as you cycle past vine-covered hillsides and pretty villages, there’s plenty to prove that this once-overlooked corner of France is an attractive wine destination in its own right.

Top experiences

Quai Cyrano

No better place to hit the ground running than at Quai Cyrano, which is equal parts wine shop, tourist office and wine bar, housed in an attractive building on the banks of the Dordogne in the centre of Bergerac town.

Come here to sample 140 wines (paired with cheese or charcuterie boards) from the different appellations, either on the panoramic riverfront terrace or in the peaceful 17th-century Récollets cloister.

Don’t miss the Rosé Party at the cloister on 10 July and the Rosette Night on the old port on 15 August.

Château de Monbazillac

Before sampling Monbazillac’s silky liquoreux (sweet) wines (perfect when served chilled as an aperitif or paired with a foie gras terrine), step back in time with a visit to the 16th-century castle where you can discover how the region’s golden nectar is made.

Just 15 minutes south of Bergerac, this remarkable historic monument also hosts art exhibitions and the much-anticipated Soirées Paradizillac.

Held every Thursday between 16 July and 13 August, these open-air concerts are a feast for the senses, with wine tastings, Monbazillac-based cocktails, charcuterie boards and spectacular sunsets.

Tickets should be booked in advance via the website.

Hop on a bike

The Monbazillac route is an easy loop through vineyards and small villages. Gentle hills make it a relaxed and scenic ride, ideal for casual cycling and sightseeing (approximately 24km, 2.5 hours).

A little more challenging, the six-hour (82km) Pays des Bastides route is well worth the effort.

You’ll pass by historic villages such as Beaumont, Cadouin, Belves and Monpazier.

Bikes can be rented through MBS Mobility Bike Solution, while Quai Cyrano can provide detailed information and assistance in mapping out the ultimate route.

Discover Duras

The welcoming village of Duras (about 40km southwest of Bergerac town) is well worth a visit.

Spend an afternoon strolling through the charming streets and exploring its 12th-century château before settling in for an aperitif at Chai et Rasade, known for excellent charcuterie and a cellar of more than 200 wines and spirits, including a small selection of Duras wines by the glass.

On Thursday evenings in summer, the village comes alive with its convivial night market, where you can enjoy regional food, wine, live music and dancing.

Must-visit wineries

Domaine du Haut-Pécharmant

If it’s age-worthy, structured reds you’re after, Pécharmant in the northeast has little to envy neighbouring Pomerol.

The south-facing slopes, with soils of gravel, sand and iron-rich clay, benefit from warmer, drier conditions, ideal for producing full-bodied wines with lots of elegance.

The Haut-Pécharmant Prestige cuvée (a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec) stands out for its complexity, concentrated fruit and supple, well-integrated tannins.

A natural partner for the region’s robust duck dishes, this wine can easily be kept for up to 15 years.

Château le Tap

In Saussignac, just west of Monbazillac and also known for excellent sweet wines, most winegrowers have rejected chemical farming.

Among them are Olivier and Mireille Roches of Château le Tap, a 15ha estate that has been fully organic since 2007.

Their Bergerac rosé, with aromas of succulent strawberries, delicate floral notes and a lingering minerality, is one to pour alongside duck charcuterie or a goat’s cheese tartine topped with macerated strawberries.

Château Puy-Servain

Montravel, in the far west of the region, on the right bank of the Dordogne, is home to some of the region’s finest whites, and Château Puy-Servain’s Marjolaine is a prime example of how expressive these wines can be.

Made from Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon planted on clay-limestone soils, this elegant cuvée is the brainchild of the spirited Daniel Hecquet (named Winemaker of the Year 2026 by the French publication Guide Hachette des Vins).

It merges freshness and citrus notes with floral aromas and a subtly textured mouthfeel thanks to five months in French oak.

Eating and drinking

Les Fresques

Located in Monestier, about 25 minutes from Bergerac, the Michelin one-star Les Fresques is part of a hotel set within the 16th-century Château des Vigiers. Chef Didier Casaguana’s artful dishes are matched by an extensive wine list with roughly 20 regional selections.

Try the signature oyster and caviar with Château Haut Bernasse’s Arcane cuvée. Made with a touch of Chenin, it opens with notes of white flowers, citrus and green apple.

Its creamy texture and subtle barrel-derived richness beautifully complement the fromage blanc sorbet, while its vibrant edge enhances the oyster’s salinity.

La Tour des Vents

Book a table on the terrace at Michelin one-star La Tour des Vents and order the three-course ‘Gourmand’ menu (€75) – with wine pairings (€53) if you’re feeling indulgent – while taking in sweeping views over the lush countryside.

A standout dish is the roast pigeon supreme, served with crispy leg, truffled Jerusalem artichoke purée, Brussels sprout leaves and reduction jus.

Pair it with Domaine Albert de Conti’s Côtes de Bergerac Chez Paul, a structured Cabernet Sauvignon with notes of violets, black fruits and fine, dusty tannins.

Le Chamoine

For something a little more budget-friendly, Le Chamoine (a two-minute walk from Quai Cyrano) serves classic Périgord cuisine, including magret and other duck dishes, alongside African-inspired specials such as a hearty Senegalese poulet mafé and even excellent fish and chips.

There’s also a small but thoughtfully curated selection of Bergerac wines.

L’Anthonnoir

Owner, sommelier and Bergerac native Anthony Guire offers more than 130 wines by the glass (including a good selection of Bergerac wines) served with cheese and charcuterie platters.

Where to stay

Les Gabarres apartment

You’ll feel like a local when you rent this bright apartment right in the centre of town.

It’s a treat to cook with fresh local produce from the Wednesday or Saturday morning market in the spacious kitchen, complete with a large island where you can sip wine while taking in the gorgeous views of the Dordogne.

Château les Merles

Tucked between the vineyards and just a 15-minute drive from Bergerac’s centre, this four-star hotel also offers apartments, villas and even a golf course.

At the gastronomic restaurant, chef Bas Holten cooks dishes with organic produce from his vegetable garden.

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Most people who travel to Sydney hit the beaches for the most quintessential Aussie itinerary. Bondi is iconic, Byron is a must and Crescent Head is for surfers who want to catch a gnarly wave.

But jump in a car and head south from Sydney and you’ll find some of the most pristine beaches in the country, with more than 100km of coastline featuring protected coves, inlets and lagoons. The area known as the south coast of New South Wales is so untouched and miles away from the hustle and bustle of Sydney that there are even chances of spotting whales and dolphins.

On the wine trail

The small but mighty Shoalhaven Coast Wine Trail takes you from Kiama down to Bawley Point. The region is blessed with a unique maritime climate and cool coastal winds give Shoalhaven wines freshness, subtle elegance and complexity.

The main varietal here is Chambourcin, a versatile red French-American hybrid grape that’s highly resistant to the strong winds and fluctuating temperatures. However Chardonnay is also popular among winemakers, as is Cabernet Sauvignon, made in a lighter style thanks to the coastal climate.

‘What makes Shoalhaven special is that it’s still a relatively young wine region in New South Wales, and it’s largely made up of independent, family-run businesses,’ says Libby Cupitt, second generation winemaker at Cupitt’s Estate. ‘There’s a real sense that everyone is shaping it in their own way, often tied closely to the lifestyle here. Here you can finish work and then head for a swim, a surf or a snorkel,’ she adds.

Heading inland

I stuck to the coastline during my south coast wine tour, but if you go further inland, you will hit Yarrawa which overlooks Kangaroo Valley; Lyrebird (between Kangaroo Valley and Nowra); and Cambewarra Estate at the foothills of the Cambewarra Mountain.

Husband-and-wife Mark and Sue Foster founded the intimate Yarrawa winery in 1998. Chardonnay aged in new French oak barrels and a sustainably grown, peppery Chambourcin are on offer here. But it’s hard to beat the fresh and velvety Sierra Rosé, also made from Chambourcin.

Directly on the Princes Freeway is Silos Estate. Since 1984, the small vineyard just outside of Berry has been a destination for art-lovers, families and gourmets. The estate has sculpture by Elyssa Sykes-Smith, alpacas for kids to cuddle and a fine-dining restaurant. Much like all the boutique wineries in the region, sustainability is high on the agenda here.

The estate has been self-sustaining since 2010 with all the energy for the winery, accommodation and cellar door generated from solar or wind power. Alongside the award-winning Chardonnay and dessert wines such as Shiraz-based Sticky Wicket, you’ll also find charging stations for vehicles.

Coastal wineries

Off the Princes Highway and close to the beach on Shoalhaven Heads, you’ll find three more wineries worth a visit: Two Figs Vineyard, Coolangatta Estate and Mountain Ridge. All estates offer a tempting array of wines to taste from Chamboucin to Semillon – and there’s even a gin at Two Figs.

But if there’s just one winery to visit in the region, head further south to Cupitt’s Estate in Ulladulla. Originally a working dairy farm, the estate is now owned by entrepreneurs Rosie and Griff Cupitt, who wanted to bring a European flavour to the south coast of New South Wales. So rather than your regular Semillon and Shiraz, the Cupitts make wines with Italian varietals. Single-vineyard expressions include Vermentino, Arneis, Fiano and Montepulciano – all sourced from growers in the cool-climate Hilltops region of southern New South Wales.

‘We’ve spent a lot of time travelling through Italy and what has stayed with us is how much the Italians prioritise joy, food, friends and family. That really resonates with how we live here,’ says Rosie. ‘Varieties like Fiano, Vermentino, Arneis and Sangiovese just fit our coastal lifestyle. They also make sense from a growing perspective. We need varieties that can handle dry conditions, but also cope when we get high rainfall. Mediterranean grapes are well suited to that, which feels important as the climate continues to shift.’

Where to stay

Bangalay Villas

Sitting on Seven Miles Beach, there are 16 private luxury suites with kitchenettes and a large lounge area overlooking a private golf course.

Bannisters By The Sea

A beachside resort perched high on a hill with panoramas of the sea. Treat yourself to a stay in the penthouse, styled by Aussie designer, Collette Dinnigan.

The Oaks Ranch

A bit of Palm Springs in the heart of country New South Wales – why not? A delightful family-run boutique retreat in Mossy Point with a private golf course and top-notch restaurant.

Where to eat

Arlo

Enjoy kangaroos hopping in the countryside as you relax in the award-winning restaurant at The Oaks Ranch, sipping local wines and eating wagyu beef sourced from nearby farms.

Cupitt’s Estate Dining Room

The seasonal farm-to-table menu pays homage to local producers with a slight European twist.

Rick Stein at Bannisters

A local seafood-focused restaurant by celebrity chef Rick Stein, with dishes such as stir-fried Jervis Bay mussels and grilled Ulladulla snapper.

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The glistening waters of Dalmatia’s Adriatic coast attract millions of tourists every year.

Some come for the sea air, others to experience the region’s ancient history and, of course, some are drawn by the spectacular backdrop to Game of Thrones.

But perhaps the most enjoyable and relaxed way to explore Dalmatia is through its high-quality wines and unique grape varieties.

With over 5,500 hectares of vineyards, there is plenty to explore. The grape names may not be household names (yet) but varieties like Plavac Mali, Tribidag, Pošip, Maraština and Debit will take you on a journey from north to south – and even island hopping – across this wonderful region.

Carved from Stone

Just a few kilometres from the town of Primošten, around an hour’s drive west of Split along the coast, Bukovac is an extraordinary vineyard area covering just 18.4 hectares.

Vines are carved into the rocky terrain, painstakingly excavated and transformed entirely by hand.

The grape grown here is Babić, a red variety planted in a mosaic-like pattern across tiny square plots bordered by low stone walls.

This honeycomb or lace-like pattern creates a striking impression: a moon-like landscape criss-crossing a small slope that cascades towards the Adriatic Sea.

And the wines are well worth the visit. Red cherry fruits and Mediterranean herbs combine to produce structured and mineral reds.

Go fishing

Have you ever thought about fishing in a vineyard?

Away from the coast in the area around Vrgorac, the Gašpar wines are grown in a valley close to one of Dalmatia’s largest mountains, Biokovo.

The soils are very white, a result of the lake that used to be here until it was drained to allow for the construction of a tunnel in 1938.

Now planted with vines, the valley is flooded for more than three months a year, sometimes more.

The waters recede each year in time for the growing season, leaving behind reserves of wines that help the Plavka (Plavina) vines.

In the meantime, producers like Gašpar, whose vineyards are planted in this very unusual site, profit from the temporary lake by setting up nets and catching catfish!

Island hopping

No trip to Dalmatia is complete without some island hopping in the sun. But why not explore the vineyards of islands such as Brač, Hvar and Korčula?

While the islands share the salty influence of the sea and limestone soils, each has its own character defined by distinctive landscapes.

If you like hiking, you could climb the higher-altitude vineyards of Brač, grown on dramatic white karst and rock.

But if you’re looking for richer, bolder wine styles, perhaps Hvar is more your pace with its sunshine, heat and red terra rossa soils.

Korčula, meanwhile, will appeal to those looking for a greener escape, thanks to its cooler, sheltered coastal vineyards and the hilly terrain of its interior.

Why not make your next journey to Croatia a vinous escape?

Pack your walking shoes – perhaps even some wellies – and venture off the beaten track in Dalmatia.

The Dalmatia grape expedition – 10 wines to try

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Get first access to DWWA 2026 results on 17 June

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San Francisco is a relatively small city, fondly referred to as ‘7x7’ for its roughly 49 square miles (127 square kilometres). Yet for such a small area, the City by the Bay is big on wine.

It makes sense, being the closest urban zone to much of California’s most famous wine regions.

A visit brings the opportunity to taste varied wine offerings, inevitably focused on local producers, as well as the chance to investigate the exciting, boundary-pushing culinary landscape that has steadily kept San Francisco in focus.

Here are 10 super spots to savour.

Fresh faces

Palm City

4055 Irving Street

A respite from the bustling central city, Palm City is in the quiet Outer Sunset neighbourhood, sister spot to Bar Jabroni in the Lower Haight.

The open-beamed, one-room space is simple, with chunky, round wooden tables under large, woven basket pendant lampshades and a dark, L-shaped counter.

A vintage photo booth sits in the corner and several bright yellow tables are set outside. Shelves of wine to go (or you can enjoy there for a $15 corkage fee) are priced from a $23 Txakoli up to almost $300.

The by-the-glass list, with three or four selections of each category, skews natural, mostly from France and Spain, plus a handful of local wines, like the 2024 Picpoul-Chenin Vini Jabroni collab with the Les Lunes Wines label based nearby, their house wine.

By far the most popular things to eat are the giant hoagies, especially the Italian American with nduja sauce. Al Green on the stereo on a Wednesday at noon made for a chill lunchtime.

DON'T MISS: Any of the hoagie sandwiches.

Gigi’s

299 Divisadero Street

Far from standard, Gigi’s is a new wine bar and bottle shop in the fun Divisadero neighbourhood, featuring chef Tu David Phu’s food, lovingly inflected with his Vietnamese-American heritage.

The space is small and intimate, but with diverse seating options, including a communal table, numerous window-side stools, cosy burgundy banquettes and a row of chairs at the main bar.

Dark burgundy walls, plants and wood accents add a sultry vibe. The small by-the-glass selections change three to four times per week, allowing for constant exploration and discovery.

The wine list is designed to be playful and accessibly priced, with most bottles offered at $50-$100. The Made in the USA section has some stars, such as the 2023 Ruth Lewandowski, Naomi Grenache Gris.

And of course, all of the wines selected by general manager Madison Michael are intended to pair beautifully with the food’s Asian flavours.

The signature dish at Gigi’s, and the one you’ll see all over the internet, is the wagyu hot dog. It’s cheeky, and it’s meant to be – an homage to the Costco hot dog that was a childhood treat for the chef.

DON’T MISS: Anything in the menu’s seafood section, or the Happy Hour ‘Bump and a Shot’ of sparkling wine and a spoonful of Tsar Nicoulai Baerii caviar.

Bar Gemini

2845 18th Street

This Mission District wine bar pulls you in like a hug. The space, while small, is lovely and glowing, with round light fixtures, flickering lamps and booths with honey-toned wood bench seats.

Dark green walls and a long, L-shaped bar with leather seats add to the cozy atmosphere. It also smells good, like butter browning, thanks to the small team of cooks crafting bar bites.

The food has been curated by chef Brandon Rice from nearby Ernest, a sophisticated New American restaurant that’s much harder to get into than this place. Nibble on the wide selection of tinned seafood and dippy things, all served in ceramic bowls, while sipping on something from the thorough natural wine list (one of the co-owners also heads up local wine label Subject to Change).

The owners also run Gemini Bottle Co (now being rebranded Gemini Bottle & Market), a wine shop a few blocks away, in case you’d like to grab a bottle of any of the interesting selections on offer, such as Stagiaire’s Don’t Tell Mom sparkling red.

DON’T MISS: Sweet, smoky curried spiced nuts or a grilled cheese sandwich.

Key Klub

850 Bush Street

Opened by the folks behind the beloved Bodega SF, Key Klub is a party. Located in Nob Hill, the moody red-lit ‘drinkery’ fills two levels with booming music and piñatas.

Huge paper-lantern lampshades hang from the ceiling above a copper bar with a view of the 15 wall taps of mostly local beer.

But natural wine is certainly a draw, too, with cool selections by the glass and extremely fun tasting notes. ‘All gas, no brakes, side show’ describes the Weingut Fritz Haag Riesling.

Equally fun is to do a few Key Bumps of rotating vermouth for $6 – maybe buy one for the bar staff, too. The food menu consists of robust dishes such as crab cake arancini and mushroom poutine fries.

DON’T MISS: Oozing, spicy eggplant parmesan sticks with San Marzano dip; French toast with duck liver mousse.

Get schooled

Ungrafted

2419 3rd Street

For an added educational layer to your wine enjoyment, head to Ungrafted in the quiet area known as Dogpatch.

This neighbourhood is seeing more and more culinary enhancements spring up, with a large concentration of wine-leaning spots for such a small zone. In fact, you could make Dogpatch a wine destination if you wanted, with visits to the Domaine SF wine shop, La Fromagerie cheese shop and an outpost of the popular Souvla chain, which features a Greek-centric wine bar.

But Ungrafted has been here since 2018, opened by husband and wife Master Sommeliers Chris Gaither and Rebecca Fineman, with the goal of creating a community space and wine education centre. It’s a wine bar, restaurant, wine shop and wine club, with bi-weekly classes, workshops and weekly blind tastings.

The all-sommelier staff will guide you through the diverse, global wine list (plus a big bottle list of around 600) with multiple by-the-glass options, plus sake and beer.

Cocktails with vermouth, Sherry or wine as the base are also available, such as a classic Champagne cocktail with bitters.

The large, warehouse-type space has a copper-topped bar, French bistro tablescapes and white walls with golden vine trunk murals.

DON’T MISS: A fried chicken sandwich or the mixed mushroom toast with whipped cheese and pickled daikon radish.

Bin 415

950 Mason Street

While San Francisco is chock full of places to enjoy wine, it’s also close to several notable California wine regions, so if time allows during your trip, you could enjoy a full vineyard immersion less than two hours from the city.

Bin 415 – a tasting room and tour operator located within the historic Fairmont Hotel on top of Nob Hill – is the answer. They offer special tastings of wines from nearby Napa and Sonoma, the bottles sourced directly from the wineries based on longstanding relationships with founder Michael Lagau.

Entry-level, walk-in tastings are just $25, with pours of the newest selections in the shop. From there, a variety of alternate tastings are available, or you can arrange full excursions to wine country.

The tasting room is an alluring space nestled among the boutiques and art galleries in the lobby level of the hotel.

Furthermore, the iconic Fairmont itself is an ideal place to stay when visiting the city. Historic black and white photos adorn the halls, majestic marble columns tower in the lobby and the basement-level Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar is the place for tiki drinks (rum-forward tropical cocktails) when you’ve maxed out your wine palate.

DON’T MISS: A curated, guided tasting experience or an excursion to Sonoma wineries.

San Francisco Champagne Society

1097 Howard Street

Bill Marci, owner of the San Francisco Champagne Society, is, perhaps unsurprisingly, a true Champagne lover.

Spend five minutes with him and you’ll quickly understand that his dedication to discovering and showcasing grower producers and family-owned vineyards is personal for him – a real hobby turned career.

So for a deep dive, head to this reservation-only Champagne lounge in SoMa (South of Market), which offers a few tiers of tastings, featuring unique selections sourced through Marci’s personal relationships and allocations from small producer lists.

Several add-ons are available, as well as a very informative comparative glassware tasting. Marci calls his glassware his ‘tools’ and is very specific about what he serves in which glass. Some of his own comprehensive education occurred during the Covid lockdown, when he tasted 100 bottles of Champagne in 100 days.

DON’T MISS: The ‘Champagne face mask’ experience from a wide, open-mouthed wine glass; the French cheese pairing add-on.

Food first: San Francisco restaurants

Saison

178 Townsend Street

Saison is a restaurant for wine lovers. With two Michelin stars under chef Richard Lee, the openhearth cooking is, of course, unforgettable. But the wine pairings are more than just notable, too, with an extremely thorough cellar and special attention to Burgundy.

There’s not much signage or fanfare upon arrival at this SoMa (South of Market) location, with a subtle entrance in a red-brick building, but stepping inside, you’re enveloped in a wood smoke-scented, lodge-like atmosphere, especially in the barside salon area, which is loungy, with brick walls, leather stools and booths adorned with furry pillows.

Two astounding tasting menus are on offer and the entire restaurant bustles with the energy of culinary purpose.

Also worth visiting is the new Saison Cellar & Wine Bar, just a short walk away, which was opened by Saison Hospitality co-founder and winemaker Mark Bright in 2024.

DON’T MISS: The full tasting menu with the matched wine flight.

Verjus

550 Washington Street

A popular bistro, opened by acclaimed chef couple Michael and Lindsay Tusk in 2019 (then closed for four years, with a new iteration opening in late 2024), Verjus is inspired by the lively atmosphere of Parisian cave à mangers (wine shop restaurants) and skews French in every way.

The lengthy, mainly French wine list features very thorough Champagne and Burgundy sections, priced as high as $1,800 for a 2015 Kenjiro Kagami Sonorite du Vent Chardonnay.

There are also a handful of cocktails on offer, courtesy of Thad Vogler of Bar Agricole. Try the Bijou with Nebbiolo vermouth.

The menu is posted on a back-lit cinema marquee-style board above the open kitchen that reflects off the high-gloss red lacquered ceiling. It’s partly in French, so be sure to get your translations ready.

Wall shelves are full of bottles and a long communal table set in the middle of the space is always packed.

DON’T MISS: Rolled omelette au Boursin and the custardy, bruleed Pain Purdue with vanilla gelato. Lunch on Saturdays.

Bar Brucato

275 South Van Ness Avenue

While technically more spirit-forward than wine-forward, Bar Brucato is worthy of a mention on this list. Founded by Sierra and James Clark in 2021, Brucato Spirits is centred around producing California amari (Italian herbal liqueurs), using local ingredients and promoting a sense of place.

Their amari, gin and kumquat liquors are all distilled onsite in their Mission District distillery, with the new Bar Brucato situated upstairs, featuring drinks crafted from their products and memorable food, made with similar intentions.

The cocktail program is directed by Leila Malikyar, who has put together an approachable menu for all, even non-drinkers.

The effervescent section, which will appeal to those seeking lighter, more wine-centric beverages, features the Angel Island, with blood orange aperitif and Lambrusco, and the Treasure Island, with Cava – bright and tart, akin to an Aperol spritz.

The tight wine list, with nothing above $90, is mostly California selections, with a few Italian sparklers.

DON’T MISS: Baked-to-order piada bread with house-cultured cacio e pepe butter; spicy lamb meatballs with almond anchovy sauce.

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Authentic Bordeaux travel: See the region through a local's eyes with our new expert guide

Bordeaux is often portrayed through its most famous names: classified growths, grand châteaux and bottles that command eye-watering prices.

But that image tells only part of the story. Beyond the prestige labels lies a living city where wine is part of daily routine rather than ceremony – poured in neighbourhood bars, opened at the market and shared over lunch without formality.

This article focuses on that more approachable side of Bordeaux. The places where you can taste excellent wines without spending a fortune, eat well in unpretentious settings, stay in characterful accommodation and experience the region in a way that feels grounded in everyday life.

From vineyard picnics and creative châteaux visits to lively markets, good-value restaurants and distinctive places to stay, here is where to find an authentic Bordeaux experience.

At the Châteaux

Let’s start with Bordeaux’s main attraction: the wineries.

While the region is often associated with prestigious labels, classified growths and grand architecture, the everyday reality of wine tourism in Bordeaux is far more accessible.

Across the region, a wide network of family-run estates and historic châteaux welcome visitors with relaxed, informative and reasonably priced experiences, making vineyard discovery open to a much broader audience than many travellers expect.

Over the years, I have visited dozens of properties throughout Bordeaux, from the limestone slopes of St-Emilion on the Right Bank to the gravel terraces of the Médoc on the Left, and some of the most memorable experiences were also the simplest: a tasting led by someone from the estate, a casual lunch overlooking the vines, or a slow afternoon wandering through the gardens with a glass in hand.

These quieter moments often leave a stronger impression than the most polished tasting rooms. Several estates combine wine visits with dining in the vineyards, allowing visitors to turn a tasting into a longer, more immersive experience.

Dining in the vineyards

In St-Emilion, Château de Candale’s Atelier de Candale restaurant offers a relaxed setting overlooking the rolling slopes, where regional dishes are served with the estate’s wines and views stretch across the surrounding vineyards and medieval village.

On the Left Bank in the heart of Margaux, Château Marquis de Terme places a strong emphasis on food and wine pairing, with a chef-led restaurant menu built around seasonal produce and designed to complement the estate’s wines. It offers a way to experience Left Bank wines at the table rather than only in the tasting room.

Picnic at a château

If there is one experience many locals genuinely enjoy in the region, it is picnicking at a château. Several estates prepare picnic baskets that visitors can enjoy in their gardens after a tour.

The formula is uncomplicated: bread, local charcuterie, cheese and a bottle of wine, consumed slowly among the vines.

Château Soutard (St-Emilion, a 10-minute walk northeast of the town centre) and Château de Cérons (Cérons, in the Graves region, along the river Garonne south of the city) both offer excellent picnic options in beautiful surroundings.

Within the town of St-Emilion itself, the Couvent des Cordeliers offers another easy option, where visitors can assemble a picnic on-site and enjoy it in the cloister courtyard.

Cook it yourself

For those looking for more hands-on experiences, Château Malartic-Lagravière (in the Pessac-Léognan appellation, just south of the city) organises cooking workshops that combine food preparation with wine pairing.

Château 'escape' games

Companies such as Oenanim host oenological escape games inside working estates such as Château Pas de l’Ane and Château Balestard la Tonnelle (both in St-Emilion).

Cycling in the vineyards

Cycling is another enjoyable way to explore the vineyards. E-bikes make vineyard exploration much more accessible, less strenuous and eco-friendly, often with free or low-cost rentals from estates – it’s always worth enquiring.

In Sauternes, a little further down the river from Cérons, Château Guiraud provides bikes as part of its vineyard tours, allowing guests to ride through the appellation, while across the Garonne, north of Libourne, the Prieuré Marquet estate offers cycling and carriage tours across its property.

Winery tours for art lovers

Several Bordeaux estates place art and aesthetics at the centre of their identity, offering visitors an experience that goes beyond wine alone.

St-Emilion Grand Cru Classé estate Château de Ferrand – owned since 1978 by the Bich family (of Bic pen fame) – integrates contemporary art throughout the property.

Highlights include a strikingly designed tasting room (Salon Bic, featuring a mural created with Bic pens by artist Alexandre Doucin) and rotating exhibitions from the family’s Bic Contemporary Art Collection, blending wine heritage with creative storytelling.

In the Médoc’s Margaux appellation, Château d’Arsac is well known for its outdoor sculpture park, where modern artworks punctuate the vineyard landscape.

Back in Pessac-Léognan, Château Smith Haut Lafitte is renowned for its established art collection. Visitors can also discover the Forest of the Senses, a walking trail combining art installations and nature.

Meanwhile, Château Malromé, located near St-André-du-Bois in the Entre-deux-Mers region, connects wine with fine art history as the former family home of painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. The château now houses a museum dedicated to his life and work.

Where to eat and drink in Bordeaux city

Bordeaux is synonymous with wine, but it is equally compelling as a food city. Beyond its numerous Michelin-starred restaurants, the city offers a wide range of informal, good-value places where visitors can experience regional cooking in relaxed settings.

Bordeaux wine bars to visit

One of the easiest ways to experience everyday Bordeaux life is through its wine bars.

Wine bars here are not only about wine; they function as casual neighbourhood venues where people share plates, open bottles and often end up staying for dinner.

Wine More Time

Wine More Time is a good example, offering small sharing plates built around high-quality locally produced charcuterie, cheeses and seasonal ingredients, paired with a strong by-the-glass selection that includes many organic and small-producer wines.

On warmer days, sitting at one of the outdoor tables on Rue St-James, in sight of the Grosse Cloche (one of Bordeaux’s oldest medieval bell towers), is an experience that’s hard to beat.

ComplanTerra

Nearby in Rue Ste-Colombe, ComplanTerra focuses largely on organic, biodynamic and natural wines, with a food offering centred on simple, well-sourced products.

The atmosphere is relaxed and slightly alternative, and the occasional oyster evenings are a nice reminder of Bordeaux’s close ties to the Atlantic coast.

L’Officine

L’Officine in St-Seurin, a residential neighbourhood just to the northwest of the historic centre, is a place where friends meet after work or gather to celebrate.

It offers a carefully chosen wine list alongside tartines, charcuterie and small plates, in a setting that feels cosy, lively and very local.

