Wine-Themed Travel

Consider yourself a wine aficionado? How to see Europe AND enjoy the best vintages.

A few years ago I took an actual wine-themed Danube river cruise with my husband and a group of friends.  It was truly one of our favorite vacations.  Here are some highlights:

Onboard Tasting with the “Master of Wine”

There are companies and cruise lines now specializing in these vacations. We chose an AmaWaterways cruise in November which was hosted by Peter Marks, a “Master of Wine,” who was working at Mondavi at the time. By the way, this prestigious title is currently held by only 58 people in the US and is not to be confused with a Master Sommelier.

Peter curated and brought aboard a group of California wines from a number of vinters, which he planned to serve in tastings on board the ship. Several times during the cruise, we met in the lounge and learned about the various wineries involved, tasted and discussed the samples.

We also had two special wine-pairing dinners onboard. One was special dinner for our group at the Chef’s Table and Peter presented the wine being paired with each course. There was also a “boat-wide” La Chaine des Rotisseurs Dinner with special wines pairings.

Tasting at the Ports

The itinerary stops were the same as the cruise line’s normal route, but we had some special options centered around wine-tasting.  Primarily tasting Austrian Riesling Gruner Veltliner wines (a fairly dry white).

• We visited Weinstubes (wine pubs) for tastings.
• We went deep into the cellars of wineries to taste wines and observe the wine-making process. 
• The best experience was a special evening tasting at Castle Gobelsburg with the CEO’s wife who runs events.  We were able to tour much of the castle first and then enjoyed a selection of their award- winning wines. 

Non-Wine Oriented Touring

On this trip we still did a number of things not related to wines. 

• Toured the small Bavarian town of Passau with it famous cathedral organ.
• Spent a day in Vienna touring the city sights in the morning and visiting Schonbrunn Palace with its Christmas market in the afternoon.
• Visited the famous main Vienna Christmas market in the evening
• Took a day trip to Salzburg, Austria which included several Sound of Music locations.
• Spent several days exploring Prague
• Spent a day and a half exploring Budapest and one of its Christmas markets.

For more on river cruising, catch my blog The Beginner’s Guide to European River Cruising

While river cruises were the first to catch the public’s attention with wine-themed tours, there are other ways to enjoy this kind of travel:

Cruises on Ocean-going ships

Wine-themed cruises are very popular on European river cruises, but also on sea-going cruises as well.  I’ve worked with one company that does nothing but plan wine cruises and they use small luxury cruise lines like Oceania and Paul Gauguin.  I’m noticing more and more of the lower-priced popular cruise lines like Norwegian are also adding wine themes to their itineraries.  Like the river cruising above, guests on these sea vacations can experience all the normal touring and activities offered to passengers.  The wine-themed activities are just additional options.

Many of the European wine-themed sea cruises are on the Mediterranean. For more info, check out my blog on cruising the Med.

Land-Based Wine Trip

There are a number of companies that specialize in packages dedicated to wine tasting.  For a land-based trip I would recommend the following:

• Work with a company that has connections and access to local wineries—many of which can be small, family-owned businesses requiring prior arrangements. 
• Focus on the specific area/country whose wines you want to taste, combined with tourist sites you want to visit.  Then google wine tours in that area to find the best fit. 
• Always vet the local companies before providing any money.  I personally like TripAdvisor as one of my sources.

Final Thoughts

Wine-themed vacations are becoming a big business all over the world and Europe is certainly home to a wide variety of wines.  You now have at least three ways to combine wine tasting with more traditional touring:

• River Cruise
• Ocean Cruise
• Land-based Travel

These options provide access to a wide variety of European locations.  One website I recently visited had more than a dozen European wine regions listed which offered opportunities for wine related travel.   It might surprise you to know that Sweden, Hungary, and England were also included.  All wines are not necessarily equal but it’s certainly fun to compare.  Combined with touring of iconic European locations, this can be a trip to remember.