Anyone can visit a winery and spend time in the tasting room. But for travelers who don’t mind spending a little more, the following destinations remove the choice confusion and leave the planning to the experts.
From Portugal to California to New Zealand, here are just a few luxury wine travel experiences that are a caliber above the rest.
Portugal
This three-day visit to Porto begins with transportation to and from the airport in a Mercedes E-Class and rooms at the finest 5-star hotel.
You’ll have a private certified guide for the Historic Center, Port wine history and cellars. In this all-included trip, expect breakfast, two lunches, afternoon tea and top meals prepared by Michelin-starred chefs and dinner on a 360º-view rooftop.
Starting around $1,900 per person/double occupancy, depending on the latest Euro conversion rate.
California
If you’d rather stay closer to home, try a six-day custom tour, planned on your time, with local experts in California’s wine country.
Immerse yourself on a journey with delicious food and wine tastings combined with guided visits to sites of stunning natural beauty in Napa and Sonoma Valley. Start with a private, full-day guided tasting tailored to your palate, take a cooking class at Peju Vineyards and pair your creation with a local wine.
Visit the towering trees of the Armstrong Redwoods Reserve and go behind the scenes at an oyster farm at Tomales Bay, complete with oyster tasting. Then cap your journey with wine tastings in Sonoma Valley, including a wine-paired gourmet lunch surrounded by the vineyards. Prices vary with each custom-made tour.
www.abercrombiekent.com
South Pacific
Uncover the incredible diversity of the South Pacific on a 23-day journey showcasing the best of 10 destinations across Oceania.
Visit the rugged beauty of Queenstown and Australia’s remote Wolgan Valley and the idyllic Polynesian islands. Explore premier wine regions, sample the offerings of Sydney and Christchurch and take in the bucket-list destinations like Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef.
This all-inclusive expedition covers travel by private jet, hotels and all meals and beverages (including aboard the jet and group lunches and dinners). It also covers ground transportation, all daily activities, private guides and tips. $149,950 per person.
www.tcsworldtravel.com/luxury-jet-expeditions/south-pacific-luxury-tour-2023