Traditional restaurants: Bouillon revival

For travellers looking for traditional French cooking at reasonable prices, Bordeaux has embraced the bouillon revival.

The city now has three bouillon-style restaurants – establishments that serve classic dishes such as steak frites, beef tartare, oeufs mayonnaise or leeks vinaigrette, in generous portions and without ceremony.

These are located near Gare St-Jean, in the historic St-Pierre district and close to Place des Quinconces, a short walk north of the Grand Théâtre building on Place de la Comédie.

Bordeaux bistros with a local vibe

Bistros remain another essential part of Bordeaux’s dining culture, and are one of the easiest ways to eat well without heading into fine-dining territory.

Bo-Tannique

Bo-Tannique in Rue Tustal, east of the impressive St-André cathedral, is my go-to place whenever I have guests who are visiting Bordeaux for the first time.

The menu changes regularly, always based on seasonal produce, with dishes that feel creative but never overworked, and a wine list that makes it easy to explore interesting bottles without overspending.

Le Bouchon Bordelais

Le Bouchon Bordelais, tucked away down the cobbled Rue Courbin, leans more towards a modern take on regional cuisine from southwest France.

The menu changes every month according to what is in season, with dishes inspired by local traditions but presented in a lighter, more contemporary way.

It is a good place to understand how classic flavours of the region are being reinterpreted without losing their roots.

Oysters at Marché des Capucins

If there is one place that captures everyday Bordeaux at its most authentic, it is the Marché des Capucins, between the historic centre and Gare St-Jean, which is often referred to as ‘the belly of the city’.

Unlike many French markets where visitors mainly come to shop, Capucins also functions as one of Bordeaux’s gastronomic centres, with numerous counters and small eateries.

Here, many people come primarily to eat. You will find Basque influences alongside classic French dishes. The main attraction, however, is oysters.

At Chez Jean-Mi, locals gather for plates of number ‘3’ or ‘4’ oysters served with lemon, bread and butter and accompanied by a glass of dry white Bordeaux.

Although Arcachon Bay, on the coast to the west, remains the historic heart of oyster farming, enjoying oysters at Capucins is one of the simplest and most representative food experiences the city offers.

For visitors seeking authenticity and value, this everyday food culture offers a far clearer picture of Bordeaux than its most exclusive tables.

Beyond the vineyards

Bordeaux is a lively city with a strong cultural scene, and many of its most enjoyable experiences come from exploring at an easy pace.

One of the most enjoyable ways to see Bordeaux is from the Garonne river. Short sightseeing or aperitif cruises offer views of the city’s 18th-century facades, bridges and riverfront while enjoying a glass of wine or a light snack, giving a simple introduction to Bordeaux’s port heritage.

Beyond wine, Bordeaux is also home to other forms of local craftsmanship that are worth discovering. In the city’s imposing former World War II submarine base, Moon Harbour produces French single malt whisky within one of the site’s massive concrete bunkers.

It is the only whisky distillery in Bordeaux itself, and visits include an introduction to the distillation and ageing process followed by a tasting, offering a refreshing and unexpected counterpoint to Bordeaux’s wine-focused identity.

Next-door, Bassins des Lumières transforms the enormous chambers of the submarine base into immersive digital art exhibitions dedicated to major artists and contemporary creations.

For a more informal experience, renting a bike is one of the best ways to explore Bordeaux. Bike rental stations are spread across the city, and one of the most popular routes is the loop from Pont de Pierre to Pont Jacques Chaban-Delmas.

This ride allows visitors to see several faces of Bordeaux in one outing: the historic centre, the former port and warehouse district around Bacalan, and La Bastide, the greener, more residential neighbourhood over the river on the Right Bank.

On the Right Bank

The Right Bank, in particular, feels more local and less touristic. It is where many Bordelais spend their weekends, especially around places such as Chez Alriq for live music and riverside drinks, or Darwin Ecosystem, a former military barracks turned into a creative hub with street art, cafes, workshops and an alternative, community-driven atmosphere. Both can be found in La Bastide.

Many visitors also find that some of their most enjoyable moments in Bordeaux come from simply wandering: walking between neighbourhoods, stopping for coffee or a glass of wine, browsing small shops and lingering in public squares.

Where to stay in Bordeaux

In the city

Travellers do not need luxury hotels to enjoy a comfortable and well-located stay in Bordeaux.

The city centre offers a wide choice of small guesthouses and boutique-style properties that provide a more personal experience than large international chains.

In St-Seurin to the west of the city centre, Maison Manège offers elegant rooms in a historic building within walking distance of the main sights.

Villa Victor Louis, also centrally located, provides a similar balance of character and convenience.

For a more affordable base, Bordeaux Cosy B&B in the Nansouty neighbourhood, 2km south of the city, allows visitors to stay slightly outside the busiest streets while remaining within easy reach of the city centre.

In or near the vineyards

For travellers willing to venture beyond the city, the surrounding countryside offers memorable alternatives. Les Roulottes Vesta in the heart of the Pessac-Léognan appellation on the Left Bank provides wooden caravans and atypical gîtes set in natural surroundings, appealing to those looking for something a little different.

Sleeping among the vineyards remains one of the most rewarding options.

Estates such as Château de La Rivière in Fronsac on the Right Bank and Château de la Grave in the commune of Bourg offer guest rooms within working wineries, allowing visitors to wake up with views over the vines rather than city streets.

Enjoy a different side to Bordeaux

Whether you choose to stay in the heart of the city or among the vineyards, Bordeaux rewards travellers who take the time to explore beyond its most famous names.

From relaxed château visits and vineyard picnics to market lunches, wine bars and easy cultural experiences, the region offers so many varied ways to enjoy great wine and food simply and authentically, without excess.

For those looking for a more approachable side of Bordeaux, the most memorable moments are more often than not found in simple places, good bottles and everyday settings.

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Badrutt's Palace Hotel in St Moritz: Not just for winter...

A warm breeze wafts through the dense forest below carrying the scent of stone pines and wildflowers. Meadows burst with colour as butterflies flit among the gentians and edelweiss. Hiking, mountain-biking, river-rafting and horse-riding is the order of the day here.

This is not The Alps that most visitors are familiar with, but one that is increasingly sought – the fresh mountain air and lush scenery a welcome respite from the baking beaches of southern Europe. Hello, summer in St Moritz.

Sure, the ski season is still the main draw. In fact, Badrutt’s Palace Hotel and its legendary founder Casper Badrutt put the year-round holiday-in-the-mountains on the map for tourists back in 1896, when it first opened 130 years ago.

Arguably Switzerland’s showiest winter resort, boasting a visitors’ book packed with famous guests, from regulars such as Alfred Hitchcock, to King Charles and Elizabeth Taylor, hotel bookings are also buoyant in the summer months.

How to get there

The two-hour drive from nearest airport, Milan Malpensa, is worth the trip alone as it skirts majestic Lake Como before climbing the foothills into the Alps proper via the Maloja Pass, with its thrilling hairpin bends.

That said, 80% of the hotel’s guests prefer to fly in by private jet, landing on one of the world’s highest, oldest runways just three miles from Badrutt’s Palace.

With an altitude of 1,850m (6,053 feet), the hotel sits on the edge of St Moritz Lake in the scenic Engadine Valley, a turreted Gothic Revival landmark oozing glamour and old-world charm, yet with plenty of stylish, contemporary accents to broaden its appeal, including a vast state-of-the-art spa with a panoramic view to beat them all.

Inside Badrutt's Palace Hotel

Its lobby, the baronial Grand Hall, dubbed ‘the living room of St Moritz’, plays host to guests who vie for the best seats in front of the huge picture window that perfectly frames the lake and mountains beyond.

There, they sip morning coffee, glug Champagne throughout the day (chosen from 80 different producers), and down cocktails in the evening, before enjoying supper there, or in one of its 10 other restaurants that cleverly balance fine dining with casual.

Badrutt's Palace offers 163 rooms, including 47 suites. The accommodation ranges from elegant, traditional rooms and suites in the historic main building (think antiques, chandeliers and large marble bathrooms) to more contemporary rooms and suites in the Serlas Wing, which opened in 2025. The hotel guests rub shoulders with equally moneyed St Moritz residents, among them the Heineken family, Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad and fashion titan Maurizio Gucci.

Dining at Badrutt's Palace

Among the dishes to be enjoyed are:

• Yellowtail sashimi jalapeño at La Coupole from celebrated Japanese chef Nobu Matsuhisa;
• Truffle and Champagne-laced cheese fondue at coveted mountainside eatery Paradiso;
• Tableside-prepared pressed duck at smart dining spot Le Relais;
• Crisp pizza with shaved fresh truffles at the hotel's hottest tables at Heuboden;
• Wildly popular butter chicken in Le Grand Hall itself from chef Jatinder Kumar.

After dinner

And when you’re done dining, there’s the hotel’s nightclub to slink into, King’s Social, with a menu overseen by top British chef Jason Atherton; and cigars to puff on in the hotel’s storied Renaissance Bar, where mixologist Matteo Oddo is currently shaking up a range of cocktails using a stash of forgotten wines and spirits (mostly ports, whiskies, brandies and vermouths) found behind a false wall in the cellar.

Palace Side-Sledge, anyone? It’s a riff on a Sidecar, made with 1960 vintage Cognac and Grand Marnier, yours for £132.

A treasure-filled wine cellar

And talking of the cellar, a candlelit tour is a popular activity for wine-savvy guests, who are guided around by ebullient head sommelier Cristina Iuculano as she points out its oldest, rarest bottles, including 1900 Château Lafite, and reveals her latest finds, before leading a tasting with canapes to match in the cosy sheepskin-decked Krug Stübli.

Yup, Badrutt’s Palace is a Krug ambassador, with large format bottles among the biggest sellers on the 1900-label list, the shelves groaning with some 35,000 bottles.

'It’s the third largest wine list in Switzerland. Our guests know what they want, and what they’re talking about,' declares Iuculano, who will also organise private excursions to renowned Swiss winemakers, chosen from the 60 or so producers she trumpets on her list.

Summer picnic

Another popular wine-themed activity is the hotel’s summer picnic on Corviglia Mountain, looming above the town.

So, armed with a picnic backpack laden with locally sourced ingredients – ours including coveted local cheese Engadiner Bergkäse, bread from famous baker Eigenbroetler and a bottle of Pinot Noir from one of Iuculano’s favourite Swiss producers, Donatsch, in nearby Bündner Herrschaft (about an hour and half from St Moritz), we hit the meadow on the upper slopes as a Golden Eagle soars high above, trying to forget that it’s our last day.

'No city does hotel cocktail bars like New York'

No matter the type of traveller, most cocktail-loving jetsetters agree that nothing beats a classic hotel bar.

Posting up with a strong drink in a cozy hotel space brings a welcome sense of comfort and relaxation, whether visiting from out of town or simply exploring the scene in your home base—and no city does hotel cocktail bars like New York.

Home to some of the world’s most storied spaces, New York’s hotel bar scene offers a myriad of treasures to be discovered, though knowing where to settle in—and of course, what to order—is key.

Check out eight of our go-to Manhattan hotspots here, from longstanding institutions to newly-opened lounges and beyond.

Eight of the best hotel bars in New York City

Bemelmans Bar at The Carlyle

35 E 76th St, New York, NY 10021

Few hotel bars exude old-school glamour as well as Bemelmans. Located on New York’s Upper East Side, this iconic cocktail bar has welcomed the likes of celebrities and politicians alike, including JFK and Paul McCartney.

Known for its live jazz and photo-worthy wallpaper – handcrafted by Ludwig Bemelmans himself, who took residency in the hotel for around 18 months during the mid-1940s – the bar’s strong martinis and unmatched ambiance help to justify the premium prices.

Pro tip: With just 69 seats, the bar fills up quickly, so plan to wait—or better yet, arrive early / during off times for your best shot at a spot (we recommend between 3pm and 4pm).

Monkey Bar at The Hotel Elysee

60 E 54th St, New York, NY 10022

Monkey Bar has long been a New York City staple, hosting the company of carefree creatives, Don Draper-like ad men, and Midtown finance professionals for nearly 100 years.

Known for its Art Deco dining room and signature wraparound mural highlighting Jazz Age icons (think everyone from Frank Sinatra to Dorothy Parker) – as well as its gold and wooden monkey figurines scattered throughout the interior – the bar’s dimly lit ambiance and energetic vibe make it the ideal place for throwing back a few bourbon smashes or stiff gin-based drinks.

For top-tier people watching with an old school flair, look no further than this landmark cocktail joint.

Club Room at Soho Grand

310 W Broadway, New York, NY 10013

Drink, dance, or dine—why choose? At the Club Room at Soho Grand, you can truly have it all. Known for its 'uptown elegance with downtown edge,' this two-room supper club is open Wednesday through Saturday, offering live music, a full dinner menu, and late-night DJs.

Clad with velvet banquettes, two-top tables, and 18-foot mirrored ceilings, this Art Deco-inspired lounge also features a dedicated bar area and separate parlour space, perfect for accommodating whatever type of night you’re looking to have.

Note: There’s a cover charge of $25-$35 ($25 Wed-Thu, $35 on weekends), though access is complimentary for Soho Grand hotel guests.

Lobby Bar at Hotel Chelsea

226 W 23rd St, New York, NY 10011

For a high-end lobby bar with an equally decadent history, look no further than the Chelsea Hotel.

Reopened in 2022, the bar’s curated cocktail menu highlights thoughtful signature drinks and elevated small plates, with the 884 Martini (gin, cedro lemon, vetiver, Spanish olive oil) as one of its most revered libations.

The landmarked hotel has housed the likes of Bob Dylan and Patti Smith, further adding to its trademark Bohemian charm.

In addition to the Lobby Bar, which operates as the hotel’s 'living room', the space also opens to an airy garden terrace, perfect for enjoying drinks al fresco, should the weather permit.

Ty Bar at The Four Seasons

57 E 57th St, New York, NY 10022

Art Deco is a recurring theme amongst New York’s hotel bar scene, though few do it as well as Ty Bar.

Tucked within the Four Seasons in Midtown, this cozy red-hued room serves up bespoke cocktails that pay homage to the city’s historic past—think the New York, New York Sour, Ty Manhattan, and Brooklynite, made with Appleton 8 Year Rum, Planteray 3 Stars Rum, lime, local honey, and Angostura bitters.

Outfitted with floor-to-ceiling windows, a warming fireplace, and exclusive views of the hotel’s grand lobby, there’s really no bad seat in this storied space—it’s simply a matter of preference.

Best of all, Ty Bar features complimentary live music every Thursday from 6pm to 9pm.

Sloane’s at The Manner Hotel

58 Thompson St, New York, NY 10012

For top-tier drinks and a glamorous downtown vibe, check out Sloane’s in The Manner Hotel.

A rather new-to-the-scene bar (opened September 2024), this jewel-box lounge brings a welcome addition to the already trendy neighbourhood, and is the perfect place to grab a pre- or post-dinner drink.

Known for its signature drinks and elevated bites – caviar-topped chicken nuggets included – the space regularly features live jazz, though music or not, the vibes are always on point.

We recommend springing for the London Calling, made with Fords London Dry Gin, fino sherry, grapefruit, bergamot, and orange bitters, or grab the simple Dirty Martini, prepared with olive brine sherry vermouth, sea salt, and an optional caviar bump to boot.

Lounge on Pearl at The Wall Street Hotel

88 Wall St, New York, NY 10005

Martinis are having a renaissance, and Lounge on Pearl is one of the best places in the city to drink them.

Known for its high ceilings and airy ambiance, this downtown hotspot highlights a menu entirely dedicated to the drink, including customisable dry, dirty, and espresso options, as well as a handful of unique riffs – think the Manzanilla, made with Bombay Sapphire Gin, Valdespino Sherry, and an Almond Stuffed Olive, as well as the savoury Mushroom Martini, made with ​​Grey Goose Vodka, shiitake, and dashi.

The lounge also offers a Martini Frites special, featuring a martini of choice and side of fries for $32, as well as a number of signature cocktails and by-the-glass wine pours.

The bar also houses a small library area with a number of art books and newspapers, making it a great place for a zen moment downtown.

The Rum House at Hotel Edison

228 W 47th St, New York, NY 10036

World-class cocktails and Times Square may sound like a contradiction, though The Rum House consistently defies all odds.

Known for its wood-panelled room and – you guessed it – speciality rum cocktails, this vintage-inspired bar offers a desirable reprieve from the chaos of Midtown.

The bar’s wood-panelled walls and distinct copper accents create a retro, 1970s-inspired vibe, making it the perfect backdrop for nightly live piano and jazz music with a strong drink in hand.

Classic rum cocktails, including the Painkiller, Rum Punch, and Mojito are perfectly executed, though we recommend also springing for a signature libation, such as the Hotel Nacional, made with Plantation Dark Rum, pineapple, lime, Giffard Abricot du Roussillon, and Angostura Bitters.

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Bari Vecchia: Like walking through a film set

Bari, capital of southern Italy’s Puglia region, is a seamless blend of ancient and contemporary, with a vibrant buzz.

The medieval old town, Bari Vecchia, is an astonishing maze of white stone alleys and arches, pristine and well lit.

Strolling around Bari Vecchia is like walking through a film set. At regular intervals, the narrow alleys open onto spacious piazzas with soaring monuments such as the Basilica di San Nicola and the Romanesque cathedral, which features a fascinating underground archaeological area including ancient mosaics that largely date as far back as the sixth century.

There are plenty of outdoor tables from which you can enjoy the atmosphere, along with local wines: perhaps a refreshing white Verdeca frizzante or the increasingly popular, aromatic Minutolo, accompanied by olives or crunchy taralli snacks (traditional Pugliese savoury bites).

The old town neatly fills a rounded peninsula, edged west and east by a 12th- to 13th-century castle and wide city walls that overlook the glittering Adriatic.

A short promenade stroll away is Molo San Nicola, a historic pier where fish is sold fresh from the boats each morning and Bari-style breakfasts of sea urchins and other raw seafood are prepared by the fishermen.

Local heroes: Food and wines to try

Bari is a gastronomic gem

Like the rest of Puglia, Bari is decidedly food-centric and there’s an abundance of street food spots and bakeries selling fragrant speciality focaccia drenched in luscious local olive oil.

On the celebrated Via delle Orecchiette, women make and sell orecchiette pasta outside their homes; try it with ragù or the winter classic, cime di rapa greens.

Bari’s most popular pasta, however, is spaghetti all’assassina, cooked until deliciously charred in a spicy tomato sauce; a local rosé pairs perfectly.

Bari's wines: Reds and rosés

Bari is one of Italy’s top rosé wine areas and all of Puglia’s favourite native red grapes (Primitivo, Negroamaro, Nero di Troia and Susumaniello) are used for fruit-filled rosatos, along with rich, velvety red wines.

Bombino Nero, a red variety here made only as rosé, has a dedicated DOCG around the striking Castel del Monte castle, west of Bari near Andria city, which is also home to creamy burrata.

Meanwhile, PDO-certified mozzarella is the star cheese of the town of Gioia del Colle, about 35km south of Bari, at the heart of Puglia’s vast Murgia plateau, where some of the city’s favourite Primitivo wines are made.

Bari wine tour: Two nearby wineries to visit

I Parieti estate

Matteo Santoiemma’s small I Parieti estate, named for the area’s characteristic dry-stone walls, lies at 400m with stony soils and constant breezes and stronger winds.

Coming from a commercial career with a number of top-tier wineries, Santoiemma has brought a fresh and experimental outlook to his wines. Tastings under the olive trees are memorable, surrounded by wild flowers, herbs and rocks, and overlooking trulli (distinctive, circular dry-stone dwellings typical of nearby Alberobello).

Along with skin-contact Minutolo, perfect with cheese, his wines include a mineral-infused rosé and an elegant red, both from 67-year-old alberello-trained Primitivo vines.

Tenute Chiaromonte

Nearby at Acquaviva delle Fonti, former equestrian pro Nicola Chiaromonte runs Tenute Chiaromonte, having picked up skills from his winemaker mother and olive oil-producing father.

Classical music plays all day at the gleaming white winery, where bedrooms, a restaurant, pool and labyrinthine underground cellars are due for completion in time for the 2026 bicentenary celebrations.

Chiaromonte’s diverse wines range from an exuberant Chardonnay-Minutolo spumante to intense Primitivos with soaring alcohol levels, including award-winning cru Muro Sant’Angelo Contrada Barbatto.

Bari address book: Where to eat, drink and stay in the city

Accommodation

Palazzo Calò

With contemporary design complemented by centuries-old stone, this stylish hotel has 12 spacious bedrooms. Coffee machines and kettles are standard, and some also feature kitchens and balconies. The stunning rooftop bistro is open to non-guests for drinks and dinner, with a menu that features Asian and local specialities.

Eat and drink

Deli delights

Visit Casa.Ro early to watch mozzarella and burrata being made, then book a cheesemaking workshop or enjoy a tasty lunchtime treat. In Bari Vecchia, Nicola Lapesara serves platters of charcuterie and cheeses at his historic Antica Salumeria deli.

Enoteca del Centro

Gianluca De Napoli favours small producers for the 700-plus labels at his wine bar-shop among the smart stores of Bari’s newer centre. The evening menu has gourmet bites such as seafood carpaccio and braised beef.

La Uascezze

An atmospheric corner of Bari Vecchia with stone arches outside and in; the name – dialect for ‘convivial cheer’ – sums up the vibe. The menu features pulses, stews and traditional classics such as potato, rice and mussels. Wines, all from Puglia, include a softly sweet Primitivo amabile – an ideal way to finish your meal.

Mostofiore

An enoteca with an appealing bottle-lined interior, specialising in natural wines. Order what’s available by the glass or ask to try something different. Food includes oysters and slow-cooked artichoke with fried basil.

PerBacco

A member of the Slow Food Cooks’ Alliance, so quality ingredients are fundamental here. Choose from a selection of olive oils and enjoy dishes including twice-cooked octopus and burnt-wheat pasta. The restaurant interior is charming, with doily settings on wooden tables designed by the owner, architect Beppe Schino, who also selects the wines.

Visit

Gioia del Colle

While transport or a guide (try Puglia To Be) is needed to reach the wineries, Gioia del Colle itself is well connected by train. Its castle has superb archaeological finds from nearby Monte Sannace. Bar-restaurant Trattoria Pugliese, opposite the castle, is run by Vittoria, sister of Matteo Santoiemma of I Parieti (see p107) and her chef husband.

Insider's tip: Visiting the beach

Although central Bari is located by the sea, the nearest beach, the oddly named Pane e Pomodoro (‘Bread and Tomato’), is a half-hour seafront stroll away. Facilities are scarce there, so pick up some focaccia from Panificio Fiore and wine to go with it from Enoteca Cucumazzo.

For picturesque seaside scenery, the town of Polignano a Mare is roughly 30 minutes by train.

Champagne is big, covering 150km from north to south and 120km from east to west. If you’ve got just one night in the region, then it’s best to stay focused.

You won’t get the whole picture in 24 hours, but whether you’re in it for a serious Champagne crash course or a relaxing escape, these two itineraries make a perfect first trip.

Itinerary one: Reims, Epernay and a 24-hour Champagne crash course

When it comes to sights, evenings out and general buzz, the city of Reims holds all the cards over smaller Epernay, and it’s here that you should stay overnight.

There are sound and comfortable budget options, but for one night only it’s worth heading centrally to options such as La Caserne Chanzy or Hotel de la Paix for amenities.

Drop your bags and head for Reims Cathedral in the daylight for a dose of history before the Champagne starts flowing.

An impressive 33 French kings were crowned here between 81 and 1825, although visitors today head for the stunning stained glass windows, ranging from 13th century originals to Marc Chagall’s famous 1974 replacements for glass lost during the Second World War.

Champagne celebrated 10 years as a UNESCO world heritage site in 2025, so combine history and bubbles with an essential stop in the chalk crayères to the south of the city.

Several fine Champagne producers use kilometres of cellars built around Gallo-Roman chalk pits to age their wines, with Ruinart, Taittinger and Pommery open for visits.

Both Taittinger and Ruinart offer impressive, recently renovated facilities that include tasting and hospitality, with Ruinart offering a series of rare cuvées by the glass to tempt visitors into the striking new pavilion designed by Japanese architect Sou Foujimoto.

Leave at least two hours to complete a tour and tasting from the centre.

Downtime and on to Epernay

Take your time to soak up Reims in the evening. Head to Place du Forum, and the excellent Wine Bar by Le Vintage, for interesting grower Champagnes by the glass, or sit out in the square in the summer to catch regular free concerts.

Dining options range from Michelin star splashes such as l'Assiette Champenoise, Domaine Les Crayères or newly starred Arbane, to lo-fi options such as Sacré Burger or Au Cul de Poule.

On day two, head to Epernay (travel light if you’re on the trains – there is no left luggage in either Reims or Epernay station).

Brush up on some Champagne essentials at the Musée du Vin de Champagne et d’Archéologie Régionale on the Avenue de Champagne (or the intriguing Pressoria in nearby Aÿ, also home to some famous names in Champagne and a couple of good dining options).

Of the Grands Maisons on or near the Avenue itself, Boizel, Moët et Chandon, Leclerc-Briant, Gosset and Perrier-Jouët all either offer full tours and tastings or fine hospitality.

Epernay is tourist-centered, and dining options are a little thin on the ground here – book ahead to Sacré Bistro for modern dining, or local favourite La Grillade Gourmande.

Itinerary two: Tune out and take it slow in the vineyards

The region has finally caught up with the demand for comfortable escapes in the vineyard landscape itself, from where it’s easy to arrange visits to Champagne producers you may not have had the chance to see from the main centres of Reims and Epernay.

The glitz and glamour of the five-star Royal Champagne is hard to beat, although it’s by far the most costly option in the region.

Located 10 minutes drive from Epernay, it has everything you’d expect from a hotel of this size and grandeur, with one of the region’s top Champagne lists in the Michelin-starred restaurant.

More affordable, though, is nearby Loisium, whose main attraction is a heated outdoor pool, spa and comfortable rooms (although dinner options in nearby Aÿ are better).

There are fine boutique stay-and-dine options in the attractive Château de Sacy and Champagne Palmer’s Domaine du Chalet on the Montagne de Reims, as well as Domaine Jacques Sélosse’s Les Avisés in the Côte des Blancs.

If you are out in the vineyards, don’t miss the opportunity to visit smaller grower-producers.

Top hotels can arrange this for you, but beware the fact that they may have commercial agreements to send guests to certain producers – it’s best to do your research first (read our various regional guides and reports).

Tour companies such as Sparkling Tour or A La Française offer small group tours of independent growers, or you can even arrange a private tour with companies such as Instants Champagne or Delectabulles (who focus on independent women-led Champagne houses).

If you’re arranging your own visits, bear in mind that smaller producers always need visits booking in advance, and will be unlikely to accept visits during August and harvest season (normally September, depending on the vintage).

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Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy will defend his 2025 US Masters title at Georgia’s Augusta National, the tournament culminating this Sunday, 12 April.

But to ease the nerves before the first-round tee times on Thursday, he had the traditional winner’s honour of hosting Tuesday night’s Champions Dinner.

As is custom, the previous year’s winner not only designs the menu and chooses the wines, but also pays for the dinner – attended only by past Masters Champions (plus Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred Ridley), all wearing their iconic winner’s green jackets.

Analysis from ratings platform Sportsbook Review reports that the food component of McIlroy’s Champions Dinner is the most expensive ever recorded, at $318 (£236) a head.

This is a 194% increase on Scottie Scheffler's $108 menu in 2025 (the cheapest of the past decade) and 44% higher than Hideki Matsuyama's 2022 menu, the previous record holder.

For the 34 guests, that’s a bill of $10,812 (£8,032) McIlroy has to foot.

But that is nothing compared to the value of the wines enjoyed by the 34 dinner attendees.

These are all sourced from Augusta National’s wine cellar, but chosen by McIlroy, who told media before Tuesday’s dinner that this was his ‘favourite part of the menu’.

McIlroy’s ‘intentional’ wine choices

‘I wanted to be really intentional with the wines,’ said McIlroy at a press conference, attended by Decanter’s sister title Golf Monthly.

‘It's something that I'm really into and passionate about, and started to collect wine probably over the past decade,’ he said.

‘To work with the sommeliers at the club and be able to choose these wines was a lot of fun.’

To go with appetisers of peach and ricotta flatbread, shrimp tempura, bacon-wrapped dates and grilled elk sliders, McIlroy chose Salon 2015 from the Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Grand Cru.

Arguably the most prestigious of Champagne’s Blanc de Blancs, this is the only wine Salon makes, and the 2015 is just the 45th vintage released in the house’s 120-year history.

Decanter’s Champagne correspondent Tom Hewson hasn’t yet reviewed the 2015, but scored the 2013 vintage 97 points.

For the first course of yellowfin tuna carpaccio with foie gras, McIlroy selected Domaine Leflaive’s Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru 2022.

Decanter’s Burgundy correspondent Charles Curtis MW rated this wine 96, remarking that it was ‘the wine’s finesse and elegance that makes it genuinely outstanding’.

‘It's the first-ever white wine that I actually liked,’ McIlroy told the press conference. ‘So to be able to serve that is something that's sort of important to me.’

Poignant Bordeaux pairings

Champions Dinner guests had a choice of wagyu filet mignon or seared salmon for the main course, each served with traditional Irish champ, brussels sprouts, carrots and crispy onions.

And McIlroy’s red wine pairing was especially poignant – Château Lafite Rothschild 1990.

‘That is the wine that I drank the night that I won the Masters, so obviously brings back some great memories,’ he said of the Pauillac first growth.

‘You know, [Irish golfer] Shane Lowry had a little bit to do with getting that wine, so I want to shout him out for that, too. But that will be amazing to serve,’ McIlroy told the media.

Decanter has three tasting notes on this legendary Bordeaux estate’s 1990 vintage, rated between 98 points and 95 points, each underlining that it is in a perfect drinking window now in its 36th year.

To go with the dessert course of sticky toffee pudding, McIlroy picked out a wine from his birth year: Chateau d’Yquem 1989.

‘Every great meal deserves to be finished off with Château d'Yquem,’ he told the press conference. ‘It is like liquid gold.’

Two Decanter experts agreed, rating this vintage 97 and a perfect 100 points, extolling it as ‘a masterclass in the layers and complexity that you find in fully mature Yquem’.

Buying McIlroy’s wine selection

But what would it cost you to replicate this wine selection at your next dinner party?

According to search engine and ecommerce marketplace Wine-searcher, the cheapest retail price per bottle, including tax and duty, for each of the wines in the UK are:

• Champagne Salon 2015 – £915 (Hedonism)
• Domaine Leflaive, Bâtard-Montrachet 2022 – £2,065 (Selfridges)
• Château Lafite Rothschild 1990 – £699 (Lay & Wheeler)
• Château d’Yquem 1989 – £425 (Huntsworth Wine Co)

That’s a total of £4,104 ($5,509).

As the Champions Dinner is a celebratory occasion, it’s likely the 34 guests would have been served large 250ml glasses (not the standard 150ml or small 125ml pours).

If that was indeed the case, then 12 bottles of each wine would have been required to serve all 34 guests.

Which means one 250ml glass of each of the four wines would cost £1,368 ($1,836) a head.

And the total outlay for the wines, if you were to buy 12 bottles at the cheapest retail prices as listed above, is a staggering £49,248 ($66,114).

Thankfully McIlroy could afford to repeat this lavish occasion if he so wished – he took home $4.2m from his Masters victory last year.

New legends and old

McIlroy beat Justin Rose in a playoff in 2025, winning the Masters title on his 17th attempt, and becoming the sixth player to complete a career Grand Slam (The Masters, PGA Championship, US Open and The Open Championship).

The official Champions Dinner photo released by The Masters, shows McIlroy, seated centre, flanked by Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred Ridley and two-time Masters winner Ben Crenshaw, who was the unofficial MC for the evening.

Of the 35 Masters Champions still living, 33 were present at the dinner, including six-time winner Jack Nicklaus, three-time winner Gary Player and other golfing luminaries, including two-time champs Scottie Scheffler, Nick Faldo, Tom Watson, Bernhard Langer, Jose Maria Olazabal and Bubba Watson.

Five-time champion Tiger Woods and three-time winner Phil Mickelson did not attend.

Two-time winner Ben Hogan started the annual tradition of the Masters Champions dinner in 1952, after his first victory in 1951.

How sommeliers watch for subtle cues

It’s 6 pm and the dining room at Carversteak inside Resorts World Las Vegas is picking up. Master sommelier and wine director Lindsey Geddes scans the reservation app. Tonight is busy, with early diners signalling pre-show dinners.

The dining room of this luxury steakhouse glows with mid-century modern warmth, while Dolly Parton’s ‘Islands in the Stream’ drifts through the eclectic playlist above the buzz. A freshly seated four-top settles in with a wine and cocktail list. Across the room, Geddes and her sommelier team, Matt Daro and Nina Jarlock, observe with intent.

Experience and intuition guide every move, as they watch for subtle cues: the head of the table’s confident posture, a curious glance at the wine list, and the one who quietly defers.

Geddes greets guests with a gentle smile, saying, ’Good evening...’. The sommeliers let each table find its rhythm before offering a warm greeting that puts even the most anxious diners at ease. In these first ten seconds, they gather the clues that will shape the experience.

Most guests never notice this choreography; it’s a ritual shared by sommeliers around the world, each one orchestrating service to suit the guests before them.

Reading the energy

In Paris, Agnese Morandi, head sommelier at Table by Bruno Verjus, says, ‘I observe guests – their mood, the occasion. I want them to feel comfortable, never judged, so they can relax and enjoy.’

In New Orleans, Clayton Fox, sommelier and wine director at R’evolution calls this reading of the room’s ‘general energy’.

‘Is it a happy, boisterous table? More serious? Are they open to conversation, or do they just want to confirm their biases?’ he says. Sometimes, Fox admits, ‘They don’t want to talk at all’. He keeps things casual: ‘I’m Clayton, I do the wine here’, preferring genuine connection over formality.

Geddes also forgoes the sommelier certification pin on her lapel for the same reason: to avoid intimidating guests and encourage openness.

As a wine writer, I fell in love with wine thanks to the warmth and generosity of sommeliers – transforming lengthy lists into invitations to explore. I now find myself drawn to the wine selections and their storytelling, as much as the subtle psychology unfolding around it.

Focusing on the experience

With practised intuition, sommeliers suggest pairings that elevate a meal – at Carversteak, red wine remains the go-to for steakhouse classics, matching both cuisine and guest preference.

Sometimes there’s extra flair: Matt Daro wheels out a six-litre Daou Paso Robles 2021 with theatrical tableside style.

‘Bring it closer so we can see,’ says the guest doing most of the talking, comfortably flexing his wine knowledge as the glass is poured.

Geddes and Daro listen attentively, but while one guest may drive the conversation, the sommeliers’ attention is always on the whole table. ‘We make sure to connect with everyone. The experience belongs to all,’ Geddes says.

After giving the glass a generous swirl and taking that first sip, he says, ‘Well, that’s good’. Some guests glance at the wine list, then check their phone – maybe for prices or reviews – but Geddes doesn’t mind.

‘We look up wine information, too. As long as we’re getting the guest what they want’, she says.

'You can't make assumptions'

The perspective broadens internationally.

‘You cannot make assumptions about anyone’, says Pietro Campara, head sommelier at Antica Bottega del Vino in Cortina, Italy, a newly opened location of the flagship in Verona.

‘Nowadays, customers who visit a place like Bottega del Vino almost never come to us by chance; they already have a clear idea in mind because there is also a greater circulation of information,’ he says.

Sommeliers are intuitive, often noticing cultural preferences from years of service.

‘South Americans often love smooth wines with generous fruit’, says Campara. ‘Scandinavian guests frequently ask for organic certifications. British guests can surprise you with an extraordinary depth of knowledge.’

Yet knowledge doesn’t always dictate behaviour; sommeliers adjust their approach quickly. Campara recalls a young guest ordering a rare Sassicaia just for its price, not its story – so he focused on exclusivity rather than history.

'Many guests assume we’re pushing expensive bottles'

Much of a sommelier’s craft lies in invisible decisions.

‘Chill a second bottle before they ask,’ Fox says. ‘Pour something they’d never order and comp it. Make them feel special.’ Subtle interventions shape the evening. ‘If I sense a table might linger over a second bottle, I’ll send small nibbles’, Campara explains. ‘Wine service often sets the dinner’s rhythm.’

​Despite this care, sommeliers still wrestle with perception.

'Many guests assume we’re pushing expensive bottles. We’re always working against that perception,' Fox says.

Wine service, despite its rituals, was never meant to intimidate. The sommelier’s roots trace back to medieval France as trusted stewards. Over centuries, the mission remained the same: enhance the guest’s experience, even as ceremony and symbolism evolved.

Returning to Carversteak, the role feels closer to its origins. Here, the sommelier isn’t a gatekeeper of knowledge, but an interpreter of mood, preference, and possibility.

What do sommeliers want guests to understand?

‘Trust’, says Campara. ‘We chose this profession out of passion. With trust, the satisfaction becomes mutual.’

Morandi agrees. ‘I make it exclusive for each guest. I’m here for them, and we will always find delicious possibilities and choices together.’

Reinforcing the sommelier’s role, Geddes conceived Carversteak’s wine list as more than a catalogue. Designed to engage rather than intimidate, the list invites curiosity, even play.

Among its features is a blind-tasting option, in which the sommelier fully steps into the role of guide, leading diners through discovery rather than deliberation.

Some descriptions are deliberately conversational. One wine entry reads: ‘Determined to radically lower its environmental footprint, ask Leonardo DiCaprio.’

‘It’s often the less experienced wine lovers who choose the blind tasting’, Geddes notes. ‘There’s comfort in relinquishing the pressure of selection. There is excitement in the unknown.’

At a corner booth, a guest makes a confident selection. ‘Great choice’, says sommelier Jarlock. At another table, a couple hesitates, eyes drifting between wine regions and prices, until Geddes steps in gently, discreetly offering options at different price points.

The couple settles on something in the middle. Tension is dissolved because the choice is now less intimidating.

Every night is a performance

It’s 8pm. The dining room swells toward capacity. Hours earlier, the team gathered for their pre-shift huddle, preparing for the night ahead.

Now, glasses replenished, plates are cleared and replaced. Each table has its own tempo and unique conversations. The energy is buoyant. The mood is convivial. This is service.

Yet most guests remain blissfully unaware of the silent signals, the thoughtful pairings, and the seamless service that guide their evening. Every night is a performance. That, Geddes might say, is the dance.

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Villa d'Este: From boat rides to rare wines

You can’t help but feel glamorous slicing through the water on Lake Como in a gleaming Riva speedboat with a glass of Ca’ Del Bosco Franciacorta fizz in hand.

‘That’s George Clooney’s house,’ the skipper says, whizzing by a large 18^th century cream-painted mansion set in manicured grounds on the edge of the lake.

With the foothills of the Alps looming beyond, and picturesque villages scattered along its shores, it’s no wonder the area has attracted poets, artists and musicians for centuries.

The boat ride is one of the most popular activities offered by what is one of Italy’s grandest hotels, Villa d’Este, with a roll call of guests that would make any jaw drop, among them Clark Gable and Bette Davis, José Carerras and Madonna - Alfred Hitchcock even made his first film here, The Pleasure Garden.

Italy’s largest private wine collection

For wine lovers, Villa d’Este has become a particular draw of late. It now boasts the largest private wine collection in Italy, with over 12,000 labels and 160,000 bottles, with rarities such as 1893 Château d’Yquem and 1935 Romanée-Conti, plus a line-up of starry

Super-Tuscans, Piedmont heavyweights, and lesser-known gems from around Italy and beyond.

How it all began

Commissioned in 1586 by the Cardinal of Como, the palatial building and its surrounding 25 acres of lush, sculpture-filled gardens (a National Monument since 2013) has been owned since by bankers and barons, counts and marquises – even a future Queen of England, Caroline of Brunswick.

Transformed into a hotel in 1873, it now belongs to a family of Italian entrepreneurs, who also own other luxury hotels, including Villa La Massa in Florence, and the legendary Harry’s Bar in Cernobbio (no relation to the Venice institution), the well-heeled village in which Villa d’Este is located.

Checking in: Rooms at Villa d'Este

Ornate crested cast iron gates swing open as a liveried doorman waves guests through onto a regal tree-lined driveway.

With the lake glittering to one side, all enter through the grand foyer, with its imposing columns and seductive signature scent.

There are 151 rooms in all, divided between The Cardinal’s Building and the Queen’s Pavilion, decorated with period furniture and paintings, with large marble bathrooms de rigueur – even the pillowcases have personalised monograms.

Plus, there are four private villas for those who want their privacy, a beauty centre and sizeable spa, with a golf course nearby.

Best are the rooms overlooking the lake, where the sound of church bells carries across the water as small passenger ferries chug rhythmically to and fro.

Dining at Villa d'Este

There are several dining options offered at Villa d’Este throughout the year (the hotel is the only luxury hotel on the lake to open during the winter – with Christmas a highlight), with the fine dining Veranda its flagship.

Here, long-serving executive chef Michele Zambanini expertly works his refined take on classic Italian cooking, where a team of six sommeliers will pair wines to match led by group wine director Alex Bartoli, the brains behind the newly transformed list.

A treasure-filled wine cellar

Bartoli joined the team in 2022, fresh from winning awards at three-Michelin starred Milan restaurant Cracco.

‘I’ve been on a bit of a spending spree,’ he first confesses before explaining how he built up the list from just 300 labels.

With large format bottles his passion (‘I love the way the wine evolves,’ he says), Bartoli shows off his cavernous, treasure-filled cellar to any guest who is interested, plus offers private tasting experiences which both inform and delight, sprinkled throughout with winemaker anecdotes.

While his winemaker dinners, held between October and December, have become a big draw for both guests and locals.

One last ride

On Bartoli’s recommendation, we jump on the ferry for the 10-minute ride to Como, weaving through the atmospheric old town to arrive at swanky wine shop-cum-wine bar Vineria Vitani, where we savour rich, spicy 2007 Gravner Rosso Breg, before taking one last ride across the breathtaking lake.

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Interview with Daniel Boulud

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This March marked one year since my wife and I moved to Paris.

Moving to any new city – even one I knew relatively well and where I already spoke the language – brings with it a little trepidation. Not least with a baby on the way as well.

Even my wife – who’s from Paris – admitted to being a little unsure quite what it would be like after so long living away.

We needn’t have worried though. I think we’ve both been a little stunned by the sheer density of independent businesses in areas like ours; cavistes, fromageries, boulangeries, épiceries, traiteurs, bistros, bars à vins etc etc.

We’ve been adding spots – places we’ve been or want to try – to a shared Google Maps list and it just keeps growing and growing and growing.

Even a year in I still look around at places a mere two minutes walk from my flat and realise I haven’t been there yet.

Having a baby naturally puts the brakes on being out as often as we were. Early bedtime routines mean we’re mostly housebound from 6.30pm onwards; staring wistfully from the windows at all the beautiful, bright young things necking pints and smoking rollups with abandon in the bouncing bars below us.

The local cavistes are definitely getting more of our business than the zincs at the moment. But, the days are getting longer, the weather is improving and the ephemeral terraces (literal translation) will soon be out again.

Drinks on the deck beckon once more. And it’s good for baby to get some fresh air…

It never rains but it pours

Hmm, yes. Now that the weather is improving… or did I speak too soon?

I had planned to fill this piece with a paean to the lovely spring weather we’d been having, and how Paris is at its peak in the spring sunshine.

But, as I started to write, the sky darkened and there is currently a pretty ferocious lashing of hail beating at my windows and anyone unlucky enough to be out in the street.

And in-between the hail it pours.

Still, I shouldn't complain as it has been rather lovely generally. And, if a year here has driven home a point I already knew, Paris needs a good hosing down on a pretty regular basis.

So much so that the city’s street sweepers open the bouches de lavage to flush all the trash and ordure that builds up in the gutters down to the sewers.

It’s a unique system – with some 1,700 kilometres of pipes involved – that was planned and built in the 19th century during Paris’s redesign by Baron Haussmann and is still in use to this day.

If you’ve ever been to Paris and wondered why there are mini rivers occasionally running through the streets when it’s not raining – that’s why.

New mayor, less poo?

Unfortunately, all that water doesn’t get to where most people let their dogs foul which is just right in the middle of the pavement.

Of all the things I love about Paris, the proliferation of dogshit in residential streets like mine is far and away not one of them.

If you’ve been keeping up with the French news then you may have caught that there were recently municipal elections across the country.

A shift towards more radical Left or Right (La France Insoumise or Rassemblement National respectively) mayors in major cities did not really materialise, with most cities electing more traditional Socialist or Republican (Labour/Conservative adjacent) representatives.

Paris elected its third-straight mayor from the Parti Socialiste, Emmanuel Grégoire replacing the outgoing Anne Hidalgo. With 50% of the vote too.

Hidalgo’s environmental policies and ‘war on motorists’ (introducing more pedestrianised zones, cycle lanes, reducing parking spaces in central Paris etc) inevitably caused harrumphing in certain circles but probably overplayed how unpopular she really was.

Faced with a candidate who promised to continue Hidalgo’s policies and one who said they would undo them (Rachida Dati), Parisians seem to have opted for the former.

A few more trees and green spaces certainly wouldn’t go amiss here in the arid urban zone of the 18th. And maybe Grégoire can institute a new War on Turds too.

Return of the motocrotte anyone?

Has a year in Paris changed me at all then? Well, here I am dreaming about drinks on the terraces, giving my tuppence ha-penny’s worth on politics and complaining about dog mess in the neighbourhood.

You tell me.

What I’ve been drinking recently

Domaine de Mena, Wabi Sabi, IGP Côtes Catalanes

A 100% Cinsault (not a Grenache, surprisingly) from Roussillon. A gorgeous light ruby colour, filled with the scent of rose petal, violets, cranberry and redcurrant; a touch of wild strawberries, black pepper and a little stalky herbal note, as well as thyme and lavender. Lithe and supple on the palate. This is silky but with bite and depth. Gouleyant.

Domaine Les Grandes Vignes, 100% Pineau d’Aunis, Vin de France

Made from the Loire Valley’s coolest red grape of the moment, Pineau d’Aunis. This is all fresh succulent red fruit; strawberry, cherry and cranberry with a note of spice. It has real oomph and substance at only 10.5% abv. Bracing and fun.

Olivier Pithon, Mon P’tit Pithon Blanc, IGP Côtes Catalanes

Another wine from Roussillon, this time a more classic Grenache Blanc, Gris and Macabeu blend. On the nose a steadily building pulse of green apple, peach and apricot, alongside a lightly herbal note of fennel and fresh grass. There’s a lovely creaminess to the palate, with a salty, biscuity note that lasts long on the finish. Not high acidity but fresh and all about that granular texture. Very satisfying.

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Central Otago travel guide

The soaring mountains, dry highlands and glacial-blue braided rivers of New Zealand’s Central Otago region have long made it a favourite destination for adventure-seekers and filmmakers (most notably the lord of the rings himself, Sir Peter Jackson).

But the region’s celebrated wines have become a draw in their own right. Wine arrived here during the 19th-century gold rush, French immigrant Jean Désiré Féraud planting the first vines in 1864, but it wasn’t until the late 20th century that a commercial wine industry appeared in Gibbston Valley.

Today, the Central Otago wine region encompasses six sub-regions, all within 50km of the old gold-mining town of Cromwell. Pinot Noir dominates, but Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer are well represented, too.

A world-class hospitality industry has sprung up to cater to Otago’s visitors. Queenstown is the central hub of activity, with Wānaka (at the southern tip of the eponymous lake) providing a gentler alternative, but Cromwell is probably the best place to base yourself if you’re there for the wine.

Accommodation ranges from budget hostels to luxury lodges, while excellent restaurants serve innovative menus based on local produce.

Activities on offer include everything from skydives to wine tours, and Ngāi Tahu, the South Island’s principal Māori iwi, or tribe, is involved in much of the region’s tourism, giving visitors the chance to learn about indigenous history and culture along the way.

How to get there

The nearest major international airport is in Christchurch (a five-hour drive from Cromwell), but you can fly direct to Queenstown airport (40 minutes from Cromwell) from New Zealand’s three largest cities and Australia’s main east coast centres.

Around the vineyards

Greg Hay founded Wet Jacket Wines in 2015, having already established Chard Farm (1987) and Peregrine Wines (1998). ‘None of us knew what we were doing when we started,’ he says. ‘We all encouraged each other, swapping ideas about what worked. It’s that spirit that makes this region so special.

Greg founded Wet Jacket as a ‘bit of fun’ after the success of his two larger ventures. The original cellar door was a wool shed near Arrowtown (complete with a sheep-shearing room), but they’ve since opened one on the lakeside in Queenstown. Half of the revenue from wine tastings funds conservation projects, which Greg oversees himself.

Mountains and lakes

Rippon Vineyard is the northernmost of the region, overlooking lake Wānaka with a view of the glacier-topped peaks of Mt Aspiring national park (see map).

‘The mountains are key,’ says Hazel Nasta, the estate’s cellar door manager. ‘They’re a wall to weather from the west, giving us a dry, stable, continental climate with hot days and cold nights.

'Central Otago sits on free-draining schists, so the vines put all their energy into the fruit, producing intense, vibrant grapes.

'There’s no appellation control in New Zealand,’ Hazel continues. ‘So winemakers can experiment more freely. Our older vines are starting to express the terroir very clearly, so our Sauvignon Blanc is flintier than the lemongrass and tropical flavours of Marlborough.'

Just north of Cromwell, on a hill overlooking lake Dunstan, is Domaine Thomson Wines , the winery buildings clad and roofed with rustic, acid-washed, corrugated galvanised steel, to echo the region’s gold rush past.

Owners David and PM Hall-Jones also have vineyards in Burgundy, the spiritual home of Pinot Noir. ‘It’s a wonderful contrast,’ says PM. ‘We have a millennium of tradition in France, but decades of innovation in Otago, which is changing the way we think of that grape.’

Going for gold

Situated near the old gold sluicings in Bannockburn, Felton Road is probably the region’s most internationally renowned winery, having won awards from around the globe.

‘We were part of that second generation of Otago winemakers,’ says Nigel Greening, who took over the estate in 2000. ‘We’re biodynamic, which is a fancy way of saying we use the ecosystem, such as falcons chasing birds from the vines. But we do play music to the wines in the cellars!’

Felton Road’s cellar door is open on weekdays. You need to make an appointment, but it’s worth it for a place that’s considered one of New Zealand’s top producers, as the visit includes a detailed tour of the vines and winery, as well as samples of their wines.

The spectacular cellar door at nearby Te Kano (‘the seed’ in Māori) thrusts over the valley with views up Kawarau gorge. You can pick up snacks from the deli to accompany wines on the terrace or pack them up as a picnic to enjoy on the estate (60% of which is reserved for native vegetation).

Your Central Otago address book

Accommodation

Gibbston Valley Lodge

Gibbston Valley was the first commercial winery in the region, and its lodge and spa are gorgeous. Rooms from NZ$674, including spa and restaurant.

Lime Tree Lodge

This luxury boutique lodge, with beautiful gardens and a pool, sits just outside Wānaka. Rooms from NZ$395.

Marsden Lake Resort

In Cromwell, the Marsden Lake Resort has self-contained villas opposite the entrance to Domaine Thomson. Studios from NZ$291.

Restaurants

Cardrona Hotel

Don’t miss this hotel located on the pass between Wānaka and Queenstown, to enjoy a perfect lamb shoulder in one of New Zealand’s true institutions.

Kika

In Wānaka, Kika blends excellent fine dining with modern sharing plates – its crayfish mole and roasted brassicas are remarkable.

Mora

Just outside Arrowtown, the winery at Mora has a fabulous terrace and excellent, colourful food. Great for lunch.

Activities

Hike to a glacier

The walk from Raspberry Flat to Rob Roy glacier in Mt Aspiring national park is one of the best short walks in the world. You can do it yourself, or alternatively Eco Wānaka provides transport, lunch and an excellent guided hike for NZ$420 per adult.

Lakes District Museum & Gallery

Located in Arrowtown and filled with dioramas and artefacts, the museum offers a fantastic insight into the region’s history, with a particular focus on European and Chinese gold miners (NZ$14).

Scenic flight & cruise

Southern Alps Air offers a spectacular four-hour day tour from Wānaka that crosses the Southern Alps for a scenic cruise along the 16-kilometre length of Milford Sound (pictured, p88; NZ$749 per adult). It’s a remarkable way to get a sense of the geography that influences Otago’s wines.

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Vermentino, the quintessential coastal grape, thrives on the shores of Tuscany, through Liguria to southern France, Corsica and Sardinia. At the heart of this triangle is the Colli di Luni zone, a land of castles and stone-built villages, hillside wineries and stunning sea views.

Here, some of the most harmonious and expressive Vermentino is made, enticingly savoury and sometimes surprisingly ageworthy.

For fans of authentic Italian white wines, stunning scenery and ancient history, Colli di Luni is like nowhere else.

Colli di Luni's stunning landscape

The Colli di Luni occupies a crescent of wooded hills extending like an embrace towards the sea and the ancient Roman site of Luni. It's the easternmost corner of Liguria, spilling over into north-west Tuscany, where the Alpi Apuane mountains sparkle with white Carrara marble, creating a spectacular backdrop and mild microclimate ventilated by sea breezes.

The scenic Bocca di Magra estuary and celebrated coastal spots like Portovenere and Cinque Terre are nearby.

Where to eat and drink in Colli di Luni

Wineries to visit

Just outside charming Sarzana, Il Monticello winery (www.ilmonticello.it) is run by brothers Davide and Alessandro Neri. The latter is an engineer whose inventions include vine disease monitoring and fermentation control systems. ‘We have lots of fun!’ he says.

Like most here, vines are split between numerous small plots. One has two distinct soils, giving rise to sibling Vermentino crus: minerally ‘Argille Grigie’ from chalky grey clay, and complex ‘Argille Rosse’ from iron-rich red clay. Try too their fresh, contemporary red Vermentino Nero – unrelated to white Vermentino – and increasingly grown hereabouts.

Near Luni is the area’s flagship winery, Cantine Lunae (www.cantinelunae.com), based between historic Ca' Lunae (below) and the contemporary winery where sustainability goes hand-in-hand with design. As latest generation owner-winemaker Diego Bosoni points out: ‘our aim is to create harmony with nature and wine through art and architecture’.

With 65 hectares of vines plus a network of growers, they're the denomination's largest wine estate. While Bosoni experiments with minor native varieties like Pollera Nera (‘International varieties have never taken root here’), Vermentino dominates in the area's three bands of land: sandy lowlands (currently outside the denomination), clay-soiled foothills, and rocky higher plots where the vibrant ‘Etichetta Nera’ (DWWA 2025 Silver medal) originates.

Bosoni also makes an apple-fresh 48-month aged Vermentino-Albarola traditional method brut.

Nearby Andrea Marcesini of La Felce winery (www.facebook.com/marcesini.andrea) works with just 6ha under vine, and although he was the consortium's first president, his wines are no longer labelled as Colli di Luni DOC: ‘I'm not against the denomination, I just wanted to go my own way’, he says.

With Triple A certification for his low-intervention wines – including a perpetual blend – he is doing just that. He's also involved in a vineyard therapy project with psychiatric hospital residents.

High in the hills at 550 metres above sea level, Fosdinovo stands out for its magnificent castle, vineyards with superb sea views, and schist soil bringing minerality and complexity to wines.

While Ivan Giuliani at Terenzuola (www.terenzuola.it) experiments extensively with lesser-known varieties, his star wines are ageworthy Vermentino crus from vines overlooked by two statuesque pines: ‘I Pini di Corsano’ (DWWA 2025 Silver medal) is remarkable. Tastings include old vintages, showing exciting evolution and freshness after even a decade.

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Introducing Maria José Huertas Vega

Maria José Huertas Vega grew up in Zamora, Spain, and studied agricultural engineering at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. She is currently the head of wine at NH Hotels Spain and head sommelier at La Terraza del Casino, the rooftop two-star Michelin restaurant led by chef Paco Roncero at the Casino de Madrid. She is also a judge at the 2026 Decanter World Wine Awards.

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Why Cap Rocat is a Decanter dream destination...

Cinematic perspectives and palatial service

Lanterns line the entrance to Cap Rocat, pulling you down labyrinthine paths and passageways with cinematic perspective. That's before you even glimpse the cliffside beach club with loungers catered by waiters who deliver glasses of wine between dips in the sea.

Several of the 30 suites and rooms are former surveillance points carved into the rock face, which gives them an incredible atmosphere. Each one boasts three levels of terraces: the bottom offers privacy and the top – where you’ll likely spend most of your time – is a gazebo overlooking the infinite sea where you can watch the sunrise.

Service is as palatial as you'd expect, from morning when breakfast is delivered in a beautiful basket, to evening when a fresh verbena and honey infusion is left steeping by your bed.

Enthralling tasting experiences

Mallorca's wine scene has evolved dramatically in recent years, with small family wineries producing exceptional expressions, especially from native grapes like Manto Negro and Premsal Blanc, locally known as Moll.

While the hotel's coastal location near Cala Blava isn't in the island's winemaking heartland (which consists of the DOs of Binissalem and Pla i Llevant), it's not far either. Lucky for you, the concierge has backstage passes straight to the vineyards, and not for just any wine tasting.

Get carted off in a Range Rover to a countryside winery where paella cooked over wood fire awaits after tastings with the winemaker at Bodega Oliver Moragues, a 500-year-old wine estate.

Or if you fancy air travel, head to Bodega Ribas – one of the island's oldest and most prestigious wineries – for a tasting of wines paired with local products, before being whisked away by helicopter to soar over the dramatic Tramuntana mountains back to Cap Rocat's helipad.

Exquisite cuisine

La Fortaleza is the hotel's principal restaurant, and the bread service alone (black olive, herbed, and citrus flavoured breads cut tableside) sets the tone for an incredible attention to detail.

The tasting menu starts with variat mallorquí, a take on Mallorcan tapas including fried octopus and anchovy with garlic. The sobrasada, made from heritage Porc Negre pigs, arrives drizzled with honey from the hotel's own bees, and you realise this is the rare hotel restaurant that takes local sourcing seriously.

The wine pairing is no different, highlighting bottles from Mallorca, perfect for getting context on the island's evolving wine scene. Don’t miss the chance to order a bottle from star winemaker Miquel Gelabert, who cultivates 35 different varieties, many native.

Cap Rocat offers a full menu of experiences befitting a bucket-list hotel, so whether your idea of fun is watching the sunset from a vintage luxury car or visiting a blown-glass factory from the 18th century, there's plenty to do.

Spa and gym

Not all is indulgence; a vibey gym is set in its own cave, and the tennis court has an instructor add-on. The spa is luminous and magical, with a saltwater pool sunk 12 metres into the ground.

Cap Rocat is adults-only and closes mid-November to mid-March. For further details, see the hotel's website.

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Leader: Amy Wislocki, Magazine Editor

Freedom to innovate

I love the mental image of Bo Barrett (See: The Man at Montelena), aged 18, flying over California’s cattle ranches, vineyards and citrus groves with his father Jim, who was looking for an agricultural project to invest in.

And so Chateau Montelena was born, just a few years before its 1973 Chardonnay went on to triumph at the Judgement of Paris. It’s partly due to that victory that Napa is where it is today, firmly part of the fine wine establishment.

And yet, as Montelena president Matt Crafton points out, Napa must remain ‘forward-looking, free to innovate, aspirational’. It’s good to be part of a settled community of wine producers, but the danger of that, he says, is ‘groupthink’.

It’s when winemakers have the confidence to plough a different furrow – even (or especially) in regions where regulations are more restrictive – that the real excitement occurs. Château Latour-Martillac’s new white wine, for example (See Editors' Picks). With winemakers showing such open-mindedness in the most established of wine regions, we owe it to them as wine drinkers to be equally open-minded.

In my glass this month

No danger of those profiled in this month’s feature on nomadic winemakers (See: The Nomads) falling victim to groupthink! Among them is Darren Smith, who as well as making wine writes the occasional feature for Decanter. I went along to meet him when he showed some of his wines in London. His old-vine País from Chile’s Itata (£32 tfwath.com) was so individual, so authentic, and so emblematic of freedom to innovate that every sip thrilled.

Inside Decanter magazine's March 2026 issue

In Focus

Interview: The man at Montelena Fifty years after the Judgement of Paris, Jonathan Cristaldi meets Chateau Montelena’s Bo Barrett

20 top buys... Spring whites at £20 and under David Williams’ high street picks for the new season

Bordeaux 2023 in bottle Having retasted the 2023 clarets, Georgie Hindle offers her thoughts on the vintage, along with 30 top tips

Brunello di Montalcino latest releases Michaela Morris reports on the 2021s and 2020 Riservas

The nomads Marianna Hunt meets four travelling winemakers, and discovers why they’re right to roam

North Adriatic: Wine without borders Miquel Hudin looks at what links Italy, Croatia and Slovenia

Tasting: Disrupting the status quo Everyone perceives wine differently. Tim Hanni MW explains why

Spirits

Distilled Spirits news & cocktails

Rise of the Dirty Martini Alicia Miller on an enduring classic

Food & travel

What to pair with Malaysian food David Sly’s matches for bold flavours

Travel: Central Otago: A wine lover’s guide Ash Bhardwaj visits one of New Zealand’s premier wine regions

Learning

Books etc Sophie Thorpe presents a selection of books about sake

Wine wisdom Expert advice to help you on your ongoing wine journey

Buying guide

Introduction

Editors’ picks Decanter staff share highlights from their recent tastings

Panel tasting: Alsace Grand Cru Riesling Two vintages a decade apart serve up two Exceptional and eight Outstanding wines; 98 wines tasted

Panel tasting: South African red blends Combinations of traditional grape varieties shine; 86 wines tasted

Expert’s choice: Light South American reds Ines Salpico looks beyond the region’s big bruisers

Weekday wines Decanter’s tasting team brings you 25 top picks, ready to drink now and priced at £30 or less

Weekend wines Priced £30-£60, seven standout buys to impress

DWWA 2025 Italy for the cellar

Collecting & investing

Marketwatch Auction news and new releases, plus the opportunities offered by Bordeaux’s 2016 vintage

Regulars

Welcome

Writing this month Meet four of the authors who contributed to this issue

News The latest from the wine world

The brief Ideas and inspiration

Andrew Jefford’s column

Guest column Due to climate change, the future of winemaking is white, argues Benjamin Lewin MW

The Ethical Drinker The wine world needs to examine its relationship with water, says Linda Johnson-Bell

On the rack: Daniel Boulud The French chef and restaurateur shares some of his vinous exploits

Subscribe to Decanter print magazine and enjoy great savings today

Get access to this issue and previous issues dating back to 2013 with the Decanter Premium app

After a special dining experience ahead of the Year of the Horse that also ticks the boxes for a wine connoisseur? I’ve got you covered.

The Decanter team has hand-picked a list of some of London’s most loved Chinese restaurants – from fine dining to casual indulgence – to help you plan ahead, with a special note for those offering dedicated Chinese New Year menus.

Chinese restaurants for elevated dining

Hunan London

(Chinese New Year menu available)

51 Pimlico Road, London, SW1W 8NE

reservations@hunanlondon.com

020 7730 5712

Established in 1982 in London’s elegant Belgravia neighbourhood, Hunan is known for its no-menu, multi-course tasting experience, encapsulating flavours from Taiwan, Sichuan, Guangdong and beyond.

For connoisseurs, the carefully curated wine list places an emphasis on aromatic whites and delicate reds, spanning Chinese wines and sake alongside the classics, and offering plenty of pairing inspiration for the restaurant’s proudly ‘bold and strong’ flavours. Half bottles and bespoke cocktails are also available.

A special Chinese New Year (CNY) menu will be served between 16 February and 3 March, priced at £150 per person. Find out the full CNY menu here.

A. Wong

70 Wilton Rd, Pimlico, London SW1V 1DE

info@awong.co.uk

020 7828 8931

Home to the award-winning, British-born chef Andrew Wong, the two Michelin-starred restaurant offers a creative, contemporary take on Chinese regional cuisine. Alongside Andrew’s signature ‘Touch of the Heart’ lunch menu and ‘The Collections of China’ dinner menu, there is also an à la carte lunch option for a more casual taste of what the restaurant has to offer.

In addition to its comprehensive wine list, which highlights a thoughtfully assembled selection of Champagne, guests can try the restaurant’s signature cocktails inspired by Chinese spices at the Forbidden City Bar, or go for a shot of Chinese baijiu. A Chinese tea selection is also available for a more soothing refreshment.

China Tang at The Dorchester

(Chinese New Year menu available)

53 Park Lane, London

reservations@chinatanglondon.co.uk

020 7319 7088

Located within the iconic hotel, China Tang evokes the glamour of 1930s Shanghai with its Art Deco-inspired interior. Signature dishes include lobster noodles and golden prawns with salted egg yolk, alongside a strong range of vegetarian options. Diners can choose familiar Cantonese dishes from the bilingual dim sum menu and a wider range of regional cuisines from the à la carte menu, or opt for a Yum Cha experience – a tea and dim sum pairing available on weekday afternoons only.

The wine list is broad in scope, with a solid selection of Chinese wines (some available by the glass), alongside prestigious regions and more exploratory choices such as Croatian and Slovenian wines. There is also a strong selection of oriental spirits, including by-the-glass pours of the famous Maotai baijiu (white spirits).

With upcoming festive décor and traditional lion dance performances taking place on 17 and 18 February, the restaurant is well set to celebrate the Year of the Horse. In addition to the main menu, China Tang will be serving a Chinese New Year menu centred on ten auspicious dishes created by executive chef Chong Choi Fong, each chosen for its symbolic meaning and association with prosperity, abundance, unity and happiness.

Scroll down for our casual dining favourites

Park Chinois

17 Berkeley Street, Mayfair, W1J 8EA

reservations@parkchinois.com

020 3327 8888

Immerse yourself in the golden age of 1930s Shanghai – feast on delicately hand-made dim sum at Park Chinois’ Salon de Chine restaurant (Chef’s Tasting Menus for a minimum of two guests is also available), then head downstairs to Club Chinois for a lavish night out with live DJs.

Why not try a Chinese wine from Shanxi, Yunnan or Ningxia for the special occasion? Park Chinois’ abundant wine collection includes a Coravin by-the-glass section, allowing diners to get a quick taste of the likes of top-tier Burgundy. There is also a list of exotic cocktails designed to pair with the Cantonese cuisine, drawing inspiration from mid-20th century Chinese-American eateries.

Hakkasan Mayfair

17 Bruton Street, Mayfair, London, W1J 6QB

mayfairreservation@hakkasan.com

020 7907 1888

One of the best-known Cantonese restaurants in London, Hakkasan Mayfair is widely regarded for its expertly curated wine list, combining a modern, aesthetic take on classic dishes with a sleek, club-like setting.

If you’ve never visited before, Chinese New Year could be the perfect occasion to start with the lunch taster menu (£35 Monday to Friday, £45 Sunday to Thursday), alongside the Signature Brunch (£55, Saturday and Sunday) and à la carte offerings.

If you arrive in the evening, head to The Bar, which opens daily for drinks only (no reservation needed). Enjoy a cocktail with live music from Wednesday to Saturday from 7pm.

Imperial Treasure

(Chinese New Year special dish available)

9 Waterloo Place, St. James’s, London, SW1Y 4BE

finechinese_stjames@imperialtreasure.com

020 3011 1328

With Singaporean origins, Imperial Treasure offers a diverse menu ranging from Cantonese dim sum and seafood to Shanghai and Huaiyang cuisine, with its Peking duck among diners’ favourites. Alongside its à la carte and dim sum offerings, weekday lunch sets are also available, priced at around £40 per person.

The restaurant’s wine list spans the classics (with older vintages available), plus a selection from emerging regions. Cocktails are accented with Asian ingredients, while spirits lovers can choose from a broad range including vodka, mezcal, rum, whisky/whiskey, brandy and Chinese baijiu.

Ahead of the Chinese New Year, the restaurant offers two types of hand-made festive cakes from 16 January to 23 February 2026 (sticky rice and turnip cake) for takeaway only.

Min Jiang

Royal Garden Hotel, 2-24 Kensington High Street, London, W8 4PT

020 7361 1988

If duck is top of your list this Chinese New Year, look no further than Min Jiang’s famed wood-fired Beijing* duck (‘Peking’ is an older romanisation of Beijing, though the restaurant opts for the latter).

Situated on the 10th floor of the Royal Garden Hotel, overlooking Hyde Park and the London skyline, Min Jiang also offers a wide range of Cantonese and spiced Sichuan dishes, including vegetarian options. Some of its much-loved dishes are also available via Deliveroo.

A varied selection of signature cocktails, sake and spirits, alongside a very affordable speciality tea list and a diverse wine selection, ensures diners are well catered for when it comes to quenching their thirst while enjoying those crispy duck rolls.

Hu Tong Shard

(Chinese New Year menu available)

Level 33 The Shard, 31 St Thomas Street, London, SE1 9RY

hutongreservations@aqua-london.com

020 3011 1257

Nestled on level 33 of The Shard, Hutong (a name derived from Beijing’s alleyways) is the upscale destination for northern Chinese cuisine – provided you’ve budgeted for the view and are ready for its modern cooking, defined by rich, bold flavours.

Raise a glass at the Shanghai Bar, which offers unmatched night views across London, and choose from a solid wine list that secures the classic regions while also venturing into lesser-known options such as Romania, Bulgaria and China, with a focus on organic, biodynamic, sustainable and vegan wines. The cocktail selection, inspired by Chinese philosophy and matched to zodiac signs, is also well worth exploring.

For Chinese New Year, Hutong presents a special three-course set menu from 16 February to 3 March (£128pp, or £158pp for the window experience), alongside a limited-time Shanghai gin cocktail menu to celebrate the Year of the Horse.

Our top casual dining favourites

If you are simply after a casual and tasty meal to celebrate the occasion, here are some of our favourites – each with well-regarded signature dishes and a charming drinks menu.

Shan Shui Social (Victoria)

(Chinese New Year menu available)

14 Buckingham Palace Rd, London, SW1W 0QP

hello.victoria@shanshuisocial.co.uk

020 4617 8888

Conveniently located near Victoria station, Shan Shui Social gives the vibe of old Shanghai back in the 1920s while serving a wide spectrum of Chinese regional dishes from Cantonese to Sichuan. Opt for the one-plate lunch specials – priced around £15 – for ease of mind.

Be spoiled for choice by Shan Shui Social’s cocktail and mocktail list, featuring signature drinks such as the ‘Jade Spiced Mule’ and ‘Silk Road Lychee Manhattan’, alongside a surprisingly diverse wine selection – English sparklers included.

A two-for-one happy hour drinks menu is also available from Monday to Friday (5pm-7pm), when you can pair a Moutai Lychee Martini or an Austrian Riesling with £1 snacks such as Thai prawn crackers, smashed cucumber salad and salt & pepper baby squid.

The restaurant will be offering a Chinese New Year menu as well as Yusheng (Chinese New Year raw fish salad, pictured above). Yusheng will be available via pre-order for the period 14 February to 3 March priced at £39.80 for 2-4 people to share.

Cheli (Elephant & Castle)

56-58 New Kent Road, Elephant Park, London SE1 6FU

info@cheli.co.uk

020 8050 9618

A widely popular Elephant & Castle destination serving Zhejiang cuisine, with a focus on the ‘freshness and subtle sweetness’ in the dishes, as the restaurant puts it. Crab with stir-fried rice cake, sweet and sour squirrel fish and Shanghai steamed soup dumplings are some of diners’ highlights.

Set in a contemporary interior, the restaurant also offers cocktails and a small, French-driven wine selection, alongside baijiu and yellow wine (listed on the menu as ‘traditional Chinese wine’). Its ‘Chef’s Signature Menu’, priced from £56.80 for two, is well suited to sharing (note that this offer is not valid between 14-18 February and on 3 March 2026).

Noodle and Beer (Chinatown)

(Chinese New Year menu available)

27 Wardour St, W1D 6PR

chinatown@noodleandbeer.com

020 3589 3345

Perched within Chinatown, this is a perfect spot for noodle and Sichuan cuisine lovers after lengthy walks through the festive crowds. Its signature noodle soup, served with generous chunks of tenderly braised beef, is a must-try. The smartly curated drinks list includes infused teas, wine, sake and signature Chinese cocktails such as pu’er whisky, chen pi-infused gin and jasmine liqueur. A more intimate lounge and bar area is also available in the basement.

For Chinese New Year, the restaurant offers a limited-time menu featuring seven ‘lucky dishes’, each carrying an auspicious name – such as ‘Rich Tartelette’ and ‘Prosperity Bear Duck’ – designed to boost your luck in the Year of the Horse.

…And a few more to bookmark

Yauatcha Soho

15-17 Broadwick Street, Soho, London W1F 0DL

reservations@yauatcha.com

0207 494 8888

A dim sum teahouse with an affordable lunch set menu Monday to Friday and an ‘Infinite Yum Cha’ menu on Saturday and Sunday (11am-6pm) which includes unlimited orders of dim sum and bao. Diverse options for by-the-glass wine and by-the-carafe sake.

Tattu

The Now Building Rooftop, Outernet, Denmark Street, London WC2H 0LA

london@tattu.co.uk

0203 778 1985

A modern, Instagram-worthy pan-Asian restaurant set in a venue inspired by a traditional Chinese courtyard house near Covent Garden, anchored by a cherry blossom tree as its centrepiece. Guests can also try exotic cocktails crafted using ingredients from a traditional Chinese pantry, or the restaurant’s signature cocktails served in characterful vessels – such as a glass dragon.

Kai Mayfair

65 South Audley Street, London W1K 2QU

020 7493 8988

Enjoy a fashionable Chinese afternoon tea in an elegant, luxurious setting while choosing from a wine list curated from around the globe – which includes wines from Ningxia, icewine from Liaoning and Gin from Shanghai.

MiMi Mei Fair

(Chinese New Year menu available)

55 Curzon Street, Mayfair, London W1J 8PG

reservations@mimimeifair.com

020 3989 7777

Savour dim sum and soup dumplings (‘Xiao Long Jewels’) in the lavish three-storey Georgian townhouse while browsing a sophisticated, old world-driven wine list, complemented by premium bottles from Yamanashi, Japan and Ningxia, China. A special Chinese New Year menu, centred on the signature wok-baked lobster, is served between 5 February and 7 March, priced at £138 per person.

Related articles

• Dumplings and wine pairing – ask Decanter
• Chinese food and wine pairing ideas
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The great Spanish writer Miguel de Unamuno (1864-1936) got it right when he lyricised about Fuerteventura as ‘this bony land… this red protrusion thirsting for water! Yet how beautiful it is! Yes, beautiful! But only for those seeking the innermost secrets of its shape.’

This ‘keeper of secrets’ is the second-largest island in the volcanic Canary Islands archipelago and was the first to begin rising from the ocean floor, about 20 million years ago. On the west coast at Ajuy, you can actually see the basal geological complex, which once lay just above the Earth’s mantle but has now risen to the surface.

Fuerteventura lies just southwest of Lanzarote. The closest landmass in the archipelago to the African continent, it’s blessed with year-round sunshine, more beaches than any other Canary Island (there are more than 150 of them) and – a lesser-known fact – it’s where the archipelago’s first grapevines were planted. Yes, the story of Canary Islands wine starts here.

Raw volcanic beauty

This rough guide to Fuerteventura is designed to help you appreciate the island’s stark beauty, its rugged coastline and its ancient history, along with the precious few winemakers and -growers working to revitalise its overexploited land – to show you the real island behind mass tourism’s plastic facade.

The basic route described here runs from Isla de Lobos in the north to Cofete in the south. To make the most of the guide, you’ll need a car and that rarest of gems, a designated driver.

Facing Isla de Lobos, Corralejo is the main port in the north and is a lively mix of bustling town and tourist destination. It has changed significantly in the last 10-15 years, with swathes of expats having moved there from sun-starved environs such as England and Ireland but, especially, Italy – such an influx that it has earned the nickname ‘Little Italy’.

It’s a great place to get your bearings and sample from the casual dining, tapas and seafood restaurants clustered around the harbour. For fantastic, no-fuss tapas and pinchos, and a laid-back vibe, try Gilda (@gildacorralejo) on Calle Delfín or, nearby, try lively La Pulperia on Calle Lepanto for lovely octopus tacos and a glass of house vermouth.

Small jewel

Corralejo’s expansive dunes are just 15 minutes’ walk or so from the town centre and offer a welcome escape from the hubbub – the perfect place for a sunset stroll, or to sit gazing over the water. In the near distance sits Montaña de La Caldera, the towering volcanic cone of your next destination: Isla de Lobos. This little islet between Fuerteventura and the southern coast of Lanzarote shouldn’t be missed. Ferries leave the port of Corralejo from around 9.45am for the 2km trip and return to the main island from the late morning to about 5.15pm, so you have the option to spend the full day exploring.

Plunge into the shimmering turquoise waters of the islet’s paradisal lagoons, relax in blissful isolation on its secluded beaches or take signposted hikes to observe the plants, birds, lizards and marine life of Lobos’ protected ecosystems.

Of lava and salt

By now a thirst for wine will no doubt have taken hold. Fortunately, from Corralejo it’s a 15-minute drive to the surfer town of Lajares – home to the most important winery on the island: Conatvs. The first wines released by owner Pedro Antonio Martín were from the 2015 vintage. A decade on, in May 2025, Conatvs (meaning ‘struggle’ or ‘effort’) marked a major milestone with the inauguration of a new, enotourist-ready winery, complete with wine bar and shop. Daily public tours in English last an hour and give you the chance to learn about Fuerteventura’s vinous history, tour the vineyard and stylish cellar – hewn from the lava terrain – and taste three of the estate’s wines, paired with local delicacies (from €35 per person).

Stirred by these sapid, saline wines, you then have the option of heading for the coast to El Cotillo, recently transformed from an anonymous fishing village to a vibrant surf destination. There you’ll find La Concha – the archetypal turquoise lagoon – if you’re still in a salty mood; if not, it’s time to head inland.

From hike to table

Driving south into the island’s more elevated interior, it’s just over 10 minutes from Lajares to the town of Villaverde, home to Hannelore von der Twer (hannelore@caminosano.eu). An always colourfully dressed German travel expert with a love of painter Frida Kahlo, Hannelore has lived on Fuerteventura since 1986. Now in her 70s, she knows more about the island than most natives. ‘Fuerteventura has soul – it’s not just sun, sand and sea,’ she says. ‘I like to show people what’s inside.’ Already respected for her pioneering work to promote responsible hiking on the island, two years ago she became its first unofficial enotourism ambassador.

Hannelore offers guided tours on as many as 28 hiking routes, which are to become part of an official Canary wine route programme. The established routes take in spectacular volcanoes and ravines, historic churches and other sites of interest, several now culminating with a visit to one of the island’s wineries, most of which are small-scale and otherwise not open to the public.

While in Villaverde, refuelling at Casa Marcos (@casamarcos2025) is highly recommended. New-generation Canary Island chef Dani Fajardo manages this rustic restaurant with aplomb. In this locally typical timber-roofed, lava-stone building, with lacquered old bushvine trunks for light fittings, choose from a bold menu created on a ‘zero-kilometre’ model. Dining outside on the terrace beside the kitchen garden is also an option, with the ochre tones of Montaña Escanfraga right in front of you.

To the root

Driving past La Oliva in the island’s centre-west, the next stop is one of the most beautiful towns in any Spanish territory. Founded by and named after the Norman explorer Jean de Béthencourt, who arrived in the Canary Islands in 1402 and claimed them for Spain, Betancuria is a place whose historical importance far exceeds its modest size (it was the island’s capital from 1405 to 1834). Almost hidden within a rugged mountain landscape (its concealed position once served as a defence against pirate raids), Betancuria enchants with its quiet cobbled streets, traditional Canarian houses and the tolling bells of its 17th-century Iglesia de Santa Maria.

While here, be sure to visit the Museo Arqueológico (open Tuesday-Saturday 10am-5pm, entry free). Inaugurated in its present form in 2020 and packed with ancient exhibits, this is the place to learn about Fuerteventura’s indigenous civilisation, the Majos, a people who originated in the Berber territories of North Africa who ruled the island before Betancuria was established. Ancient Majo sites abound across the island and new ones are being uncovered all the time. The most important is Montaña de Tindaya in the island’s central northwest, with more than 300 podomorphs (foot-shaped rock carvings) around the summit attesting to its sacred significance.

Before you head south for the wild, windswept beaches and dunes of the Jandía peninsula, it’s worth a short stop in the island’s capital Puerto del Rosario, to dine at La Puipana. While most of the island’s restaurants are still in thrall to Rioja and Ribera, La Puipana is moving steadfastly against the grain. It’s another ‘zero- kilometre’ venue, with a smart, ingredient-led, Canaries-focused menu and a wine list that, improbably, is 90% Canarian wine.

Beaches and more: the emerging wine land of Fuerteventura

Fuerteventura is central to the history of Canary Island wine: the first grapevines to arrive in the archipelago from mainland Spain were planted in Betancuria in the island’s interior in the early 1400s.

The most important grape variety the European settlers brought was Listán Prieto. Other red varieties found on the island include Listán Negro (locally known as Hoja Moral), Tintilla and Baboso Negro.

White varieties include Malvasía Volcanica, Listán Blanco, Marmajuelo and Moscatel.

For wineries such as Conatvs and La Hubara, crisp, saline whites have the potential to become Fuerteventura’s signature style. Conatvs is also one of the wineries developing the red grape Majorera – a variety unique to Fuerteventura, discovered in 2016 by winemaker Alberto González.

Winemaking renaissance

It should be noted that, despite Fuerteventura’s seminal role in the viticultural history of the islands, there are just three wineries making wines under the Islas Canarias DO (Fuerteventura doesn’t have its own DO) – Conatvs in Lajares, Gavías El Sordo in Tetír and the newly minted Bodegas La Hubara in Toto – and only about 23 producing wine commercially across 26ha of vineyards.

‘It was in the 1950s that viticulture experienced a resurgence,’ notes respected local farmer and viticulturist turned winemaker Jacob Negrín of ARyGA. ‘The area that sustained the vineyards was the west-central part of the island – the Santa Inés valley and the plains of La Concepción. But long periods of drought and uncontrolled livestock grazing ended what could have been a prosperous future. Now, thankfully, it’s receiving a boost.’

Negrín makes a small amount of excellent natural wine from vines interplanted with organic vegetables in the rust-red volcanic soils of Casillas de Morales. He’s in the process of building a new bodega and hopes to be able to accommodate guests within the next 12 months.

As Negrín explains, water preservation is critical to Fuerteventura’s agricultural hopes. Crucial to any restoration is the island’s traditional farming system using gavias – fields with raised boundaries that help to capture the scant rainfall. The local association of wine-growers, Majuelo, is doing its best to educate its 120-plus members about the importance of such regenerative techniques.

One new project benefiting from this knowledge is Bodegas La Hubara in Toto. It now has 6,000 vines planted in gavias in a project started in 2021. Owner Guillermo Franquiz has built a new winery that will open to the public in spring 2026 – an important example of the green shoots emerging on Fuerteventura.

Spectacular scenery

From Toto it’s a short drive through the charming village of Pájara – stop for traditional Canary Island fare at the rural refuge of Casa Isaitas – and up through a majestic mountain landscape to the Mirador de Sicasumbre lookout. Drink in the spectacular scenery southwest towards the coastal town of La Pared and then watch the Atlantic shimmer into view as you descend. La Pared is also the name of the ancient wall that was built across the isthmus from Playa de La Pared to the tidal lagoon adjacent to Playa de Sotavento, remnants of which can still be seen. One theory goes that it originally separated the Majo territories of kings Guize and Ayoze.

Sotavento itself is a 9km-long beach of pale sand that’s definitely worth exploring. Helpfully, given its vastness, it’s split into sections. Playa de la Barca and Playa Risco del Paso are popular for kite- and windsurfers, while Mal Nombre, reachable on foot to the south at low tide, is good for a swim (check tide and conditions on the day), with calm turquoise water, gentle dunes and lava-stone windbreaks.

You’re now in full-on holiday resort territory, so tread with caution. Drive straight through Morro Jable – unless of course you’re dining at Salvaje, Marabú or El Pellizco. The original El Pellizco in Morro Jable was opened six years ago (there’s now also a bigger one in Costa Calma). Chef Rigoberto Almeida is Cuban and his food is a vibrant fusion of Cuban and Canarian influences. Local wines are offered by the glass or bottle.

If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, when you leave Morro Jable, take a swerve right into Jandía natural park, signposted Cofete. It’s a 15-minute drive along an unpaved road with the occasional sheer drop, but the blissfully isolated 14km-long virgin beach at the end of it is worth the effort.

If you’re the kind of traveller who likes a challenge, who is prepared to dig a little deeper, giving the package-holiday crowd a wide berth, Fuerteventura is a place whose innermost secrets are just waiting to be discovered.

How to get there

Easyjet and Ryanair operate regular flights from most major UK airports. From Fuerteventura airport it’s a roughly 35-minute drive to Corralejo in the north and Betancuria in the centre, and about an hour to Jandía in the south.

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Last August (2025), I started a whirlwind tour of four Indian wine regions as the monsoon was drawing to its end.

During the nine-day trip, I travelled nearly 3,000km domestically and tasted over 150 wines to assess the 2025 vintage and recent bottlings from previous vintages.

I also got to review another 30 wines from Bangalore and the southern region a few days before New Year’s Eve, en route home after another trip to India.

Overall, the 2025 vintage offers ripe, round and well-polished wines that are easily approachable if made for early drinking, or will likely mature into playful and smooth reds of fine structure.

With that context in mind, if you’re wondering what else there is to know about Indian wines, here are five key facts, presented in a non-textbook style.

Scroll down to find five Indian wines to try

Where flavourful reds shine

Indian reds generally offer rich, ripe flavours, because gradual improvements in vineyard practices have helped eliminate burnt rubber tones and overly greenish characters.

Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon may traditionally be the dominant grape varieties for red wine making, but Indian vintners are also crushing an increasing number of other black grapes, including Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Grenache and Cabernet Franc.

Despite the inclination to assume that there is no vintage variation to speak of, even just comparing the 2024 and 2025 vintages makes the case for paying attention to vintage when drinking Indian wines.

The ‘unthinkable’: Pinot & Chardonnay in a sub-tropical climate

Once considered notoriously difficult to grow, the tide seems to be turning for both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Though trialled in the sub-tropical climate since the birth of the Indian wine industry, very low yields made Pinot and Chardonnay production uneconomical.

With rising viticultural knowledge, yields and fruit quality have improved, and seven producers now make Pinot Noir, while 17 cellars offer Chardonnay.

Stay & sip: Wine tourism at its best

Nashik, 180km north-east of metropolitan Mumbai, is the premier wine region in the country. Originally attracting visitors for its many temples and the Hindu pilgrimage of Kumbh Mela, held every 12 years, Nashik is now renowned as India’s wine country.

Producers, both small and large, offer a taste of the wine lifestyle, and travellers gladly imbibe in picturesque settings. The concept of wine tourism is central to the offering of nearly all producers in other Indian wine regions too.

Reliable staples of Indian wine

A handful of producers – Sula Vineyards, Grover Zampa, Fratelli Wines, Big Banyan and Chandon India – are household names amongst Indian wine consumers and produce labels now regarded as classics: The Source, La Réserve, Sette, Limited Edition and Chandon Brut.

All these labels reliably deliver quality and enjoyable wines from vintage to vintage.

New kids on the block

The Indian wine scene is relatively small. New producers, however, set up shop regularly. Here are three of the new kids worth noting. Plateaux Vintners, a tiny outfit created by Ajoy Shaw, formerly of Sula Vineyards, produces a few hundred bottles a year and focuses on orange wines from Chenin Blanc.

2018 was the first vintage I tasted from Nipha Estate Winery, a small family business with cellar-door sales only. Delicious pizza and excellent coffee are on offer from the entrepreneurial teenage daughters of proprietor Ashok Surwade.

Myne has been set up by Prashanth Nair to herald the quality and unique character of Indian wine. Having tasted Myne wines from the 2023 vintage onwards, the reds are the most impressive, with generosity of fruit and richness.

Five Indian wines to try

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With its complex past and rich cultural mix, the coastal city of Trieste at Italy’s most northeasterly tip has a vibrant, vigorous atmosphere buoyed by the locals’ cheerful irony. The traditional cuisine, also full of contrasts, is underpinned by a thriving, well defined wine scene.

This compact, cosmopolitan city near the Slovenian border stretches along the Gulf of Trieste like a wide-toothed comb, with a series of jetties ideal for enjoying sunsets over the sea.

Trieste’s rich history is evident in its architecture, from the ancient Roman sites and narrow streets of the old town with the medieval castle on San Giusto hill and adjacent cathedral boasting magnificent mosaics, to the grand seafront Piazza Unità d’Italia, Trieste’s heart, with statuesque palazzi on three sides.

Just beyond is the regular grid of 18th century Borgo Teresiano and, further on, the Porto Vecchio industrial archaeology site, partially converted into a cultural hub with some of Trieste’s numerous museums and more planned.

Five centuries of Habsburg rule shaped Trieste’s fortunes. The city flourished, especially after becoming a Free Port in 1719, attracting international traders; coffee has been a major commodity ever since.

October sees the Trieste Coffee Festival (triestecoffeefestival.it) and historic cafés once frequented by writers like Italo Svevo and James Joyce are popular. There’s even local coffee terminology: ask for a nero instead of espresso, or capo in B for macchiato in a glass.

Much of central Trieste is pedestrianised, with outdoor tables at smart fish restaurants and low-key buffets (see below). Olive oil, including Trieste’s intense Tergeste DOP, is taken seriously and there’s an annual expo (oliocapitale.it).

Wine lists are dominated by largely still, mono-varietal Carso DOC wines from five native grapes: delicately fragrant Vitovska – naturally resistant to the strong Bora wind and ideal with seafood; intense, savoury Malvasia Istriana – sometimes macerated; fruit-filled Glera; Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso, with spicy berry aromas; and related Terrano – both reds perfect with typical pork specialities.

The Amber Wine Festival (amberwinefestival.com) held in May provides a host of skin-contact wines to enjoy from local producers including Radikon, Dario Prinčič and Merlak, as well as some from further afield.

The Carso plateau rises steeply behind Trieste and gives its name to karstic geological phenomena including sinkholes and underground rivers created by dissolved limestone. Soils are iron-rich and calcareous to the north, clay-based further south, and wineries in the region are mostly small-scale.

Many winemakers follow the Carso area’s osmize tradition, opening temporarily to serve platters and wine (see below). A historic tram runs between Trieste and Carso town, Opicina, where there’s a new wind-themed museum and the Strada Napoleonica footpath, edged by rock where climbers train. It leads to the modest village of Prosecco, with superb panoramas over the sea and Miramare castle (see below).

Miramare and nearby Bàrcola, where locals swim and sunbathe, and which the international Barcolana regatta is named after, have seasonal ferries from Trieste, while boats run year-round to Muggia.

A pretty fishing port with a relaxed vibe that contrasts with lively Trieste, Muggia is the first town of the Istrian peninsula – the last on Italian territory. Here, Bruno Lenardon’s 3.5ha wine and olive estate (olioevinilenardon.it) has a curious story: in 1954, following frontier reshuffles, the family found an international border running through their home and Yugoslav soldiers monitoring them.

Nowadays Lenardon’s house and vines, some pergola-trained and over a century old, are all on Italian soil, though some olives grow in Slovenia. His wines include wonderfully fresh Malvasia and rich, lemony Moscato.

Where to eat and drink in Trieste

Wine bars

Còntime (contimetrieste.it) is the place to start exploring Trieste’s wine scene. Wines, olive oil, salumi and cheeses are only from the province, and Alessia provides insights with enthusiasm.

Cosy Enoteca Nanut (facebook.com/enotecananut) is a locals’ favourite for its vast, ever-changing variety of wines, Luca’s cheery banter, and the tasty weekly menu.

Buffets

These informal taverns serve hearty all-day bites such as cooked ham with horseradish, boiled pork panini, plum-filled gnocchi, goulash, or jota (krauti and bean soup) with Refosco, Malvasia or refreshing beer. Try Da Giovanni (trattoriadagiovanni.com) or Da Rudy (buffetbirreriarudy.eatbu.com).

Seafood

Trieste has multifarious seafood restaurants: try seafood parmigiana with Malvasia at informal, wood-panelled Osteria Salvagente (facebook.com/OsteriaSalvagente), wild-caught fish at historic Menarosti (facebook.com/p/Ristorante-Menarosti-100063766500223), and traditional sardines or home-made shrimp ravioli with Vitovska at stylish Ai Fiori (aifiori.com).

Historic cafés

Among Trieste’s historic cafés is Antico Caffè San Marco (caffesanmarco.com) established in 1914. There’s a bookshop selling English-language volumes by Trieste-based writers, and high-quality blends are sourced from family-run Trieste-based coffee trader Sandalj. The restaurant menu includes a choice of olive oils.

Osmize

The Carso’s osmize tradition involves family-run farms opening for a limited time to serve their produce: cheese, salumi, eggs and wine. Top Carso winery Zidarich (zidarich.it), with its stunning cellar carved into the rock, joins the tradition, and Merlak (facebook.com/azmerlak) makes excellent Malvasia, salumi and olive oil.

osmize.com

Places to visit in Trieste

Castello di Miramare

This spectacular seafront castle, overlooking Miramare marine reserve is a must-see. Built in gleaming white Istrian stone for 19th century Habsburg archduke Maximilian, it has remarkable original interiors and beautiful 22ha gardens (free). Arrive by train, bus or seasonal ferry.

miramare.cultura.gov.it/en

Muggia

It’s a pleasant half-hour ferry trip to this charming harbour town with graceful Venetian-style architecture. While here, feast on fish and Malvasia at harbourside Sal de Mar (www.saldemar.it), and visit Bruno Lenardon’s cross-border estate for delicious wines and olive oil.

Things to know

Trains connect Trieste airport to the centre.

The city’s numerous hotels include 150 year-old Grand Hotel Duchi D’Aosta on the main piazza (duchidaosta.com), with a new spa opened in December 2025.

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The stylish Scandi retreat nestled in the Åkulla Beech Forest nature reserve (1.5 hours from Gothenburg Airport and around 2.5 hours from Copenhagen Airport) is a luxury spa resort and sparkling wine estate.

The estate has 54 rooms spanning several categories. From a choice of simple cabin rooms to suites complete with enormous stone-carved baths, all accommodation options are Scandi chic. A collection of Sjöparken rooms has been added recently, each with its own sauna and private bathing jetty: perfect for a dip in the natural pool just outside.

One of Sweden’s largest vineyards

The property is owned by the Carlsson family and now run by third-generation family members. Rooted originally in organic farming, they turned their attention to hospitality and viticulture, planting Solaris vines in 2011, and growing to become one of Sweden’s largest vineyards.

Solaris, a white grape that thrives in a Nordic climate, provides the high acidity needed for sparkling wine and is famed for its aromatic citrus notes. Today the property has around 30,000 Solaris vines situated on both inland and coastal sites, as well as more recent experimental plantings of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Winemaker Claes Bartoldsson heads up the vineyard work and has been a part of the venture since day one, mentored by Swedish expert Lars Torstensson. Along with Claes the team uses the traditional Champagne method and chooses between a first fermentation in steel tanks, French oak barrels, or concrete eggs depending on the harvest, before the second fermentation in bottle for a minimum of 18 months.

Relaxing in the snow

The Sinnenas spa evokes fairy folklore with a combination of historic wooden huts topped with wild flower roofs alongside state-of-the art saunas with mid-century style curved wood.

Move between indoor and outdoor bathing and sauna areas which are simply magical amid the quiet peacefulness of the snow. Take an invigorating dip in the spring-water pond on a winter’s day or relax in the 39°C heated pool, as the snowflakes fall around you.

Particular highlights are the forest bathing room where you can relax in hanging chairs to the sound of bird song, and the underwater sauna where you can watch fish swim by as you unwind.

Entirely new spa and relaxation areas have opened recently, connected to the estate’s new wine bar. In addition to sparkling organic wine from Halland, the bar also offers an excellent selection of carefully chosen European wines. A light lunch is also available at the spa’s Smakbaren (tasting bar).

From rustic bites to Michelin cuisine

As evening falls, dinner is served at one of the estate’s restaurants. For something on the rustic side, try Logen, offering a four-course dinner based on local, seasonal ingredients with dishes such as buttered onion broth with glass-baked cod or roasted venison with cognac gravy.

If you prefer fine dining, a true highlight of the estate is the Michelin one-starred (and one green star for its meticulous work on sustainability) Restaurant ÄNG. At first glance the restaurant appears as a simple glasshouse in a field of sunflowers – we won’t spoil the mystery but the team takes you on a truly world class dining journey not to be missed.

ÄNG was founded by chef-and-sommelier husband and wife team Filip and Ann-Catrine Gemzell who work closely with local producers, hunters and fishermen who share the restaurant’s philosophy on sustainability and organic farming. The wine cellar holds an impressive 3,500 bottles, and they also offer a tasting breakfast – a real treat for the senses.

The hotel offers wine tasting and vineyard packages year round.

For further details see the Ästad Vingård website.

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Travelling used to be glamorous didn’t it? Don’t shake your head at me. I’ve seen the photos of stewardesses carving delicious hams and turkeys with paper-frills as part of the in-flight service.

Even the vagrants had it good. ‘Third boxcar, midnight train. Destination: Bangor, Maine.’ A whole train carriage all to yourself. Imagine that.

But nine-tenths of all travel now is drab, functional and distinctly unromantic – or delicious.

That’s the big loss to modern travel. Good dining. I know there are ways to travel in various luxury class flights and trains where you can drink Champagne from a shoe and be trusted with non-toddler-proof cutlery.

But that’s not how most of us are getting around. We’ve lost the ham trollies on planes. And while the TGV operators gamely maintain a ‘dining car’ so you can at least get a beer and a lacklustre sandwich on your high-speed voyage, dinner on the Orient Express it is not.

The solution used to be a jolly good meal before you got on or when you got off the train. A no-brainer too – train stations see metric tons of foot traffic and yet dining options in and around stations are increasingly bad it seems.

Though, not everywhere…

An in-and-out sort of place

In December I whizzed down to Bordeaux for a few days on a course. That first evening I met with two friends and one suggested we go to the Bouillon de Saint-Jean next to the station.

Recently renovated, its décor leant heavily on the late 19th century heyday of these classic dining halls.

‘Bouillons’ grew in popularity in Paris from around the 1850s as places to eat fast and cheaply, generally aimed at workers and the less well-off.

In this they were a sort of evolution of the classic bistrot, the name of which is itself derived from the Russian for ‘fast’ or ‘quick’ – ‘bystryy’*.

Anyway, I’ll tell you about the differences between brasseries, bistrots and bouillons another time. Suffice it to say that bouillons still exist and while not exclusive to station locations by any means, their modus operandi makes them perfect for those looking to grab a hot meal before taking the train.

I warn you though, it’s pretty wham-bang-thank-you-ma’am stuff.

They usually don’t take bookings – especially at busy periods – and you need to be there with your whole company before they’ll seat you. So no ‘my friend will join us in five minutes’.

I wouldn’t be under any illusions about the exquisite quality of the food you’re always getting either. Bouillons maintain their record for being pretty bloody cheap.

You can see the Saint-Jean menu online but I had: Six snails in parsley butter (€6.90), steak frites with a pepper sauce (€12.00), an affogato (€3.90) and my share of a half-bottle of wine (Château Pouyanne, Graves, for another €6).

Now at that price and with the rapidity it arrived, do I think this was lovingly knocked up by the chef from scratch? No, I don’t.

But the overall quality was pretty good and those prices are close to unbeatable – three courses with two glasses of wine for under €30!

If it’s a choice between a sad sandwich on a train, giving money to yet another fast food franchise or a hot meal with at the least the semblance of traditional cooking – I know where my money’s going.

A lost art

Overall, it made me think that this tradition of pre-/post-train dining is a) brilliant and b) a much-needed antidote against the drudgery of modern travel.

Paris maintains a pretty solid stable of station-adjacent establishments. Right off the top of my head there’s: Bouillon Chartier at the Gare de l’Est, Terminus Nord at the Gare du Nord and, of course, the daddy of them all, Le Train Bleu at Gare de Lyon.

Good luck getting into that latter one though. First recommended to me by the late father of a good friend some years back, I fear its status as a hidden gem is long gone.

And there are almost certainly more both in Paris and around the country. When I lived in Lyon, my girlfriend at the time was from Beaune, and at the end of weekend visits we’d often stop by at the Hotel de France opposite the station to eat before we headed back.

That was a proper hidden gem, though from the look of the website it’s got somewhat fancier in the intervening decade. Nonetheless, a classic case of a railway hotel offering good food because it’s good business.

Not that all provincial French railway stations are hiding ‘bistrot d’excéption’. Indeed, rural dining in France is currently in terrible peril.

But there is an intangible sense of fun and satisfaction finding good restaurants by train stations I’ve decided.

It’s satisfyingly old fashioned. The kind of thing Agatha Christie or Ernest Hemingway would mention in their writing.

You can imagine it now. ‘We trooped into the Café de la Gare. It was a cool, well-lit place with mirrored walls and a station clock set in a dark wooden frame above the door. We were weary from our journey but hungry. We ordered oysters, terrine and steaks and fell upon the food, washing it down with foaming glasses of beaujolais wine.’

The inside track

And it’s excellent insider knowledge too. It conveys a degree of well-travelled sophistication. ‘Ah yes, the Gare de Terminus. You should go here. The fish is excellent. Tell Maxime I sent you.’

And as someone who likes to be-on-time for my trips (to my wife’s despair), when we inevitably arrive hours early for our train the idea of being able to eat in peace and happiness mere metres from the station is delightful.

What I am saying therefore is that, we are failing as a society in allowing this brilliant culinary institution to slip through our grasp, more restaurants need to place themselves near stations, and Britain is trailing miserably behind in this regard.

It didn’t use to be, I’m sure. Britain was once Top Nation when it came to railways. But British rail travel never recovered from Beeching’s axe, nay, bloody cleaver, of 1963.

So, if you find yourself near a station, with some time to kill and an appetite, look for a place where you can treat yourself to a good meal and bring a little whiff of old railway glamour back into your life.

It really works. Believe me.

*When the armies of the Sixth Coalition occupied Paris in 1814, the Russian troops, who made up a sizeable element of the force, could be heard shouting this in any establishment they were in when asking for food and drink, so enterprising Parisians catered to this whim and the ‘bistrot’ was born.

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What I’ve been drinking recently

Ruppert-Leroy, Papillon, Champagne

Dynamic duo Emmanuel Leroy and Bénédicte Ruppert are among Champagne’s cadre of exciting, terroir-oriented smaller growers. Each cuvée is based off a single parcel and it’s as low-intervention as Champagne can be. Papillon is a pure Pinot Noir from a site with a lot of red clay. Aged nine months on its lees in barrel before bottling and then a further 18-20 months lees-ageing sur lattes. A slightly pinky hue, notes of bitter citrus fruit, mature apple purée, a little fresh red berry and a very vinous feel and mineral purity to the finish. Gorgeous.

Gut Oggau, Winifred Rosé, Burgenland, Austria, 2019

Oh look, something that’s not French. I bought this bottle years ago and have been hanging on to it for dear life as I watched prices of this cult Austrian producer spiral higher and higher. But I decided enough was enough this Christmas and opened it. As a rosé I was a little nervous this might have been past its best. I remembered the colour as being darker but this was a light peach/onion skin/partridge eye colour that was very attractive. And then the palate was a sensational blend of wild strawberries, peach, and dried herbs, with a lovely creaminess to it. Honestly, it made me think of a white Burgundy almost. Who says rosés and natural wines can’t age? Geil!

Clos du Tue Boeuf, Pineau d’Aunis, Vin de France, Loire Valley

I’ve had my eye on the ‘Tue Boeuf’ wines for a while and this little red number has me thoroughly seduced. Beautiful bright red fruit (strawberry, raspberry, cherry), tart redcurrant, a little lift of white pepper and some very fine dry tannins. A smashable little number.

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Who would have thought that when six Frenchmen came up with the idea for a fancy dress marathon including 20 stops for wine tasting and nibbles it would result in generations of Zorros, Cleopatras and cowboys throwing up foie gras and oysters in prized Bordeaux vineyards and the instigation of a global phenomenon that today draws thousands of participants each year?

When the Marathon du Médoc was launched in 1985, people thought it was bonkers. At the time, marathons were serious things done by serious people and many local vignerons were unfussed about getting involved, according to Hubert Rocher, who co-founded the race with five friends.

‘In the beginning, the owners of the châteaux said, “We don’t need promotion for Médoc wines.” But now the situation is very different,’ he says. ‘Médoc wines are facing big problems.’

The naysayers were proved wrong and by 1994, 8,000 people were taking part each year. Since then, interest in combining running and wine has accelerated at an Olympic pace.

International flavour

In recent years, wine regions and vineyards around the world have been launching their own signature runs – from Moldova (where you run through underground wine cellars) to Alsace via Prosecco.

Some are booze-laced, while at others the drinking is saved for after. ‘People enjoy wine but they want to be healthy. That’s why these events are so popular,’ says Tamino Simon of Walter Events & Consulting in Ortenberg, Germany, which is throwing down the gauntlet to the Marathon du Médoc by launching a German rival.

The Henkell 0.0% Vinothon will ply runners with Riesling, spundekäs (a spiced cream cheese spread) and other local delicacies as they jog through some of the prettiest estates in the Rheingau region. Unusually, there will be alcohol-free wines, too, courtesy of the event’s sponsor Henkell.

Wine-based running clubs have even begun to crop up to tap into the growing trend. Katie Brook, founder of Run to Wine, organises regular runs around London that end with a guided wine tasting.

She thinks interest has boomed as the tide turns away from uber-serious running clubs. ‘Many have become too strict and competitive,’ Brook says. ‘People enjoy the social element – and wine helps to bring that. I also wanted to break down barriers around wine, the idea that it’s snobby. Running helps with that.’

The pairing has precedent, too. ‘French winemakers used to get their staff to run around the vineyards so they’d be fit for harvest,’ says writer Colin Renton. ‘Historically, French people would have bread and wine for their lunch, so they were most likely running and drinking wine.’

Renton gave up his job as an investment writer just before he turned 60 to fulfil a lifelong dream of running a marathon. Upon discovering just how many wine-based runs there were, he decided to spend a year running a race a month (including one full marathon), each in a different wine region.

His travels took him from Jerez in Spain to Hungary, Switzerland, Slovenia and even Belgium. He published his adventures as a book: The Wine Runner (Polaris Publishing, 2023).

Health benefits

Clearly combining alcohol and running goes against most sane health advice. ‘Don’t be dehydrated, and do try to have an electrolyte afterwards,’ advises Brook. ‘In my runs, we always have a lot of water at the start and end. Plus, we have food and water throughout the wine tasting.’

‘Don’t overdo it,’ Renton suggests. ‘Try not to have more than one glass of wine at each feeding station in a race.’

Four of the original six founders of the Marathon du Médoc were doctors and Rocher (himself an orthopaedic surgeon) says: ‘We think that wine is medicinal. It doesn’t cure diseases, but it can help to prevent them. You just need to avoid abusing it.’

Research has shown that one of the secrets to longevity is staying socially active. Both running and wine consumption are activities that come with strong communities, so combining the two can be a good way to boost your social circle.

‘People often come to my runs alone,’ Brook says. ‘Whereas you wouldn’t normally book a wine tasting alone. Lots are new to the area.’

As for Renton, he had been unsure about travelling to all of those wine regions alone. But, he says: ‘If you are a solo traveller, your hotel will be full of other runners that you can speak to, and on the day of the race, there’s a kind of shared community. You’re never alone if you don’t want to be.’

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Italy’s Valle d’Aosta (‘Aosta Valley’) is one of the wine world’s hidden gems. It’s a charming region replete with Roman ruins, medieval Savoyard castles and fairytale landscapes, and it has plenty to offer food and wine lovers as well as the active traveller all year round.

Summer and winter are particularly abundant seasons in terms of activities that focus on its wines, its delicious Alpine food, the region’s beauty and stunning topography.

Lying at the foot of the Alps gives Aosta a particular advantage in the winter. World-class ski and snowboarding villages such as Courmayeur and La Thuile are located within 10-20 minutes of Morgex, the most northern wine village in Aosta.

Mont Blanc’s Skyway – open in both summer and winter – takes explorers by rotating cable car to the summit’s dramatic peaks. One can not only dine at 3,466 metres at Punta Helbronner’s Panoramic Bistro, but also experience the restaurant’s most spectacular view at its Infinity Table, a special private corner for two designed by Kartell, one of Italy’s grandest furniture design companies.

Wine becomes the main focus at Cave Mont Blanc’s high-altitude winery at Pavillon du Mont Fréty, a station two-thirds of the way up the mountain, at 2,173 metres.

Since 2022, this excellent co-op produces a metodo classico (traditional method) brut nature sparkling wine called ‘Cuvées des Guides’, an hommage to Mont Blanc’s Alpine guides. Here, it’s possible to learn about the winemaking process and how the high altitude pressure and temperature conditions impart a unique thumbprint. This 100% Prié Blanc wine can be tasted in the Punta Hellbroner Panoramic Bistrot alongside other wines from the Aosta Valley.

For those visitors who prefer exploring Aosta in the summer, hiking trails feel almost limitless.

Vineyard tours & tastings

For those keen on a picnic with wine tasting followed by a self-guided stroll through a vineyard trail, La Vrille wine estate is a must. Of its eight delicious wines, the rare indigenous red variety, Vuillermin, and the beautifully layered dessert wine, Chambave Muscat Flétri, are standouts.

Winery tastings are abundant, but Les Crêtes, one of Aosta’s most celebrated producers, offers some unique vinous experiences in Aymavilles.

Wine lovers can taste a variety of its wines accompanied by a curated selection of local cheeses like Fontina DOP, alongside some spectacularly delicious salumi, including a fabulous local version of ‘lardo’, while admiring the breathtaking Torrette hillside vineyards from the expansive picture window.

For an even more adventurous experience, you can enjoy a wine tasting in Les Crêtes’ Côteau la Tour vineyard with its medieval watchtower.

Summer ‘aperitivo’ does not get much better than in Aosta. Vinosteria Antirouille organises an aperitivo in the vines every week in July, with some dates in August and September too. Each week features a different local producer, whose wines are paired with artisanal meats and cheeses, all accompanied by traditional music and comedy sketches.

Getting there

Aosta Valley’s closest international airport is Torino airport, 115km to the south, however Milan Malpensa (170km) has more international flights.

The drive time from either city is approximately two hours.

Geneva airport is 151km away and a three-hour car journey though the Pennine Alps via the Saint Bernard mountain pass (only open in the summer months) or through the toll tunnel.

Unwind

Unwind and rejuvenate after your day’s activities at Pré-Saint-Didier’s thermal baths, located between Courmayeur and Morgex. Its hot pools are fed by thermal water, and it also features saunas and themed ‘relax rooms’.

If you are keen to stay longer than a day, rooms are also available at its neighbouring property, QC Hotel Monte Bianco, open summer or winter.

For other accommodations, the family-owned 4* Hotel Milleluci in Aosta town itself is a fine choice . Its vintage wooden Alpine surroundings add an authentic feel while its perched location delivers excellent views of the valley.

For visitors who enjoy wine estate agroturismo experiences, Lo Triolet winery offers six different charming holiday apartments located just off the main highway in the quiet village of Introd, just 5km from Gran Paradiso National Park.

Dining

Wine is, of course, meant to accompany food and there are a number of wonderful dining choices in the region. If imbibing with access to expansive views of dramatic vineyard vistas sounds appealing, then you will not go wrong with Le Vigneron Arvier, where the steep terraced vineyards in one of Aosta’s smallest wine areas, Arvier, pair with refined cuisine and a deep wine list.

Trattoria di Campagna in Sarre is another excellent choice, with selections such as melt-in-your-mouth homemade gnocchi with Bleu d’Aosta cheese sauce, and delicious fresh trout from Morgex.

For visitors travelling through Aosta’s southern areas, the buzzy and rustic La Kiuva in Arnad offers an authentic dining experience. It boasts a number of delicious regional specialities such as ‘Crêpes alla Valdostana’ – savoury crepes filled with Fontina DOP cheese, ham and bechamel, baked until bubbly.

La Kiuva is also the only authorised facility in the Aosta Valley recognised as a processing centre for hunted game, so various tasty dishes like pappardelle with wild boar ragù also feature on its menu.

The Aosta Valley remains one of Italy’s most captivating yet understated destinations – a perfect blend of Alpine beauty, tradition, and taste – where mountain wines, delicious cuisine, and breathtaking landscapes come together in perfect harmony.

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Nestled on the highest gravel terrace in the heart of Sauternes, overlooking rolling golden slopes and neighbouring icons like Château d’Yquem, Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey is more than a Premier Grand Cru Classé estate – it’s a serene, transformative escape where history, luxury and the art of living converge.

The property’s roots stretch back over 400 years, with viticulture documented as early as 1618 under Sieur Raymond Peyraguey. Classified as a First Growth in the legendary 1855 ranking, it has long produced some of the world’s most revered sweet wines, born from the magical interplay of morning mists from the Ciron river and the noble rot that concentrates the grapes’ essence.

Visionary ambition

In 2014, Swiss businessman and then Lalique CEO Silvio Denz acquired the estate, infusing it with visionary ambition. To mark its 400th anniversary in 2018, he unveiled the exquisite Lalique Hôtel & Restaurant, a five-star Relais & Châteaux property where four worlds – wine, crystal, gastronomy and hospitality – harmoniously intersect in a celebration of beauty and precision.

The 17th-century honey-coloured château, with its elegant tower and fortified origins dating to the 13th century, has been meticulously renovated under the guidance of designers Lady Tina Green and Pietro Mingarelli.

Lalique’s signature crystal artistry shines throughout: bespoke chandeliers resembling vine leaves cascade from ceilings, panels etched with intricate motifs adorn walls, and one-off pieces – from decanters to furniture – create an atmosphere of refined enchantment. The on-site boutique offers these items for purchase, alongside estate honeys, jellies, and of course a large selection of wines from the property – as well as Denz’ other estates Château Péby Faugères and Château Faugères (both St-Emilion Grand Cru Classé), and Château Cap de Faugères in Castillon-Côtes de Bordeaux.

Intimate wine experiences

Yet the true heartbeat of Lafaurie-Peyraguey lies in its wine experiences. Curated tours and tastings reveal the secrets of this 36-hectare mosaic of gravelly terroirs. Visitors explore the historic ‘enclos’ vineyard, the cellars with their classic oak barrels (including a unique solid crystal barrel by Lalique), and the charming chapel fully decorated with crystal motifs.

Options range from classic visits with tastings of three wines, including the grand vin, to the exclusive ‘Hidden Treasures’ prestige tour for hotel guests, delving into the private historic cellar housing over 350,000 bottles from Bordeaux and beyond.

Day visitors – arriving by car or coach – can enjoy tours and tastings without staying overnight, making the estate accessible.

These intimate, appointment-only experiences demystify the labour-intensive creation of Sauternes – multiple passes through the vines to harvest botrytised berries – while highlighting the estate’s dry whites too.

Exquisite dining

No stay is complete however without dining at the Michelin two-star restaurant, helmed by chef Jérôme Schilling, named Meilleur Ouvrier de France in 2023, who calls himself a ‘cuisinier des vignes’. It was indeed one of the best meals I’ve ever had in my life with impeccable service, incredible food flavours and thought-provoking wine pairings.

His inventive, precise cuisine draws inspiration from the Sauternes terroir, using seasonal local produce to craft dishes that elevate the estate’s sweet and dry wines.

Panoramic views of the vineyards frame meals in the elegant dining room, where golden Sémillon leaf motifs on the ceiling echo the landscape outside. The extensive wine list (over 100 pages) spans France and the wider wine world including deep verticals of some of the most well-known estates (from Bordeaux and beyond) with many including their first ever vintage.

Masterful pairings are created by head sommelier Adrien Cascio unlocking new dimensions in the wines’ complexity. Dinner menus start around €220 for four courses (excluding drinks), with accessible €59-60 discovery lunches in low season for locals. The restaurant is determined to secure a third Michelin star – the first for any Bordeaux restaurant.

In warmer months, the summer terrace offers a more relaxed al fresco option, perfect for lighter menus amid the vines.

Calm elegance

The boutique hotel itself – just 13 rooms and suites across two floors – exudes calm elegance. Each space is uniquely appointed with Lalique crystal accents, high-end fittings and sumptuous fabrics.

Hotel amenities include a bar (with an impressive spirits and cigar selection), lounge, concierge services and complimentary e-bikes for exploring quiet lanes and nearby châteaux like Sigalas-Rabaud or Clos Haut-Peyraguey.

Personalised services from Maître de Maison Pierre Gazeau anticipates every whim – from car hoovering to organising chapel weddings or last-minute helicopter landings (requiring a quick call to the gardener for the field heliport). The hotel also holds two Michelin keys, joining the restaurant’s two stars in prestigious recognition.

In a region with no shortage of impressive estates, Lafaurie-Peyraguey stands apart as an intimate, worthy destination for a tasting, a gastronomic pilgrimage, or a multi-night immersion while enjoying the slow, soulful rhythm of Sauternes.

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Why do we drink wine? Put the more esoteric arguments aside and the reason is simple: it makes us feel good. It does us good, too. Besides helping us to relax and unwind, boosting our mood and providing connection with others, wine has frequently been shown to have a positive antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect.

Vinotherapy, the marriage between wine and spa, takes the idea of wine as cure to an entirely new level. By utilising the byproducts of the winemaking process – grape skins, pips, leaves, must and even sap from pruned vines – in treatments, it aims to heighten wellbeing in a natural way.

Efficacy claims stem from the idea that wine grapes, which are rich in polyphenol resveratrol, can be used to provide intense moisturisation, a natural and waste-free exfoliant and anti-ageing benefits.

As a concept, vinotherapy is nothing new – historical records do show that some people, back through the Middle Ages to Roman times, would use wine, mixed with herbs and other flavourings, as part of their hygiene rituals.

Prominent French beauty brand Caudalie has, almost since its inception by Mathilde and Bertrand Thomas in the 1990s, run wine-themed spas at the likes of Frank Gehry-designed Marqués de Riscal in Rioja, northern Spain, and its flagship Les Sources de Caudalie in Bordeaux’s Pessac-Léognan region.

Today’s vinotherapy is taking on a fresh shape, with a distinct shift from showmanship to science. Modern practice is increasingly sophisticated and nuanced, with new boutique brands and techie spas focused on the chemical potential of high levels of grape polyphenols to transform skin – in addition to theatrical soaks in barrel-style tubs.

When you pair a relaxing treatment with a stay overnight snuggled among vines, along with a curated local wine list of special bottles, as you will do in the properties featured below, then you can’t help but feel good. Which, of course, is exactly the point.

South Lodge

Sussex, UK

Set among the rolling vineyards of Sussex, this plush country house hotel is positioning itself as the British leader in vinotherapy, via a partnership with sustainable Kent skincare brand Pelegrims, which creates products derived from leftover grape material from Westwell winery near Ashford, and Ridgeview Estate nearby in Sussex.

Onsite south-facing rows of Chardonnay, Meunier and Pinot Noir – which will ultimately appear in an own-brand fizz crafted by Ridgeview’s winemaker Simon Roberts – are visited by Pelegrims’ founders Jérôme Moisan and Alex Verier periodically throughout the year in order to harvest sap, grape skins and leaves for extract to go into bespoke products, for use in the multi-storey South Lodge spa.

As for that spa: with a switched-on local clientele, glut of daily exercise classes, healthy onsite restaurant and multiple pools, the 4,000m2 space feels like a social meeting space and hub of wellbeing, where treatments focus on delivering results as much as pampering.

Arrive early for a swim in the mirror-like indoor pool, fronted by a row of sweeping windows overlooking Sussex greenery and an outdoor hydrotherapy area.

Move on to a Pelegrims treatment and a snooze in the relaxation room’s illuminated pods, then check into your hotel suite – preferably one of the spa-style, two-storey lakeside lodges, known as The Reeds.

Here you can carry on the feel-good theme with a guided wild swimming session. Or, just a chilled bottle of local Sussex sparkling, uncorked on your private terrace overlooking the water.

Must-try treatment: Fresh Leaf Fusion Face & Body Treatment, featuring a grape leaf body mask and poultice massage, followed by a bio-cellulose sheet mask infused with grapevine compounds.

Must-drink: Any one of the impressive collection of Ridgeview wines available in Michelin one-star The Pass restaurant.

Bardessono Hotel & Spa

Napa Valley, USA

With its Michelin-lauded and -starred restaurants, plush vineyard hotels and bucket-list producers, Napa Valley is arguably the wine world’s capital of luxury pampering. Bardessono, in storybook-pretty central Yountville, adds another element to the hedonistic feel with its spa-led ethos, where R&R is put on the same pedestal as a sublime vintage.

Herbs and other plants from the hotel’s own organic garden are worked into the onsite B Spa’s forward-thinking treatments – which range from Korean beauty-inspired facials with a salmon DNA derivative to healing CBD treatments.

But the real local flavour comes in with the addition of local grapes. A Vino Polish, for example, pairs crushed Napa grape seeds with sea salt and lavender to slough off dead skin cells and leave skin feeling fresh as a newborn’s.

Day guests can unwind by the poolside post-treatment, but for the full experience, book into the hotel’s comfy and stylish spa suites. Shy guests can indulge in treatments in-room – with a glass of something delicious in hand, if desired.

Must-try treatment: The Vino Polish, which includes a grapeseed body butter massage – the ultimate skin hydrator. 

Must-drink: Obviously, it has to be Cabernet Sauvignon. Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars is minutes away, so pop there for a tasting if you’ve exhausted the Bardessono restaurant list.

Château de Germigney

Jura, France

The original big name in modern vinotherapy, French brand Caudalie opened its first spa in 1999 in Bordeaux, on the Château Smith Haut Lafitte family estate. A quarter of a century later, it has its name on 35 hybrid spa-boutiques and four expansive vinotherapy spas, including this one in Port-Lesney in eastern France.

Housed in a romantic 18th century château hotel where outdoor dining terraces are shaded by towering trees and rooms are outfitted with floral motifs, chandeliers and statement mirrors, this branch of the spa brand is a timeless celebration of Jura. Slatted wood, evoking wine barrels, lines the sauna exterior, while a stone-trimmed pool area mirrors local limestone soils.

Soak in the outdoor jacuzzi, unwind in a purifying salt room or indulge in one of the Caudalie signature ‘rituals’, which combine multiple treatments into a half or full day of wine-themed pampering.

Must-try treatment: The Winemaker’s Massage, which combines Caudalie hero products with treading and pressing motions – said to drain fluids and toxins from the body and activate circulation.

Must-drink: Anything you fancy off the extensive vin jaune list, which includes vintages dating back to the 1950s.

Loisium Langenlois

Kamptal, Austria 

Clad in luminous green tiles that evoke the verdant hue of the vineyards just outside, the spa at Loisium Langenlois has a simple aesthetic that belies the sublime potency of its treatments.

Wine grapes make an appearance in rituals that range from head to toe, with boutique Burgundian beauty brand Vinésime employed in facials to turn back the clock. (According to the brand, Pinot Noir has five times the antioxidants of green tea – something to consider when choosing your drink at breakfast.)

When you aren’t busy on the massage table, lounging in the steamy sauna or making use of the compact workout room, you can be immersing yourself in a vinous experience of another kind on a tour of the 900-year-old onsite cellar.

Crowned with a dramatic contemporary building designed by architect Steven Holl, it’s one of several hotel delights here that also include a heated outdoor pool fringed with vines and the minimalist, light-flooded rooms dressed in white and wood.

Must-try treatment: The Vine Strength facial, which employs the flagship A20C complex from Vinésime to exfoliate, restore and strengthen the skin barrier.

Must-drink: Sign up for a Kamptal Icons wine tasting in the WeinWelt cellar, and sample a range of local Grüner Veltliners and Rieslings.

L’AND

Alentejo, Portugal

Architecturally ambitious and unashamedly modern, L’AND – a resort and vineyard in the Evora subregion of diverse Alentejo – is the kind of pin-up stay that you find gracing the cover of Wallpaper* or Architectural Digest.

But there’s substance with the style here, too, particularly given techie and sustainable Austrian vinotherapy brand Vinoble is leading treatments within the vast, standalone spa.

It’s a space that instantly sets the pulse to ‘unwind’: lined with glass and filled with minimalist wood and stone, evoking the natural textural contrasts of the vineyard.

Undertake a muscle-melting massage to unclench shoulders or an intensive facial peel to rehydrate the complexion. Follow up with a soak in a hydrotherapy bath with red grape oil, poaching away until you reach a heightened state of tranquillity.

Must-try treatment: Vinoble body peel with grape seeds, paired with a full-body massage.

Must-drink: Whichever blend you’ve made yourself. L’AND’s Make Your Own Wine experience, featuring Alicante, Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Syrah in the onsite winery, is the other essential thing to experience here, besides the spa.

Gibbston Valley

Gibbston, New Zealand

This Central Otago wine producer deals in superlatives, being both one of the oldest producers in the region and home to the largest wine cave in New Zealand, which doubles as the cellar door.

And among its rows of Pinot Noir, Riesling and other varieties, which are backdropped by verdant slopes, it also majors in the visitor experience. Winery tours, a restaurant, a cheesery, a deli and two dozen secluded, vine-facing villas are all found onsite.

Adding to all of that is the award-winning spa, a space that pairs classic pampering with wine-based flair to give you a taste of Gibbston as you enjoy a much-deserved unwind.

TheraVine vinotherapy products are packed with antioxidant polyphenols derived from grape leaves, seeds and vine shoots, and used in tailored facials or skin-firming gel wraps that leave bodies feeling refreshed and deeply moisturised.

After your session with the therapist you’ll get a glass of Gibbston Valley fizz to sip in the relaxation room – the perfect precursor to sampling the onsite winery’s full range later in the evening.

Over a dinner of confit duck leg or pork belly in the restaurant, work your way through Pinot Noir vintages dating back to 2005, as well as a selection of organic single-vineyard bottlings.

Must-try treatment: Deluxe Anti-Ageing Facial, featuring TheraVine products to smooth and moisturise skin.

Must-drink: Gibbston’s Reserve Pinot Noir, made only in exceptional years and in small quantities.

Vinotherapy essentials

Resveratrol

The natural polyphenol found in high concentration in grapes.

Viniferine

Natural compound in grapevine sap that can correct skin hyperpigmentation.

Grape seed oil

Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, often used in massage.

Grape seed scrub

Exfoliates and restores skin, with anti-ageing properties.

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Born in Denmark, sommelier Majken Bech-Bailey is a pioneer in non-alcoholic pairings in some of the top Michelin-star restaurants in the world. Her own range of non-alcoholic wine alternatives, BÆK, is listed in restaurants including Gordon Ramsay High in London, Grace & Savour in Birmingham and Adare Manor in Co Limerick, Ireland.

‘Twelve or 13 years ago I had no idea that I would become a sommelier, in the fine dining world. Most people in the rural community I grew up in drank beer or rum and coke, not wine, and I didn’t really drink alcohol. I was all set to go to business school when I spent the summer working at a Michelin-star restaurant. It completely changed the direction of my life.

‘While I was there I tasted a white Burgundy with some age, paired with a lobster and tomato dish – I was blown away by the match, by how each elevated the other – and it made me want to learn more about wine.

‘Because I wasn’t a big drinker, I asked if I could play around with the non-alcoholic pairing at the restaurant – I wanted to create something more complex than what they were offering. After that I looked after the non-alcoholic pairing at every restaurant I worked at. It’s often an afterthought in restaurants and can be neglected where somms are so passionate about wine. You’ll find water sommeliers today, and tea sommeliers, but because the non-alcoholic category is so broad, it’s hard to find people, like me, who specialise in that area.

‘In fine dining the dishes are very complex – I want to respect that and offer guests the same experience, and satisfaction that they would receive if they were ordering wine.

‘I met my British husband, chef Jordan Bailey, in Denmark around 12 years ago. After working together in Michelin-star restaurants in Oslo, we moved to Ireland in 2019 to run our own restaurant, Aimsir, which won two Michelin stars after just four months.

‘It was great fun, but in 2023 we decided to start our own private catering and consultancy business instead. In the course of that I ran some masterclasses on non-alcoholic drinks, and restaurants started asking me to make a few bottles for them. In-house chefs and sommeliers often don’t have the resources to make elaborate non-alcoholic juices that might only last a week. That’s how BÆK [brook or stream in Danish] came about.

‘Previous to that I’d create a match for a specific dish. Now the challenge was to create two products, specifically designed to go with food, but without knowing what they’d be served with – one as an alternative to white wine, and one to red wine.

‘Just as with wine, we’re considering colour, clarity, aroma, texture, body, flavour and length. And we use some wine descriptors so that people will understand what it tastes like. We’re trying to mimic some of the elements of a wine, but we’re not trying to mimic wine itself. If you try to do that, you will always fail because it will never taste like wine – because it doesn’t contain alcohol. My vision was to create something that feels like having a glass of wine, but doesn’t necessarily taste like having a glass of wine. Lots of people said we should use a wine bottle as packaging, but I didn’t want that. I wanted it to be clear that the products are not wine – that instead they are something unique, that merit attention.

‘The advantage of having a chef for a husband is that I had access to an entire kitchen and range of ingredients. Plus he understands how to create a certain flavour experience.

‘I wanted the pepper and tannin you’d find in a red wine in the ‘red’ version; we ended up using the juice from aronia berries, because they are thick-skinned, almost bitter, with a tannic-like structure; we add this to Merlot grape juice, which is sweet and contrasts with the aronia; Earl Grey tea concentrate, Sichuan pepper, orange, clove, and barrel-aged raspberry balsamic vinegar.

‘With the white, instead of just going with a dry, high-acid drink, I wanted something rounder and with a little sweetness so it would go with savoury and sweet dishes. We use the juice of Chardonnay grapes and Bramley apples – Bramleys give the perfect balance of sweetness and tartness – infused with roasted Jerusalem artichokes; there’s also a touch of beeswax, honey, tonka beans and seasalt.

‘We’re also developing two sparkling versions: one that’s an aperitif style, and one to go with afternoon tea that has a stronger flavour profile.

‘I believe in the future of the non-alcoholic category. It’s booming, and partly because there is a generation of non-drinkers emerging. Many have been exposed to fine dining from a young age, and are sophisticated diners. They’re excited to come across an option that’s not Coke.’

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The first hint of chestnuts roasting over open fires and holly garlands sheathing street lamps began well before December was even underway – and we’re not complaining.

With 2025 now at an end and temperatures dipping to frosty negatives, the holiday season adds a much-needed infusion of cheer and festivities that encourage fêting both the past year and the one to come.

We’ve found a few ways to ring in 2026 in the most stylish of settings, from lavish caviar pop-ups in Paris to sky-high dining in the Swiss Alps – plus the most sumptuous new suites to snag for a ski getaway – these haute happenings are sure to get you in the holiday spirit.

Unmissable experiences

Toast 2026 at celebrity chef Scott Conant’s new hotspot Leola at Baha Mar in The Bahamas

Nassau’s Baha Mar, an over-the-top resort perched along the Caribbean’s famous white-sand Cable Beach, is a year-round party thanks to events like the Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival, where Bahamian Lenny Kravitz recently performed for the first time in his native island country.

For New Year’s Eve, Jamaican Grammy Award-winning artist Sean Paul will rang in 2026 with a live performance, fireworks, and dancing under the stars.

Before the show, sample a selection of plates from Baha Mar’s 40-plus restaurants bearing some of the biggest names in the culinary world, including Daniel Boulud and Marcus Samuelsson, or take a seat at two-time James Beard Award-winning chef Scott Conant’s newest eatery, Leola.

Inspired to evoke the feel of a 1920s speakeasy, Conant’s sultry space is outfitted with velvet furnishings, gilded design details, and extravagant chandeliers.

For the ultimate New Year’s indulgence, order the foie gras-filled tortelli in balsamico tradizionale and the rigatoni with jumbo lump crab, which of course pairs best with a robust Italian Barolo – and the old world-heavy wine list has plenty of standout vintages and producers to choose from.

Savour seasonal truffles during an intimate Sunday lunch at Mirazur in Menton

Lauded chef Mauro Colagreco’s three Michelin-starred Mirazur, suspended over the Mediterranean Sea in Menton, on the French Riviera, has claimed a coveted spot as one of the world’s top restaurants.

On the cusp of its 20th anniversary, chef Colagreco shows no sign of slowing down – he’s even bringing in a ‘gastronomic curator,’ Ferran Adrià (of the now-closed El Bulli) to assist with an anthological menu revisiting two decades of the eatery’s culinary creations.

If you can’t wait until April for the month-long anniversary edition, sample the chef’s locally focused cuisine in one of the restaurant’s most intimate of spaces: La Puerta, a private dining room and chef’s table where you can watch the master at work in the open kitchen.

Wines are pulled from the space’s cellar and vinyl records set the tone for the chalet-like experience that would feel just as fitting in Courchevel as on the Côte d’Azur.

Gift a collector-worthy cuvée from Château Lagrange

Château Lagrange’s history in Médoc’s St-Julien appellation runs deep, with a heritage dating back to the 16th century. While the grand cru classé vineyard hasn’t changed since the 1855 classification, the estate, along with the help of winemaker Matthieu Bordes, has been incorporating more sustainable viticulture practices such as biodiversity regeneration and plot-by-plot vinification since Japan’s Suntory Group took the reins in 1983.

To honour the anniversary, Château Lagrange has released a limited-edition cuvée as part of its Heritage Collection: a 2023 magnum modelled after vintage Bordeaux bottles and crafted from historic parcels.

The blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon and 46% Merlot nods to when the vineyard was more Merlot-heavy at the start of the estate’s Suntory chapter. Presented in a minimalist oak case with a trio of leather straps, this subtle celebration of the art of wabi-sabi adds a Japanese twist to the classic Bordeaux.

Sleep in a sumptuous Lalique-filled suite in Courchevel’s newest boutique hotel

Monaco-based Maya Collection’s haute restaurants have expanded everywhere from Dubai to Montenegro, and the latest address on the list is one just as lauded: glamorous French ski town Courchevel 1850.

A first for the collection, Maya Hotel Courchevel 1850 is in a category of its own in Courchevel, with just 14 rooms styled in a minimalist, Japanese aesthetic by celebrated architect and interior designer Sylvestre Murigneux.

Lalique is prominently on display throughout the boutique hotel, but the dedicated Lalique Suite and Apartment is entirely outfitted in the French maison’s legendary crystal – which you’ll find everywhere from the sculpted headboard and sink to the deconstructed prism chandeliers floating above the dining room table and bar.

At the first alpine outpost of MayaBay, locally sourced ingredients are woven into the menu of elevated takes on classic Japanese and Thai fare – one of the standouts being the Choo Chee lobster, grilled and coated in a Thai red curry with pineapple and red bell peppers.

Ski like (and with) an Olympian on an alpine escapade in the Italian Dolomites

After catching pros during the Winter Olympic Games in Milano and Cortina, jet off to join racing legends and Olympians Travis Ganong and Marie-Michèle Gagnong in Italy’s South Tyrol for a five- to seven-night retreat at COMO Alpina Dolomites.

Call the Alpe di Siusi – dotted with mountain huts serving up South Tyrolean specialties – your base as you perfect your techniques on Val Gardena’s iconic pistes.

After a day on the slopes, recovery comes in the form of restorative yoga, sledding under the stars, and dinners designed around local alpine cuisine (mountain herbs, meadow-raised beef) at both the One MICHELIN Key hotel and an authentic, rustic rifugio.

Indulge in Paris’s most iconic caviar during a winter pop-up at Hôtel de Crillon

Savoir-faire is a term often reserved for chefs and vintners, but century-old Caviar Kaspia has rightfully earned a reputation as a master in the art of caviar.

The Parisian institution has collaborated with everyone from Giambattista Valli to Jacquemus, but this season, it’s popping up in space that couldn’t be more fitting: Hôtel de Crillon, A Rosewood Hotel.

Taking over the gilded Bar Les Ambassadeurs and adjacent Jardin d’Hiver, Caviar Kaspia is adding its signature pop of teal to the marble-clad spaces.

Co-branded winter white matryoshka dolls open to reveal selections of caviar served with signature mother-of-pearl spoons and paired with Kaspia’s iconic vodkas (the cherry is a favourite) and Duval Leroy-crafted house Champagne.

While Kaspa classics like caviar grilled cheese, caviar-topped gamberoni carpaccio, and the caviar-stuffed baked potato are must-orders, try one of the newer plates like the agnolotti del plin with king crab – which pairs beautifully with Kaspia’s Joseph Mellot-crafted Sancerre.

Dine & drink above the Alps at Six Senses Crans-Montana

Swiss hideaway Six Senses Crans-Montana, perched above the main gondola in Crans (half of the swish ski resort duo) is known for spectacular skiing and standout Valais wines, which you can sip on a gourmet snowshoeing tour along woodland trails or at the redesigned Ora Bar.

Here, cocktails and mocktails are infused with ingredients sourced from within a 100-mile radius – and the sweeping mountain views are just as impressive. Start with a sundowner after a day on the slopes, or end the evening at the dedicated cigar and cognac lounge.

To really embrace the alpine feel, ski right in to the expansive, forest-encased terrace of brasserie Wild Cabin, another newish addition to the property, where wood-fired fare is the star of a slopeside lunch that blends the best of local and seasonal ingredients for plates like braised leg of lamb with pumpkin purée and Swiss filet mignon with homemade chimichurri-yoghurt sauce and pearl onions.

Sip Simon Porte Jacquemus’s latest creation delving into the world of champagne

The French designer behind the eponymous mega-hit brand keeps churning out hit after hit, whether it’s on the runway in Paris or transforming a lavender field in Provence into the ultimate catwalk.

For his latest creation, Jacquemus has reimagined Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2018, a limited-edition bottle embossed with Simon’s handwritten logo and signature, wrapped in a couture-like Toile du Marais gauzy fabric.

While the bubbles certainly steal the show, Simon enlisted Camille Orfèvre, one of Paris’s last master metalsmiths, to design a sculptural rafraîchissoir (cooler) inspired by Medici vases that’s handcrafted from silver-plated metal – a work of art that takes more than 40 hours over the course of several weeks to create.

Only 50 (manufactured on request) will be available, and the collector-worthy piece includes a glass set and flight of La Grande Dame vintages: a bottle of 2018 (the 25th vintage of the cuvée originally launched in 1972), a magnum of 2012, and a jeroboam of 1990 – Simon’s birth year.

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A sommelier by trade, with a degree in economics, Jeffrey Koren is director of wine at The Chancery Rosewood, London. His hospitality career began during university in Edinburgh, and he eventually left the corporate world to pursue it full time. He trained in Spain, and worked in top-tier restaurants across the UK and Scandinavia, including as sommelier at Michelin three-star Maaemo in Oslo. He later moved into wine buying at UK merchant Lay & Wheeler, before returning to hospitality as head of wine at Brasserie Marceline in London’s Canary Wharf.

My first memorable wine experience

Funnily enough, I can’t recall the wine I drank! As a student, I moved into a new house and bought the most expensive bottle of red wine my budget would allow and shared it with my new housemates. In many ways, it’s what we try to do with the wine programme at The Chancery Rosewood – not just sell a bottle of wine, but give people a truly unforgettable experience.

My go-to everyday wines

I don’t often drink when I’m at home, but my go-to wines tend to be crisp, fresh and mineral. Albariño is a firm favourite, and there’s almost always a bottle from winemakers Xurxo Alba (of Bodegas Albamar) or Anselmo Mendes in my fridge.

My favourite supermarket buy

I’m always impressed by the value that can be found in white Bordeaux, such as [the dry white from Sauternes] G de Guiraud.

My most embarrassing moment at work

Luckily, I’ve managed to avoid any major embarrassing moments, though I think most wine professionals have managed to break a glass or two in their time.

Pet hate

When it comes to wine pairings or wines by the glass, I prefer to let people come to their own conclusions about the wine rather than provide tasting notes. It’s important to spend time speaking about the people and places behind each bottle, as well as its justification for being included on the list or paired with a particular dish. Tasting notes can be quickly forgotten, but a good story is incredibly memorable.

My death row food and wine pairing

Champagne and fried chicken, or Champagne and oysters, or Champagne and BBQ flavour Hula Hoops, or Champagne and, well, you get the idea…

Best food and wine match at The Chancery Rosewood

There are so many different outlets here that it’s hard to pick a favourite. Alsatian winemaker Christophe Mittnacht’s Cuvée Gyotaku, which is featured in Tobi Masa, has been specially made with Japanese food in mind. His wife Yuka is a talented Japanese chef, and it’s a very gastronomic wine that pairs beautifully with the omakase.

In Serra, the Estate Xinomavro from Ktima Foundi has been a favourite with so many of the Mediterraneaninspired dishes.

In Jacqueline, our executive pastry chef Marius Dufay uses biodynamic produce to create one of the most innovative afternoon teas in London. Domaine Vacheron is one of Sancerre’s truly elite producers and farms biodynamically. The wine matches both the flavours and the space’s philosophy.

My fallback quick after-work fix

Champagne is for all occasions – especially after a long day at work!

Wine I’m most proud of on my list

Given The Chancery Rosewood’s history as the old US embassy, I’m thrilled to have a close relationship with so many iconic American producers. I’m especially proud of our selection of Pinot Noir from Oregon, which includes producers such as Flâneur Wines and Lingua Franca. My personal favourite is the Willamette Valley producer Maggie Harrison of Antica Terra, which makes one of the most hotly sought-after allocations of Oregon Pinot Noir.

The wine on my list that never fails to surprise guests

Our house Champagne isn’t what people would expect from a property of our size. We are privileged to partner with Pol Roger, and even the entry-level Brut Réserve has been hand-riddled (in the traditional way) and aged for four years in the house’s cellars. The result is a Champagne that stands out as one of the most exciting wines in its category.

Wines I’d avoid ordering from a restaurant list

I’d steer clear of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc that wasn’t bottled in New Zealand. I’d also avoid anything ordered in bulk and bottled in market. Organisations such as Appellation Marlborough Wine support local growers, protect the reputation of the region and are a marker for quality.

Wine style I’m most excited about at the moment

Globally, there are so many examples of old-vine Grenache being made well. From places such as Spain, southern France, Australia or South Africa – there are loads of producers making exciting wines.

Wine style/grape that I really don’t enjoy drinking

I’ve never been enamoured with Viognier. There are a few examples I’ve tried that have come close to changing my mind, but I’m yet to be completely convinced.

Wine region/style that offers the greatest value for money right now

Value for money is usually relative. In the context of Burgundy, many exciting wines from the Mâconnais or Hautes-Côtes de Nuits show incredibly well against more highly priced peers. South African wines from top producers remain competitively priced, as do many from Central Europe.

My favourite wine region to visit, and favourite destination while I’m there

I adore Piedmont, and Ristorante Le Torri in the medieval village of Castiglione Falletto in the heart of Barolo is remarkable. There’s nothing quite like Piedmontese hospitality, and the region’s warmth and charm are something that everyone should experience at least once.

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Perched over the dunes on Portugal’s northwestern Atlantic coast, an hour’s drive from Lisbon, is Areias do Seixo, a boutique hotel and 23 villas marrying eco-mindulfulness and sophistication; an Atlantic soul with cosmopolitan flair. The aesthetic is quiet luxury meets India by way of Marrakech, with surfaces of glazed concrete, polished wood and warm lighting creating an atmosphere of elegant rusticity.

Owners Marta Fonseca and Gonçalo Alves have a solid background in hospitality and this comes through in the attention to detail, cohesiveness of the concept and proactive politeness of the staff. The quietness, luminosity and sea-kissed air define the location and, to a great extent, Areias do Seixo, a project strongly anchored in its surroundings.

A pool of one’s own

Guests staying at private villas have their own heated swimming pools, while activities and services available to all include yoga, sound baths, a woodfired hot tub, on-site spa and tours of the permaculture vegetable garden that supplies the onsite restaurants. No surprise then that the latter rely heavily on seasonal, local produce, through contemporary interpretations of Portuguese traditional cuisine. The wine list covers interesting producers across Portugal’s many regions but it’s particularly worth exploring the local wines.

Local wine gems

Indeed, Areias do Seixo is an ideal base for exploring the Lisboa wine region and its singular DOCs and grape varieties. Within a 20- to 30-minute drive you can visit some of Portugal’s smallest and most intriguing appellations, including Torres Vedras, Bucelas, Colares and Carcavelos.

The local viticultural wealth is, in itself, reason enough to set up camp at Areias do Seixo. The region of Lisboa has become a hotspot of sustainable, winemaker-led projects and it’s well worth making your way across the winding roads and rolling hills and visit producers such as Haja Cortezia (37km to the south), Vale da Capucha (20km, southeast), AdegaMãe (16.6km, southeast) or Quinta da Boa Esperança (24.7km, southeast), to name but a few.

A great opportunity to meet the producers and taste the region’s saline Arintos, refreshing reds (mostly from the very underestimated yet supremely delicious Castelão) or mouthwatering takes on Sercial.

The region’s producers are creative and experimental and you’ll find delicious, unexpected pét-nats, moreish rosés and orange wines alongside benchmark classics such as the singular Malvasias de Colares.

After the visits and tastings it won’t be hard to find places to eat – although you might be tempted to simply stock up on the region’s fresh vegetables and seafood and cook back at your villa.

Hungry for adventure

For all the activities, services and easily accessible food & wine, the true appeal of Areias do Seixo is the ocean. The beach is just a 5-10-minute walk away across soft, pristine dunes. You’ll arrive at the top of a dramatic escarpment where steps, nestled in the rock, take you down to the sand and sea.

Early risers might want to work for their lunch and go mussel-hunting – a fun activity that is also great exercise and a way to be fully immersed in the smells, sounds and textures of the Atlantic.

Once your bucket is full, make your way back and Gonçalo and his team will happily cook your catch at the outdoor kitchen, with a glass of a crisp Lisboa Arinto in hand.

Back at the beach, the more adventurous can book surf lessons guided by certified instructors – or simply rent a board and show off surfing skills. Areias do Seixo is at the epicentre of one of the world’s surfing hotspots; Praia de Santa Cruz – where Areias do Seixo has a sister project, Noah’s Surf House – just a few kilometres away. Meanwhile, the iconic Nazaré, of ‘Big Wave’ and Garrett McNamara fame, is 75km to the north.

After your surfing session, warm up in the hot tub back or around the fire pit at Areias do Seixo. This is a place to truly slow down, embrace the landscape and enjoy the many experiences both nature and luxury accommodation afford.

Getting there: You can easily fly to Lisbon. From the airport you can either arrange a transfer or rent a car. We advise you to do the latter as you’ll need it to explore the surroundings more freely.

For more information check the Areias do Seixo website.

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As the plane dips into Cape Town’s airspace, the granite monolith of Table Mountain rises to greet you. Its presence magnetises the city, one of the few in the world threaded by a national park. As its granitic folds amble in the direction of Cape Point, its slopes form Constantia, South Africa’s oldest wine region.

The mountain is a reminder of the Cape’s ancient geology, conservatively put at 700 million years old. Mountains are everywhere. Stellenbosch is shaped by four major ranges: Franschhoek is hugged by a bowl of them, the Swartland is the most mountainous of all, while the dramatic corridors of the Breedekloof and Robertson will have you looking out for hobbits.

With winemaking records dating back to the mid-1600s, a trip here is to be immersed in an ongoing dialogue between past and present. Visually, too, picture the white Cape Dutch architecture shrugging up from the earth and slinking side-by-side with sleek, modern wineries.

Hosts with the most

Hospitality here has evolved into an art form. Expect guided tastings, cellar and vineyard tours, some even done safari-style at estates such as Jordan and Villiera. Alongside this is one of the world’s most dynamic food scenes, with its highly original, seasonally focused and affordable fine dining. Places to stay range from centuries-old homesteads to luxurious hotels and nature lodges.

Connecting these experiences is a network of well-established wine routes. Some have sub-routes, such as Cap Classique in Franschhoek. Choose to self-drive or navigate via the Wine Tram: the open-air carriage rolls through vineyards, allowing passengers to hop on and off. The Durbanville Wine Safari links estates via open game-viewing vehicles; while Wellington, Tulbagh and Stellenbosch invite exploration along walkable wine routes.

Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Paarl and Wellington lie close together and are easily explored by car or guided tour, with just 30-60 minutes between them. In under an hour you can be in the vast, open-skied Swartland, northwest of Paarl.

Harvest (January to March) is a buzzy time to visit. A rush of parties coincides with South African wine’s official birthday on 2 February – the date in 1659 when Dutch colonial administrator Jan van Riebeeck recorded the successful first pressing of grapes from the Cape. Block parties known as ‘the Stellenbosch Street Soirées’ happen in summer, too, between November and March. With experiences to suit every traveller, there has never been a better time to visit the Cape Wine Route.

My perfect day in Hermanus

Less than two hours from Cape Town, Hermanus is famous for its land-based whale watching (June to November). It’s also home to the Hemel-en-Aarde wine region – the name means ‘Heaven and Earth’. Divided into three wards, it’s known for top Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and is ideal to explore in a day as wineries lie within easy reach of one another along the serpentine R320 Hemel-en-Aarde Road. Tim Hamilton Russell established the first modern wine farm here in 1975, marking the origin of what locals call ‘little Burgundy’.

Morning & lunch

Begin at Hamilton Russell. Housed in a historic whitewashed cottage near the cellar, the tasting room overlooks a reed-fringed dam. Its premium Chardonnay and Pinot Noir have all but set the tone for Burgundy-style wines in South Africa. Then head to the newest kid on the block, Hasher Estate, to enjoy your tasting with snacks in the fynbos-encircled grounds. Nearby, family-operated Newton Johnson was set up in the mid-1990s and has earned a formidable reputation for the precision and purity of its Pinots and Chardonnays. Continue to Spookfontein for a seasonal-cuisine lunch, where the glass-and-stone tasting room seems to hover over the vineyards, offering sweeping views to the sea.

Afternoon

Something more intimate, just five minutes’ drive up the R320, is a producer fast gaining cult status: Restless River (Email: anne@restlessriver.com) is known for its Chardonnay and intriguing, cool-climate Cabernet Sauvignon. Visits are by appointment only, and include a vineyard and cellar tour, followed by a tasting in the family home. Across the road, Storm Wines follows the same approach, with tastings hosted by Hannes and Nathalia Storm in their boutique cellar. Here, you can taste the very pulse of Hemel-en-Aarde Pinot: Storm is the only producer crafting wines from all three of the valley’s wards.

Evening

Make your way back down to Hermanus for dinner. In the historic Old Harbour, Perlemoen, ‘abalone’ in Afrikaans, faces the water and serves casual fare. When in season, be sure to try its prized namesake local seafood delicacy. The Marine Hotel is one of South Africa’s grand old seaside hotels. Perched above Walker Bay on the Hermanus cliff path, it offers timeless elegance, ocean-facing rooms and front-row seats for whale watching.

Cape wine route highlights

Located in leafy Constantia, often called ‘Cape Town’s Vineyard’, Groot Constantia offers some of the finest examples of Cape Dutch architecture. Founded in 1685, this national monument is the country’s oldest wine estate. Stroll through its manicured lawns, admiring the ornate gables, on-site museum and art galleries. There are two restaurants, as well as wines to taste. Don’t miss the historic sweet wine Grand Constance, which has origins back in the 18th century. Neighbour Klein Constantia makes Vin de Constance, another icon from the same period.

Under an hour from Constantia lies Stellenbosch, the country’s first official wine route, established in 1971 and now home to more than 150 wineries. Venture further south into Somerset West to reach the winelands’ crown jewel, Vergelegen. Founded in 1700, this 3,000ha estate (117ha of vineyards) is among the Cape’s most storied, with numerous themed gardens and large swathes of protected indigenous vegetation. Tastings take place in a glass-walled space overlooking the vineyards. You’ll find a variety of dining options, including regular pop-up experiences, to please most.

Between Franschhoek and Paarl, Babylonstoren sprawls at the foot of the Simonsberg. The 1692 Cape Dutch farm has been reimagined as a contemporary working estate, centred on its expansive gardens. Pick your own fruit and veg, play pétanque, swim in the farm dam, hike the conical hill that gives the farm its name, or cycle through the vineyards. The estate is home to a boutique hotel, spa, bakery and two acclaimed restaurants. Wine tastings take place in a glass-walled cellar beside The Story of Wine, a museum that’s more like an art installation, tracing winemaking mythology as well as history in Babylonstoren’s inimitable style.

Nearby Paarl (‘pearl’), takes its name from the glistening granite dome that rises above the town, a landmark you’ll spot long before you reach Fairview and its neighbour Spice Route, both owned by Charles Back. From this vantage, the dramatic sweep of the Simonsberg mountains commands attention to the south. At Fairview, enjoy estate-made cheeses and a diverse range of wines while watching the resident goats climb the spiral ramp of their famous tower. Next door, discover Spice Route’s community of local artisans, distillers, craft brewers, chocolatiers and even glassblowers.

Moving away from the coast to Robertson, check out family-run Weltevrede. On a one-hour candle-lit tour of the Chardonnay Caves you’ll go underground into a network of repurposed concrete wine tanks, where you’ll learn the grape’s history culminating with a poetry reading in the deepest part. There’s a Cap Classique sparkling wine experience along similar lines, and you can even bottle your own bubbles. The estate’s Kapokbos bistro is a delicious way to crown things off.

‘Welcome to Chenin Country’, the sign proclaims as you travel back west into the Breedekloof, and yes, this is the king grape here. Meander through the valley, soaking up the unpretentious hospitality of its down-to-earth farms, many offering accommodation with a focus on agritourism. A short drive brings you to the architectural marvel that is Bosjes. The estate’s ethereal chapel, with its swooping white roof inspired by a bird in flight, appears to float on a reflective pond. The landscaped gardens, sculpture walk and stylish restaurant add to the appeal.

Your Cape wine route address book

Accommodation

Boschendal

Ideally positioned between Franschhoek, Stellenbosch and Paarl, offering chic luxury in restored heritage buildings. Enjoy hiking, biking, markets and restaurants, as well as bespoke activities; the children’s Tree House programme is particularly magical.

Kokos Huis

Experience the Swartland like an insider at this boutique bolthole run by Prisca Llagostera, wife of natural winemaker Jurgen Gouws of Intellego. Expect sunrise vineyard braais with local producers and private tastings at cellars not open to the public.

Spier

Cape Dutch heritage meets modern style, with a focus on sustainability. This new hotel on the fringe of Stellenbosch is a country dream, with airy, art-filled interiors, a spa and access to all this working wine farm has to offer.

Restaurants

Chefs Warehouse at Beau Constantia

Perched above Constantia valley, Chefs Warehouse promises panoramic vineyard views while indulging in chef Ivor Jones’ punchy, seasonal small plates. The wine list features estate bottlings alongside a top local selection.

Creation Wines

High up in the Hemel-en-Aarde, Creation is a hub of creativity. The estate offers a variety of innovative, seasonal pairing menus that engage all the senses, from touch to taste. A la carte, breakfast and brunch options are also available.

Jordan Restaurant

In Stellenbosch’s Polkadraai Hills, offering rolling vineyard views and chef Marthinus Ferreira’s delectable, ingredient-focused dining. The terrace is ideal for long lunches paired with Jordan’s acclaimed wines.

Things to do

Franschhoek Motor Museum

On the historic L’Ormarins wine estate, this museum showcases more than a century of automotive history. Join a guided tour, grab a bite at the deli and take the tram across to Anthonij Rupert Wines for a tasting.

Root44 Market Experience

Stellenbosch’s weekend buzz with a lively scene of local wine, craft beer, food stalls and live music under the oaks. Visit The Wine Emporium for its wine shop, restaurants and art gallery.

Wine Flies

From booking private tastings and helicopter visits to family-friendly, cultural as well as food-and-wine pairing tours, Wine Flies has you covered.

How to get there

International flights touch down at Cape Town International (CPT), and it’s about 20 minutes to the city centre. The majority of the winelands are easily accessible from CPT: it’s about 25 minutes’ drive to Constantia and 40 minutes to Stellenbosch (the region is large, so allow up to an hour end-to-end); Franschhoek and the Swartland can be reached in just over an hour, and Hemel-en-Aarde in 90 minutes.

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Ask Heston Blumenthal what the secret to a perfect Christmas is and the answer may surprise you.

Is it mastering his groundbreaking technique for triple-cooked chips (or roasties) for the feast? Recreating his hidden orange Christmas pudding? Or going the full molecular gastronomy route and maybe trying your hand at snail porridge or Sound of the Sea?

‘It’s the smell of the Christmas tree,’ declares the celebrated chef of the Michelin three-star The Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire. ‘It’s the most important thing of all – more than the food. Smell invokes so many memories.’

I’m in The Hinds Head, Blumenthal’s 15th-century, Michelin one-star pub next door to The Fat Duck, chatting with him and his wife Melanie Ceysson about the upcoming holiday season. Blumenthal, who is rounder now, with whitening whiskers, and is resplendent in a fir-green velvet suit, could be the autumn incarnation of Santa.

‘For some people, Christmas holds bad memories, but for most of us, it’s a moment that brings people together to celebrate, and [that smell] is a massive childhood memory that I’ve kept to adulthood,’ he says. ‘The smell of the Christmas tree takes me back to putting the baubles up, all the chocolate ornaments you hung and then later pulled off to eat, the presents… And as I grew up, the anticipation of Christmas became stronger and stronger.’

This ‘smell of Christmas’ is so important to Blumenthal that he has created a bespoke scent with a perfumier in France – including extracts of pine, cinnamon, raisins and apple – that is used during The Fat Duck services over the festive season to evoke that childhood anticipation among diners.

Celebrating milestones

It’s this emotion and playfulness, which runs throughout Blumenthal’s precise, imaginative, creations, that has seen The Fat Duck remain at the forefront of British cuisine. Last year it celebrated two decades of holding three Michelin stars and this year marks 30 years since Blumenthal opened his famous restaurant.

In addition to purchasing The Hinds Head in 2004, the self-taught chef has also launched Dinner by Heston Blumenthal restaurants in London (Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park) and Dubai – with two and one Michelin stars respectively – and in 2006, he was awarded an OBE for services to British gastronomy.

‘Look, I could never big myself up, but I realise there are some dishes I have done that have changed the world of cooking,’ he says. ‘I rebuffed the molecular gastronomy label because I thought everyone thought it was syringes and pipettes and stuff. Molecular gastronomy as a term makes sense, but I realised what I did was to create multi-sensory gastronomy: tasting, yes, but also smelling, hearing, touching – and feeling.’

Making changes

My conversation with Blumenthal and his wife doesn’t touch on his week-long manic episode in Provence in November 2023, which led to his sectioning, three weeks on a psychiatric ward and an ultimate diagnosis of type 1 bipolar disorder. But it’s clear the medication has affected his memory, speech and balance.

Soon after our meeting, I not only discover that Blumenthal had been prescribed Mounjaro to help manage the weight gained as a side-effect of his medication, but also that this prompted a new reduced menu at The Fat Duck. Designed specifically to cater for diners’ suppressed appetites brought on by weight-loss drugs, as well as a shift toward health-conscious eating, The Mindful Experience offers all of the dishes on The Journey tasting menu, but with portion sizes for each reduced by between 20% and 50%. The cost is £275 – £75 less than The Journey.

This joins the return of the à la carte menu (£195-£225), in celebration of the 30th anniversary, as well as the Christmas menu (£375-£450), which runs until 21 December. And from January, The Fat Duck is introducing The Top Seat, an exclusive solo dining experience that I was lucky enough to be the first to test out the day before our meeting in mid-September.

It was inspired by the increasing number of single diners requesting a booking, and I can confirm that it’s the ultimate treat for any foodie. You have a seat at the kitchen pass, amid all the quietly controlled action and precision of the brigade, along with the chance to chat with and be served by the same chefs you’ve seen prepare your iconic dishes – including two of the most complex desserts The Fat Duck’s pastry team has ever encountered, both of which have wine at their core.

The molecular DRC

For a vertical tasting The Fat Duck hosted with Burgundy’s Domaine de la Romanée-Conti in July this year, Blumenthal created Pinot Noir Grape. As he explains it, he broke down the base flavour profile of the wine into molecules and then paired these molecules with food.

It’s a reinvention of another wine-based Fat Duck dessert, Botrytis Cinerea, created in 2012 for a wine event the restaurant hosted with Bordeaux’s Château d’Yquem. The dish – on this year’s Christmas menu – recreates the profile of noble rot (the grape fungus central to Sauternes sweet wine production) and features, among other surprising flavours, tomatoes, Parmesan and fenugreek, along with honey and ‘the tiniest bit of passion fruit’.

‘But the Pinot dish… that was a ball breaker. It was six to 10 months in the making,’ recalls Blumenthal, who flew back and forth to Vosne-Romanée every week to try to capture the complexity and nuance of aromas and flavours in the legendary domaine’s wines.

‘It only came together the day before the dinner,’ he says with a laugh. ‘I was sweating it. To pair a dessert with a non-dessert wine, and for that wine to be DRC Echezeaux… That extra layer was what made it harder than the Botrytis dish to create.

‘Eventually, it was a strawberry macerated with pepper that did it,’ he says, describing one of the 20 elements of Pinot Noir Grape, which requires more than 50 stages of preparation. ‘We had the cep mushrooms, cherry, leather, tobacco and the olive, and the crystallised flowers, cocoa and Parmesan in the soil, but it was that strawberry that made the dish.’

Impulse shoppers

After all that, it’s unsurprising that Blumenthal cites DRC as his favourite producer. But it’s Burgundy in general that has long been his favourite wine. ‘When Burgundy is at its best, it’s the most hedonistic wine you can get: the complexity of smell, taste and texture… And we got a bottle of DRC Romanée-Conti as a wedding gift!’ he exclaims, suddenly remembering. ‘And a bottle of Bâtard-Montrachet!’

‘They’re in storage,’ interjects Ceysson. ‘That’s the start of our collection; it’s a work in progress! Mostly we just go to the supermarket and buy what we want for that night. If we’re travelling, we pick up a few bottles at a wine fair, or a case from wineries we visit, like Mas de Daumas Gassac in Languedoc recently.

‘We don’t really think about it too much; we are very impulsive – we’ve both got ADHD,’ she explains, with Blumenthal chiming in: ‘If we have too much choice, we can just spend an hour staring at a shelf and then walk out because it’s too complicated.’

But there’s one wine style Blumenthal is unlikely to choose. ‘New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc; it was my first “dislike” of wine. I like it a bit more now, but it’s not subtle, is it? It’s not Ladoucette or Cotat,’ he adds as justification, citing two acclaimed Central Loire producers. They discuss what they’ve eaten and drunk together recently. ‘Ragu bolognese and Valpolicella – a slightly aged one,’ says Blumenthal. ‘We had it two weeks ago, it was magic. Dal Forno, I think?’ Ceysson agrees, recalling that it was one of the bottles she bought ‘H’ for Christmas last year.

The Christmas meal

Now living in Provence, the pair’s past two Christmas meals – mainly with friends – have been a unique blend of Anglo-French traditions, with cooking duties shared. ‘She’s going to marry the sous vide machine,’ jokes Blumenthal.

‘We do a seafood platter and of course foie gras,’ says Ceysson. ‘Last year, I challenged myself to cook his Meat Fruit recipe. Not shaping it like a mandarin, but doing the mousse. ‘H always does the poultry. We did capon last year, this year chicken – always Bresse – and he loves to truffle it under the skin.’ (‘It’s about the only time we eat truffle,’ he adds.) ‘And then the veg,’ Ceysson continues. ‘There are lots of similarities between France and the UK, because we both have the potatoes and the greens, but last year, H brought a British touch with the red cabbage. That was good!

‘The cheese board is something very important in France that I bring to our Christmas,’ she adds. ‘We have beautiful cheeses here so we make sure to get some fancy ones. Like Brie de Meaux with truffles…’ ‘Britain produces more cheese than France, you know,’ adds her husband.

Anglo-French desserts

The conversation moves to dessert and Blumenthal makes a surprising revelation: ‘I never liked Christmas pudding until I did the hidden orange one for Waitrose. The thing that really turned me on to it was I steamed it, not microwaved it. It was wonderful! But you can’t eat too much of it.’

Since the UK supermarket ended its partnership with Blumenthal in early 2023, The Fat Duck team has sold a candied clementine christmas pudding via its website. ‘Last time we had it,’ he says, ‘Melanie poured about half a bottle of Cognac over the top. I’m surprised the firefighters didn’t come!’

Ceysson’s contribution to the sweet side of the festive feast has been ‘les treize desserts’ – an old Provence tradition, where 13 desserts (representing Jesus and the 12 apostles) are served after Christmas Eve dinner. Each guest must eat all 13 to guarantee good luck for the year to come. They include dried fruit and nuts, quince paste, fresh fruit, nougat, marzipan, candied fruits, biscuits and cakes – which often includes a yule log, or bûche de Noël.

‘We did have a bûche last year, but our dog ate it,’ says Ceysson. ‘Do you remember H? We had finally discovered a good patisserie guy, we found this village, drove quite far and really made a big effort to get this pastry. Harry – he’s a British Bulldog – he was really quiet at one point and we couldn’t understand why. We went to find him and…’

‘There was chocolate everywhere,’ finishes Blumenthal. ‘Harry had a good Christmas present.’

Switching off

‘We haven’t even spoken about Christmas presents yet, have we?’ Blumenthal asks. ‘How about a bit of peace?’ suggests Ceysson. ‘In the world and in life. That would be nice.’

She smiles and then reveals that when the restaurants close in December and January, and ‘it’s his time for a proper break; his mind can switch off’, there are always two things stashed in the suitcases they take to Provence.

The first is the scent of Christmas that Blumenthal created with the perfumier. ‘We spray it all around the house,’ she says. The second is the mince pies. ‘It’s the only thing we don’t cook. We always ask The Fat Duck pastry chefs for a box. It’s our little treat.’

‘And we usually eat them well before Christmas,’ adds Blumenthal. ‘We can’t wait!’

Just like those chocolate ornaments off the tree from his childhood.

Michelin-level mince pies

The Fat Duck’s mince pies (pictured below) – the ones Heston and Melanie take to France – are incredible. But preparing them is best left to the professionals. They take three days to make, require a vacuum sealer, sous-vide machine and meat injector, and the recipe calls for 45 ingredients – including Wagyu beef short ribs and Golden Oscietra caviar.

But if you still want to try your hand at making Michelin-starred mince pies, Heston has shared the recipe from Dinner by Heston Blumenthal (main image, above), which is far simpler and can be made using shop-bought ingredients and domestic kitchen appliances. Fruit mince (This recipe makes a lot, so you can keep any unused jars for the following year).

Fruit mince

(This recipe makes a lot, so you can keep any unused jars for the following year)

• 400g pears, peeled and chopped
• 400g Bramley apples, peeled and chopped
• 260g suet
• 300g raisins
• 200g sultanans
• 200g dried cranberries
• 200g currants
• 120g candied lemon peel, chopped
• 120g candied orange peel, chopped
• 240g muscovado sugar
• 2 each oranges & lemons, zest and juice
• 100g pecans, chopped
• 400ml brandy
• 200ml verjus
• 100g Sherry (not fino or manzanilla)
• 6g ground cinnamon
• 4g ground ginger
• 160g candied ginger in syrup, chopped

Method

Place all the liquids in a small pan and bring to the boil. Add all the other ingredients and slowly simmer while continually stirring. Keep reducing until thick – about 20-30 minutes – then leave to cool. Store in sanitised jars in the fridge for at least a month to mature, the longer the better. But you can also use it straight away if you don’t have the time.

Pastry

• 375g flour
• 260g butter, cold, in cubes
• 1 whole egg
• 125g golden caster sugar
• pinch of salt

Method

Place the flour, salt and cold butter in a stand mixer. With a paddle on low speed, work it until it becomes a fine crumb with no butter lumps left. Add the sugar and let it incorporate. Last, add the egg and let it just come together. Tip onto a work surface to bring it all together with your hands. Wrap up in cling film and rest in the fridge for one hour before rolling. Remove the dough from the fridge and leave at room temperature for 30min. Roll to 2mm with a light dusting of flour then rest for one hour before cutting. Use a 50mm (or whatever size you have) fluted cutter to cut out bases of the tart shell. Press into greased or lined mini tart tins and blind bake at 180°C/gas 4 for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool. Any excess pastry can be placed on a tray and baked at the same temperature and time. Once cooked and cooled, break this excess pastry into small pieces to sprinkle on top of the finished pies.

To compile

To make 12 pies, use 300g of the prepared mincemeat that has been mixed with 5g of mandarin zest. Fill each blind-baked pastry case with 25g of mincemeat (increase or decrease this quantity depending on the size of your cases) and sprinkle with the crumbled pastry. Either serve as is, or warmed through, and dusted lightly with icing sugar.

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Vienna is a city where centuries overlap seamlessly, its imperial elegance flowing into modern life. Palaces sit beside wine taverns, and music drifts as naturally through the streets as coffeehouse chatter.

On the famed Ringstrasse, Anantara Palais Hansen Vienna captures this spirit of continuity and change. Built by Theophil Edvard von Hansen for the 1873 World’s Fair, the palace remains an architectural showpiece. Today, its fresh incarnation as an Anantara hotel offers guests a portal into Vienna’s layered identity: old-world refinement meeting a thriving, modern cultural life with wine at its heart.

The Ringstrasse itself embodies this duality. Once the ceremonial boulevard of the Habsburg empire, lined with opera, parliament, and museums, today it’s a living artery of the city – equal parts cultural showcase and everyday promenade.

Here, the pleasures of Vienna range from steaming mugs of mulled wine during the December Christmas markets to glasses of Gemischter Satz poured in hillside vineyards, all within the city itself.

Heritage grandeur with a contemporary touch

The palace’s neo-Renaissance bones remain visible in Ionic columns, marble staircases, and frescoed ceilings. Anantara’s 2024 redesign simply introduced softer edges and modern energy.

Courtyards once meant for carriages now host guests beneath mirrored ceilings, velvet drapery, and playful floral wallpaper, a balance that preserves the hotel’s historical gravitas without feeling heavy.

Guest rooms echo this equilibrium. High ceilings and oversized windows flood the interiors with light; triple-glazing silences the city beyond. Courtyard-facing rooms provide quiet calm, while suites on the Ringstrasse gaze onto tree-lined boulevards.

The 270-square-metre Presidential Suite, Vienna’s largest according to the hotel, epitomises elegance with French balconies and a grand piano anchoring its salon. Touches like Acqua di Parma amenities and marble baths bring sophistication to your bathing ritual.

Sampling the flavours of Vienna

At Edvard, the Michelin one-star restaurant, chef Paul Gamauf distills seasonality into precise, soulful menus. Impeccably sourced ingredients – often foraged, pickled, or preserved – are paired with a wine list that highlights Austria’s finest, including Vienna’s own distinctive bottlings.

In winter, you might find hand-rolled ricotta cavatelli, duck breast marinated in shiokoji, or a main of roasted venison with earthy mushrooms. The dining room’s atmosphere, intimate and elegant, transforms each meal into an occasion.

For a more casual interlude, Theo’s Lounge & Bar offers an extensive wine list alongside Viennese cakes by day and cocktails by night – a fitting stop for an afternoon glass or an aperitif before dinner.

The city’s wine scene

Vienna is the only world capital where vineyards spill into the city. Some 580 hectares of vines climb the hills of Nussberg, Bisamberg, and beyond, producing around 2.5 million litres of wine each year. The signature Gemischter Satz DAC – a centuries-old field blend in which different varieties are planted, harvested, and vinified together – has become the city’s vinous calling card.

By law, at least three grapes must be included, with no single variety dominating the planting. Recognised by Slow Food and granted DAC status in 2013, Gemischter Satz is now considered one of Austria’s most iconic styles. At Anantara Palais Hansen Vienna, you’re footsteps from the region.

For those eager to explore the city’s wine scene, just speak to the concierge. The hotel works with local wine experience curator Caroline Derler who creates excursions into the hills. An afternoon might include a visit to producers such as Weingut Wieninger, followed by a vineyard walk atop Nussberg. The tour ends at a traditional Buschenschank, where glasses of Gemischter Satz are poured alongside platters of cold cuts, cheese spreads, and rustic breads. Families, couples, and friends gather shoulder to shoulder at long wooden tables as though proof of the democratic spirit of Vienna’s wine culture.

Unlike other wine destinations that whisk you deep into the countryside, in Vienna, the vineyards form part of the city’s lifeblood. A morning might begin with Klimt at the Belvedere and end with a glass of Gemischter Satz on the Nussberg, the city glittering in the distance.

For further details, see the Anantara Palais Hansen Vienna website.

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New York born and Amsterdam bred, Ava Mees List goes by her middle name, pronounced ‘Mase’. She has worked as a sommelier at Noma in Copenhagen since 2019, becoming the restaurant’s beverage director in 2022. Starting her career as a part-time bartender at an Art Deco literary café in Amsterdam after finishing her studies in cultural anthropology, she soon decided to dedicate her professional life to learning about and travelling for wine. From 2015 to 2018, Mees worked at sister restaurants Saturne and Clown Bar in Paris before moving to Copenhagen.

My first memorable wine experience

I didn’t really get into wine (or hospitality) until I was 25. Two months after I started my first job at Café Schiller in Amsterdam, my then boss Florien took me along to a pretty raucous winemakers’ party at Cave St Martin in Roquebrun, Roussillon, France. The owner was a good friend of Marcel Lapierre [of Domaine Lapierre in Beaujolais] and the only drinks served were red wine, mulled red wine and coffee. We called it the Purple Teeth Festival and it made me fall in love with the natural wine community. Before that, my signature drink was a house tequila and bitter lemon highball – I never looked back.

My go-to everyday wines

Jacques Lassaigne, Les Vignes de Montgueux made by Emmanuel Lassaigne. I know it is ridiculous to name a Champagne as an everyday wine, but during my time in Paris, I learned to disassociate the region from celebratory events. I keep a bottle in the fridge at all times.

My favourite supermarket buy

I don’t believe in mass-produced, cheap wine, so I definitely don’t buy wine in a supermarket. If something is that cheap, somewhere in the world someone or something is paying the price. Also, support your local wine shop!

My most embarrassing moment at work

Once I told one of our guests that she looked just like this actress from one of my favourite Hollywood movies. ‘Actually, that was me,’ she said. Oops! I had no idea she was originally Danish. I kind of floated away from the table but we had a good laugh about it together later that evening.

Pet peeve

Some sommeliers tend to give extensive tasting notes, which I find kind of a turnoff – they can come across as imperative, and I prefer drinking with an open mind. For this reason, we do not do this at Noma.

My death row food and wine pairing

Yvon Métras Fleurie and dim sum.

Best food and wine match at noma

Currently, grilled artichoke hearts with a sauce of walnuts and truffle with a blueberry vinaigrette and wild-foraged greens from the beach, paired with an aged sake called Time Machine by Kinoshita Brewery on the north coast of Kyoto, served at room temperature.

My fallback quick after-work meal

I make a Greek salad pretty much every day and occasionally I will bring back an open bottle from a pairing, like a light red or a Georgian white – but, truth be told, I rarely drink at home.

Wine I’m most proud of on my list

During our time doing pop-ups in Japan (where I made an all-Japanese wine and sake pairing), we became closely connected to Beau Paysage, a Yamanashi domaine making beautiful wines. We have managed to bring them back to Copenhagen and I’m proud to serve them.

The biggest surprise on my list

We get our fair share of sceptics afraid of the 100% natural wine list – I love surprising them with wines that might be recognisable to their palate but made without being filtered or heavily sulphured. It opens their mind to the broad spectrum of natural wine.

Wines I’d order on a restaurant list

Get a Coteaux Champenois when you see it. With warmer vintages have come beautiful still wines from Champagne that go so well with food. Also, your sommelier’s eyes will likely instantly turn heart shaped when you ask them about it.

Wine region I’m most excited about

For our upcoming Los Angeles pop-up I have just spent a month travelling around California, researching a wine region I never really had any interest in. I was lucky to meet some very special people making great wine in a market flooded with overly extracted oak bombs.

Wine style I really don’t enjoy drinking

I know they’re all the rage, but aromatic skin-contact wines like Muscat are not really my jam.

Best value wine region right now

Catalonia, Spain, and the other side of the border in southwest France.

My favourite wine region to visit

Jura is like home. I love being in Arbois and having lunch at Le Bistrot des Claquets with my friend Florien Kleine Snuverink of Les Bottes Rouges (yes, the same Florien I worked with 16 years ago in Amsterdam) or sitting on the terrace of the Domaine de la Tournelle winebar/shed. Otherwise, Georgia, for all the reasons imaginable. What a place. Wow.

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I often get asked if I’m a sommelier. The answer is always, firmly, ‘No.’

Sommeliers are at the frontline when it comes to wine, guiding diners with myriad requirements through their list. They have to translate wine-speak for those who simply want a glass of something tasty. They have to translate non-wine-speak into something the table will like. They have to navigate different tastes, budgets, knowledge levels – all with a smile.

It’s thus unsurprising, perhaps, that many sommeliers slip into writing – taking their skills from the table to the page. Two new books graced my postbox recently, both from somms of serious class.

First up is Jordan Salcito’s Smart Mouth: Wine Essentials for You, Me and Everyone We Know (£30 Ten Speed Press, October 2025). Salcito has worked the floor at establishments such as Eleven Madison Park in New York, but she also created Ramona – a canned spritz that littered my social feeds a few summers ago.

Her debut book is conceived to take you ‘from a D student to an A’, building on an initial interest and guiding you through principles of wine – tasting, winemaking, soils and farming – through to common grapes and regions, as well as practical tips on food pairing and storing and drinking wine.

The writing is bright and light, engaging and conversational, and filled with nuggets of knowledge that will leave you hankering for more.

The second book comes courtesy of Bert Blaize, an awarded London-based sommelier who has worked at the Clove Club, and journalist Victoria Brzezinski. Drinking the World: A Wine Odyssey (£22 Harper Collins, November 2025) takes a totally different tack.

The compact hardback is a collection of tales from around the world of wine. It’s broken down by country and region, offering personal introductions to each, but with a focus on lesser-known areas. Each region in the spotlight is explored through the story of a single producer.

Bordeaux doesn’t get a look in, but you’ll find sections on Luxembourg, Poland, Japan and Bolivia. Profiles of each producer are accompanied by quick-fire Q&As, covering the winemaker’s favourite bar and restaurant, artistic influences and more – offering a handy travel compendium for a visit.

Like Salcito’s book, it does an excellent job of reeling the reader in – drawing you ever further into the world of wine, inspiring you to continue the odyssey you’ve started in its pages.

Water and wine

Hock, claret and Port long dominated the wine trade – but why? It wasn’t just their quality – it was also geography, of course: their access to water and, more importantly, the associated flow of trade.

Robert Winder’s Three Rivers: The Extraordinary Waterways that Made Europe (Elliot & Thompson, August 2025, £20) is a riveting new book that dives into how Europe’s most prominent rivers (the Rhine, Rhône and Po – not the Douro/Duero, I’m afraid) have defined the continent’s evolution, including its wine trade – all enlivened by Winder’s evocative writing.

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The words ‘Costa del Sol’ conjure up and not-always-tasteful luxury – designer shops, glitzy nightclubs, shiny supercars and yacht-studded marinas marking the Costa out as a playground of the rich.

It’s true, all that does exist along Spain’s southernmost coastline, notably the western stretch between Marbella and Manilva, including ultra-extravagant resort town Puerto Banús. But what happens along the other two-thirds of Málaga’s sun coast? Let’s have a look.

Officially the Costa del Sol lies within Málaga province, stretching between Nerja in the east to Manilva in the west. Sotogrande (Cádiz province) also gets an honourable mention since, although not technically a part of the Costa del Sol, it shares its tourist identity and people who live there consider themselves to be a vital part of the Costa lifestyle.

The entire Costa is on the Mediterranean, but geographically and culturally the two halves of the east/west divide – taking Málaga city as the median – could hardly be more different: each offers a contrast of landscapes, microclimates, lifestyles and culture – and, of course, gastronomy and wines.

Let’s assume you have arrived in Málaga (always a good choice) – in this article, we shall offer you plenty of ideas for some decidedly un-glam Costa del Sol places to check out, depending on whether you opt to turn to the east or west. It’s not a list as such, more a pick-n-mix selection of destinations that will enable you to tailor your route depending on your day. Remember to book all activities and restaurants in advance, and bear in mind that you will need a car for most of these day trips. The distance of each recommended spot from Málaga, in kilometres, is noted in brackets, to help you plan your outings and itineraries.

Málaga

Epicurean appeal

Málaga’s provincial capital city has certainly reinvented itself over the past 10 to 15 years. New museums, world-class gastronomy, a renovated port and 14km of beachfront have turned what used to be considered a mere point of arrival into the cultural hub of the region, and a serious travel destination in itself.

In addition to having its own wine museum, the Museo del Vino, Málaga boasts a couple of other slightly off-the-radar museums that are well worth checking out. The MAM Museo del Automóvil y la Moda is a surprising and delightful mix of two fashionable worlds, with the clothing exhibit rotated every six months. And, located within the 18th-century home of historian Gonzalo Fernández-Prieto, the glass and crystal museum Museo del Vidrio y Cristal houses an exquisite private collection of more than 3,000 pieces, along with paintings and other decorative objects.

There is no shortage of top tapas bars, restaurants and wine bars in town, including Julián Sanjuán’s Los Patios de Beatas vinoteca and restaurant, and Michelin one-star Kaleja by malagueño star chef Dani Carnero.

But it is also worth travelling northeast of the city (26km from Málaga), to the Montes de Málaga natural park for a special mountain winery visit.

Victoria Ordoñez (DO Sierras de Málaga) has been involved in the Málaga wine scene all her life and in 2015 branched out with her own project. She’s producing high-quality artisanal wines at the only winery within the city limits, with vineyards located in the Montes de Málaga, just 20 minutes away. Her three-hour Mountain Wines Tour (from €50 per person, including wines and snacks) is available upon request via the website links. Also out to the northeast of the city, but only 5km away in the rural outskirts, you can find La Taberna de Mike Palmer – take the Camino de los Almendrales out over the A-7 motorway, and it’s right next to the Pinar equestrian club. Don’t be fooled by the name, this is no ex-pat bar – indeed, here, local culinary legend Miguel Palma’s rustic outdoor grill offers one of the most sought-after dining experiences in the province.

East of Málaga

Rugged and ancient

With its mountains overlooking the sea, lined with caves and coves, this side of the Costa del Sol is well suited to nature enthusiasts – as well as wine lovers.

In the easternmost part of the province of Málaga, Nerja (57km) is a charming, strollable town of winding narrow streets, whitewashed houses, little squares and churches. Here you will find the magnificent Balcón de Europa (‘Europe’s balcony’), a promenade built on the edge of a cliff with views of the stunning Mediterranean coastline on either side.

The spectacular Nerja caves, just to the northeast of the town, house some of the earliest known examples of human art, dating back 42,000 years. An unforgettable experience.

Heading back towards Málaga, plan a stop at Restaurante El Saladero (@el_saladero_caleta) in Caleta de Vélez (34km). This family-run chiringuito (beach bar) stands out for its value for money and top-quality fish and seafood. Stick your feet in the sand and watch your order being grilled over open charcoal just a few feet away from your table.

If you decide to head north from Nerja you’ll find the impossibly pretty town of Frigiliana less than 10km away (56km from Málaga). It’s an excellent stop-off point to enjoy magnificent views before continuing on to the tiny white mountain village of Sayalonga (45km from Málaga, 28km from Frigiliana) and Bodegas Bentomiz (DO Málaga, DO Sierras de Málaga), founded in 2003 by chef/architect André Both and winemaker Clara Verheij, originally from Holland. Their stunning property, designed by André, overlooks the village and houses both the winery and restaurant. Visits (from €19 per person) include a tour of the bodega and a tasting in the restaurant, with the option of booking a three-, five- or 10-course lunch (from €59) specifically created to pair with their Ariyanas range of dry and naturally sweet wines, made primarily from Moscatel de Alejandría and Romé grapes.

Closer to Málaga, if you’re setting out from there for a day, is Rincón de la Victoria (17km), where you can visit Villa Antiopa, one of the best-preserved Roman villas in Andalucía (see turismoenrincon.es for both), and the Cueva del Tesoro ‘treasure cave’. One of only a few examples known in the world of a marine-formed cave system that’s now accessible, it contains prehistoric cave paintings and has fresh water running through it.

From here you could either head further east or north. To the east, in Torre del Mar (towards Caleta de Vélez) is El Alimentario. A little out of the centre of the town, this restaurant run by Catalán chef Jaime Tejedor offers a menu of ‘complex simplicity’ with the goal of making haute cuisine accessible to everyone. It’s best for winter visits.

Just under 10km north of Rincón de Victoria, in the Axarquía mountains, is the charming white- painted village of Moclinejo (22km from Málaga). Here, third-generation winemaker Juan Muñoz runs Bodegas Dimobe, A Muñoz Cabrera with his siblings. In 2015, he partnered with local winemaker Vicente Inat and together they began their more personal project Viñedos Verticales (DO Málaga, DO Sierras de Málaga). Visits to the Dimobe bodega (where Verticales is also based) and vineyards (from €25 per person) are available upon request (use the contact form on the Verticales website).

For lunch, stop at family-run Bar Restaurante Reyes (@barrestaurantereyes) in the centre of Moclinejo for hearty local cuisine steeped in tradition, relying on locally sourced ingredients and seasonal produce.

West of Málaga

Tales of the unexpected

There’s a lot going on in Benalmádena town (20km). As well as its attractive beach and marina, there is an aquarium and Colomares castle a fairytale castle- style monument.

Or you could take the cable car up to Mount Calamorro – which runs from the station at Avenida Manantial – for breathtaking views of the surrounding landscape and sea.

But we’re here for the butterflies. The Mariposario de Benalmádena butterfly garden is located within a spectacular Thai Buddhist temple complex just northwest of town. Stroll among more than 1,500 exotic butterflies as they fly freely in this tropical paradise inside an enormous greenhouse.

From there it’s a short jaunt over to El Parador Playa for spectacular fish and seafood at one of the best beachfront restaurants on the coast. Third-generation chef Francis Muñoz clearly understands ‘minimal intervention’ when it comes to presenting fresh products from the sea, but his astonishing small-plate creations also provide an innovative contrast that’s not to be missed. Serious wine list, too.

Heading west, Casa Navarra (@casa.navarra) is midway between Fuengirola on the coast and Mijas inland (on the A-387 road). This family-run spot brings northern Spanish culture and cuisine to the south, serving up dishes from Spain’s rich culinary past in a gorgeous, rustic setting. The restaurant also boasts an impressive wine cellar.

Mijas itself (33km) is a bit further up the mountain and in this sleepy, charming town you will find Bodegas Hermanas López Lavado (hermanaslavado@gmail.com). The winery is run by Javier López, who planted his first vines in 2004 and began production in his garage in 2011. Javier offers visits with tastings (weekends and evenings only – he’s a local police officer by day) of his small- production, minimal-intervention wines.

The Ralli museum (65km) is a proper hidden gem between Marbella and Puerto Banús. Opened in 2000, it contains one of the most important Latin American art collections in Europe. The website offers a downloadable pdf to help personalise your self-guided visit.

Afterwards, nip over to the pretty town of San Pedro Alcántara – a 10-minute drive west along the A-7 – to the new location of legendary Restaurante El Campanario (@restaurantecampanario), one of the top temples of grilling on the Costa del Sol. Marbella chef Manuel Marín announced the move of premises this summer, saying it represented a natural evolution in Campanario’s journey, offering a more intimate and approachable experience. It has already won over both locals and tourists.

Moving further westward towards the beautiful white village of Casares (102km, a little inland on the MA8300), you will find Sarmiento Brasa Andaluza. The restaurant is in an ideal location up in the hills, looking over the village and the sea – on a clear day you can see Morocco. It is run by two brothers, Miguel and Juan Diego Hernández, who were born in the village and honed their craft at Michelin restaurants around the world before returning home. They are proud to have amassed one of the largest collections of Andalusían wine in the world.

Between Casares and Manilva (105km), a town at the western border of Málaga province, is Baños de la Hedionda, a sulphurous spring dating back to the late Middle Ages, whose current structure was built from the 17th century. Reservations are open from June to September.

Also in Manilva, you’ll find Bodega Nilva (DO Sierras de Málaga), a project that began in 2014 to recover and protect the area’s dwindling Moscatel de Alejandría vineyards. A joint effort between the Manilva city council and winemaker Argimiro Martínez, the small bodega is located in the centre of the town, and houses a wine museum and interpretation centre. The Nilva Wine Experience (€30 per person) is available upon request and includes a picnic-style tasting with snacks in the vineyard.

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Restaurants, in all their totality, are a form of improbable magic. In the best of cases, they’re the antidote to real life: dimly lit rooms buoyed by the current of disparate conversations, removed from the noise of the outside world, where sensory pleasure is delivered on silver platters, glasses are never emptied, and someone else handles washing the dishes.

Needless to say, the escapist grandeur of that dining experience is the sum of many parts. Yes, at the forefront, there’s the food – but there’s also the decor, the lighting, the music, the staff, the pacing, the glassware, and of course, the wine programme.

So why, then, does the latter feel so curiously absent from restaurant reviews?

The quintessential ‘restaurant review’ carries a great deal of power. Amidst our current cast of media-fluent, keyed-in consumers, it dictates a sizeable number of dining decisions – and as such, in an extraordinarily competitive (and oversaturated) restaurant scene, reviews can indeed make or break a venue.

That said, for all the immense influence these critics wield, they seem curiously allergic to the matter of wine.

In the recent raving review of Smithereens in The New York Times, the unique (off-dry-Riesling-forward) wine programme was entirely absent save for one line – and in a similarly timed review of Le Veau D’Or, the wine director’s name was misprinted (a local legend for his curatorial acumen).

While reviewing Manuela, a LA Weekly critic mentions ordering wine, but doesn’t specify what kind.

Drinks writer Alex Delany puts the problem simply: ‘Reviewing only select parts of a restaurant is a disservice to the reader and the diner. It would be like reviewing ¾ of a movie.’

‘Excellent wine programmes are not transferable’

Listen, I’m well aware that not all diners drink – but not all diners eat red meat either, and you’d be hard pressed to find a critic who won’t order the steak. And of course, wine is not made in-house like perhaps the bread service (you can purchase the very same bottle at a variety of restaurants) – but the art of the wine list is not craftsmanship, it’s curation.

And a well-wrought wine list is no small feat. It requires cross-regional and cross-vintage knowledge, as well as consistent updating. It requires breadth and versatility to suit a number of different palates. It requires foresight – an understanding of what to cellar, what to open, what to print on the list, what to pour by the glass. It requires an eye for bottles that offer value… without egregious price tags. And most of all, it requires a keen attunement to pairings.

Excellent wine programmes are not transferable – they’re entirely tailored to the food (and the rooms) they serve.

‘Beverage programmes are often there to make food taste better… sometimes without people even realising it,’ says Yana Volfson, who’s created award-winning wine programmes across Enrique Olvera’s restaurants in NYC and Los Angeles (Cosme, Atla, Damian).

‘We’re like a secret weapon: we come in, slide a wine glass in front of you and splash you with something that makes you smile – and the next thing you know, your palate is layered and blanketed with another nuance of flavour meant to contrast or align with a bite you’ve just had, or one you’re about to have.’

Volfson is right: While beverage programmes have plenty of standalone items to offer, in the grand scheme of a restaurant ecosystem, they’re particularly impressive when they’re so well incorporated, they simply exist to elevate everything else you’re consuming (whether or not you notice). They’re supporting actors, humbly forfeiting the spotlight while bolstering the star of the show (the food).

An ‘endlessly intimidating’ industry

Of course, it’s worth mentioning that I am a wine journalist by trade. Much to the (rightful) chagrin of my dining companions, I can spend far more time than feels appropriate poring over a wine list or enquiring after the sommelier’s points of interest. This is not the case for all diners.

‘I actually don’t feel like I need to know anything about a wine list ahead of time. I’ll ask someone else to choose for me based on what I’m ordering, either way,’ a friend told me when I asked whether or not she, too, felt the lack of beverage focus in restaurant reviews.

‘I don’t need to know anything crazy in depth,’ another friend reported. ‘But I do wanna know if I should be ordering wine instead of cocktails, or if the somm is cool and interesting, or if there’s some scheme or process behind the list. I find it a little strange that somms and beverage directors are never interviewed in any of the reviews the way chefs are.’

Amidst a handful of individuals polled, the reviews were mixed – which is to say, plenty of folks did not feel slighted by a lack of beverage discourse.

Per Eric Asimov, the wine critic at The New York Times, the same general poll holds true: ‘How a critic treats a wine list depends both on the restaurant and the format of the publication… when wine is crucial to the character of a restaurant, I would like to see a few sentences in the text of the review. For a general interest audience, I don’t think you need more than that.’

And according to Volfson, beverage is not always absent – she’s been properly commended for her beverage programmes in reviews more than once in the past, noting that former critics like Sam Sifton and Frank Bruni often paid close attention to what was available to drink.

As Asimov points out, there are restaurants for which the wine or the beverage programme is indeed a far smaller consideration than the food. Their lists are afterthoughts in the grand scheme of the dining experience in question, and thus it goes without saying that their corresponding chefly pursuits deserve greater review real estate.

Then again, the opposite case is just as likely. ‘When we opened Torrisi, it received a glowing three-star review from Pete Wells,’ says Bradley Nugent, who helms wine programmes across all Major Food Group properties. ‘The amount of time and energy I put into that wine programme and our bar manager puts into that cocktail programme was insane… and it was completely glazed over.’

As he explains it, Rich Torrisi, the man responsible for the venue’s food, is enormously talented – and he deserved every bit of the praise that appeared in The New York Times. But why not make space for beverage in addition?

‘In today’s age, it feels like skilled beverage experts are few and far between. Most places don’t even have somms anymore,’ he continues. ‘But if you’re a critic and you sit down in a restaurant that’s taken the time, energy and capital to hire a somm or beverage director, shouldn’t you notice that? Shouldn’t that experience factor into your review?’

It’s also worth noting that wine is plenty gatekept.

It’s an industry that’s endlessly intimidating to enter. Rife with niche scientific knowledge, difficult pronunciations, and a rolodex of grape varieties, regions, and producers that ought to be kept in mind, it can feel utterly impenetrable.

In fact, most committed wine professionals won’t even achieve mastery, so how can we expect our restaurant critics to do so as well?

‘It takes a lot of experience to be able to read a wine list and immediately identify what makes it artful or intentional,’ Matt Ross, a wine rep for Jenny & François Selections, told me. ‘And few writers and critics are expert enough to risk having a strong take.’

It’s a hard line to walk and even among snubbed beverage directors, no one is suggesting that culinary programs get less airtime – or that they’re not deserving of all the superlative praise they receive.

It’s just that, somewhere in there, especially when the restaurant in question has funnelled determined care into its beverage programme, a little praise (or even critique!) is welcome. Sure, that might mean taking risks or admitting ignorance. It might mean seeking out food critics with intentional wine backgrounds. It might mean sending writers with wine expertise to draft distinct sections of a restaurant’s review alongside a food critic.

At bottom, reviewers are not everyday diners. They’re pseudo-celebrities with power… and I, for one, don’t find it egregious to posit that they ought to know better than the rest of us when it comes to wine and food.

We’re too late in the game to call a beverage director an ‘unsung hero’ in a formal review. It’s about time someone started singing.

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Midway between Burgundy’s Côte d’Or and Côte-Rôtie in the northern Rhône, and close to the major city of Lyon, you’d think that Beaujolais would be one of the most visited wine regions in France: a vital pitstop on anyone’s vinous pilgrimage.

Instead, wine tourism in Beaujolais is, to say the least, underdeveloped. Despite the willingness of many of the region’s best domaines to fling their doors open wide and welcome visitors, tasting rooms remain relatively quiet.

Having spent substantial periods in Beaujolais researching my recently published book, The Wines of Beaujolais, I have to say that I think you’re all missing a trick. Leaving aside the warm welcome extended by producers in Beaujolais, there are plenty of other reasons to tempt wine lovers to visit the area.

To begin with, there’s the sheer natural beauty of the vineyards. The location of Beaujolais, lying between the Massif Central on its western side and the Alps over to the east, has given rise to an undulating landscape that affords new views every time you turn a corner.

Perching on slopes or nestling in valleys, small villages are built out of local stone – pink granite and blue diorite in the crus in the region’s northern section, and orange-tinged limestone in the south.

In addition to aesthetic pleasures, you’ll find hedonistic ones, too. The region’s wines are on the up: quality is high and the range of styles made from Gamay, the hallmark Beaujolais grape, is surprisingly diverse. Even so, prices remain resolutely affordable.

Good wine goes hand in hand with great gastronomy, of course, and the restaurant scene in Beaujolais has recently rediscovered its mojo.

Visitors can look forward to tucking into Michelin-starred meals, as well as hearty country cuisine. All of this bounty is packed into a tiny region that measures just over 70km in length, and – at most – 20km from east to west.

Most of the visitable wineries are located in the crus and it’s rare to have to drive more than 15 minutes from one tasting to the next. Some wineries are even within easy walking distance of each other.

The 10 Beaujolais crus

Some better known than others, there are 10 individual, named appellations in the Beaujolais region where the highest-quality wines are produced. Running in a roughly contiguous line north to south, between the villages of Chânes and St-Etienne-la-Varenne, they are:

St-Amour | Juliénas | Chénas | Moulin-à-Vent | Fleurie | Chiroubles | Morgon | Régnié | Brouilly | Côte de Brouilly

Jump to: Beaujolais map | Where to eat and drink | Wineries to visit

Where to stay in Beaujolais

One of the key reasons that Beaujolais has remained off most travellers’ radars is perhaps that, until recently, high-quality accommodation was in fairly short supply.

The region has gîtes, but most are targeted at large groups celebrating weddings or family reunions, with the emphasis placed on modest pricing rather than modern comforts. But there’s a new(ish) generation of boutique hotels and chambres d’hôtes opening that cater to a more discriminating clientele.

The Auberge de Clochemerle, named after a popular comic novel that celebrates life in a small French village, is one of the region’s more established hotels. Situated in the southern reaches of the Beaujolais Villages zone, a little southwest of St-Etienne-la-Varenne, it makes a great base from which to explore both the crus and the southern Beaujolais AP region.

If your focus is largely on exploring the crus, you may be best off based at Auberge du Paradis, situated at the northern tip of Beaujolais in the pretty village of St-Amour-Bellevue, just over the border from the Mâconnais in southern Burgundy.

It’s slightly more modern in decor than Clochemerle, but equally old-fashioned when it comes to extending a warm welcome to guests, and the sumptuous breakfast certainly gets a day’s tasting off to a good start.

If you want to be further south, though, you might want to book a night or two at the Maison de Pagneux, one of the new breed of luxury chambres d’hôtes springing up in the region.

This splendid stone-built house is situated on the outskirts of the village of Lachassagne, whose ochre-hued pierre dorée limestone buildings are characteristic of southern Beaujolais. The house boasts three well-appointed guest bedrooms, each with an en-suite bathroom. The young couple who run this B&B are both talented cooks, so the table d’hôte (a seasonally changing set menu) comes highly recommended.

A final option for anyone planning a longer stay is to rent a gîte. Steer clear of the old-school, party-focused accommodation and book one of the five self-catering suites at La Maison du Village in Romanèche-Thorins.

The comfortable apartments are housed in a building above the wine bar La Mine, and although the village itself lacks much in the way of nightlife, it makes a good central base from which to explore Beaujolais’ charms.

Getting around Beaujolais

It’s worth noting that, wherever you choose to stay, nothing is very far away in Beaujolais. The driving time from the Auberge du Paradis, which overlooks some of the region’s most northerly vineyards, to the Maison de Pagneux in the far south is around 40 minutes – and from there it’s only another 40 minutes’ drive to the heart of Lyon, France’s third-most populous city.

Where to eat and drink in Beaujolais

When it comes to finding great places to eat and drink in Beaujolais, gourmands and gourmets alike are spoiled for choice.

Maison du Cru

If you just fancy a glass of Chiroubles and a bird’s-eye view, stop off at the appellation’s high-altitude Maison du Cru, whose terrace perched at 740m affords spectacular panoramas of vineyards and wooded hillsides, and whose wine shop offers a range of some of the cru’s best bottlings.

XVIII sur Vins

You get less of a view at XVIII sur Vins (Instagram: @xviii_sur_vins), a wine bar in Belleville-en-Beaujolais, but you do get a broader selection of wines to drink sur place or to take away, along with good-sized portions of charcuterie, cheese and salads.

Epicerie Saint-Etienne des Oullières

The equally informal Epicerie Saint-Etienne des Oullières (Instagram: @epiceriedubojo) is a small village shop on the main drag in St-Etienne-des-Oullières that sells groceries and locally produced wines, and doubles up as a bistro at lunchtime and on Friday evenings. The menu changes with the seasons and there’s always something on offer for vegetarians (not always the case in rural France).

La Mine

La Mine, a lively wine bar, is located on the ground floor beneath Romanèche-Thorin’s Maison du Village gîte. It’s only open Thursdays to Saturdays, but is always buzzing, with plenty to do thanks to an evolving program of live music, tutored tastings and other activities.

Auberge du Paradis

The Auberge du Paradis in St-Amour-Bellevue has two restaurants. The fancier one, Lucienne Fait des Siennes (named in honour of the chef’s dog), has to be one of the world’s most idiosyncratically named establishments. I favour the more relaxed Joséphine à Table, the Platonic ideal of a French village bistro, complete with a stunning – and copious – dish of poulet au vin jaune with morels, my regular order.

Les Moblots

The wine list is particularly notable – and great value, too. I’m also extremely fond of Les Moblots in St-Julien, northwest of Villefranche-sur-Saône, a bustling village bistro that serves as a canteen to many of the winemakers based nearby. A strong wine list complements a short menu of light, modern takes on classic French cuisine.

Café Terroir Chez Saint-Cyr

Further south, the Café Terroir Chez Saint-Cyr just west of Anse is, as the name suggests, based at the Saint-Cyr winery. It’s the perfect place to take a break from a day’s tasting and enjoy a light lunch with a view out over the vineyards, accompanied by one of the bottles produced at the winery or by one of Raphaël Saint-Cyr’s many friends.

Beurre Noisette

Staying in the southern part of Beaujolais, Beurre Noisette in Lucenay offers a refined, creative, veggie-friendly menu and an interesting, varied wine list sourced from many of the region’s best producers, as well as from further afield.

Ema

You’ll find similarly smart restaurants further north in Beaujolais, of course. Ema is perched high on a hillside that faces west, towards the forested slopes of the Beaujolais Vert. The restaurant’s terrace is the ideal spot for a long, lazy summer lunch chosen from a short but precise, carefully plated menu and an extensive wine list.

Auberge de Clochemerle

Beaujolais has two Michelin-starred restaurants. The one housed on the ground floor of the Auberge de Clochemerle recently regained its star thanks to the understated elegance of its food.

The basic ‘M’ menu looks as if it only offers three courses. Don’t be fooled. The parade of pre-prandial snacks and a generous procession of petit fours means you should count on eating far more than you might imagine. The wine list is compendious, as is the norm at this level of service.

Auberge du Cep

There’s an equally weighty wine list at Fleurie’s Auberge du Cep, which offers a combination of classic French cuisine, and the best of regional and seasonal ingredients.

You can splash out on a nine-course menu (10 if you’re really hungry and tuck into an additional slice of the Auberge’s signature pâté en croute), but canny guests opt for the lunchtime menu du marché, which offers two courses for €35 or three for €40.

Wineries to visit in Beaujolais: 14 of the best

If you’ve come to stay in Beaujolais, you’re here for the wine, right? Many of the region’s best producers are happy to welcome visitors, although almost all of them prefer you to make an appointment beforehand rather than just pitching up on spec.

In many cases, the small scale of the operation means that you may well find yourself tasting in the company of the person who grows the grapes and makes the wines.

Château du Moulin-à-Vent

The Château du Moulin-à-Vent, just along the road from the famous windmill itself, is among the cru’s foremost producers. The single-vineyard wines are benchmark examples.

Domaine Richard Rottiers

Based in the same appellation, Domaine Richard Rottiers offers an informal tasting of Rottiers’ elegant cuvées.

Domaine David-Beaupère

The tasting room at Domaine David-Beaupère overlooks the steep vineyards of Juliénas, giving visitors a greater appreciation of the amount of hard work that goes into the creation of the domaine’s dense, dark wines.

Domaine de la Madone

Perched on a hillside beneath Fleurie’s famous landmark chapel, Domaine de la Madone offers one of the slickest visitor tasting experiences in the region. Tour the vineyards and winery, discover the secrets of winemaking and learn about Fleurie’s prized terroir, concluding with a guided tasting of the domaine’s wines.

Domaine de la Grosse Pierre

At Domaine de la Grosse Pierre in Chiroubles, Pauline Passot crafts some of the cru’s most refined, elegant cuvées.

Domaine Mee Godard

Many of Morgon’s most prestigious producers aren’t open to visitors, but Mee Godard makes some of the cru’s most exciting wines and is happy to host tastings by appointment.

Brouilly and the Côte de Brouilly

There’s an abundance of choice for anyone wanting to visit producers in Brouilly and the Côte de Brouilly, from the opulently renovated Château de la Chaize to the quietly classic Château Thivin and the up-and-coming Domaine les Roches Bleues.

Beaujolais Village

The Beaujolais Village appellation, which is widely scattered around the periphery of the zone occupied by the 10 crus, is increasingly the source of some of the region’s most exciting winemaking.

Find out why with a visit to Frédéric Berne in Lantignié or, a little further south, Domaine les Garçons in Charentay or Domaine de Mont Joly near Blacé.

Southern Beaujolais

Much of southern Beaujolais, the main zone for AP Beaujolais, is dedicated to the production of grapes destined for négociant wines and for Crémant de Bourgogne (about 60% of the grapes for this fizz are actually grown in Beaujolais, local producers are keen to point out) – but there are a handful of producers in the area who make characterful, idiosyncratic wines.

Just southwest of Blacé, Célia & David Large definitely – and defiantly – walk on the wild side, with many of their cuvées classified as Vin de France rather than AP Beaujolais or Beaujolais Villages.

The wines of Domaine Saint-Cyr, just to the west of Anse, are perhaps more classic, but that doesn’t make them any less thrilling.

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