10 Best Wine Travel Destinations 2016 Wine’s transporting experience is one of the reasons we continually come back for more. Like sound and smell, taste is a sense that can vividly recall a moment, whether it’s sipping Cabernet in a lush Rutherford vineyard, swirling a glass of Malbec next to a roaring Argentinean asado, or just a great armchair voyage with a glass of Portuguese Vinho Verde. Tasting wine is a trip unto itself, but visiting the places in which wine is made truly adds to the magic. Each year, our editors traipse the globe in search of the world’s most exciting wine destinations. From the iconic Old World to surprising newcomers, the following list will shape your travel year to come. Click below to jump to any of these destinations, or view the slideshow. Travel Destinations, Travel Guides 10 Best Cities for Wine Lovers Whether in South America, Europe, or the States, wine lovers want to know one thing: where’s the best wine? Tracking down the best of the best when it comes to vino often requires sleuthing through online forums or querying hotel concierges.

Sidestep those obstacles with this handy guide to the top 10 cities for wine lovers.Is wine the most adult drink? Like art or sex, best appreciated once a requisite number of years have passed? Should Trader Joe's be allowed to sell bottles of wine for three dollars? Isn't drinking wine and going on wine tours about more than getting boozy? Isn't a deeply personal, possibly even spiritual, experience? Wine tourism may sound like a first-world affectation, but few drinking-based adventures are as enriching. A side benefit: it turns out that grapes like to grow in some of the most beautiful cities right here in America. Here are the best cities and regions to visit if you love wine. The Finger Lakes region of New York is a nature lover’s paradise, with its waterfalls, steep peaks, hiking, and camping. It’s also a mecca for winos. The area specializes in Riesling, a white wine made from sweetWhile it’s hard to pin down a specific city that stands above the rest (the Finger Lakes is truly a region you need to roam to experience), the area’s website should help you

navigate this burgeoning wine scene. Located near Boise (and, more importantly for nature lovers, near Boise National Forest), this high-altitude region of Idaho has been pushing out wines that have earned it comparisons to Spain’s Rioja region. Syrahs, and Bordeauxs are among the must-samples for any visitors to this up-and-coming and gobsmackingly beautiful region. In addition to his other eccentricities, Thomas Jefferson holds the distinction of being one of the first Americans to try his hand atTo this day, Charlottesville, which Jefferson called home, carriesNear his famous homestead, called Monticello, are some of the state’s leading wineries, all of them located on the tribute-paying Monticello Wine Trail.Sonoma Valley in California, while proximal to that other show-stealer, differs in its ethos. wine blogger puts it, “Napa Valley is Wine Disneyland, while Sonoma Valley is a wine region.” winemaking and grapegrowing work in Napa is done with an eye equally trained on

Sonoma Valley’s winemaking and grapegrowing is done only a wink at tourism.” Consider it a Brooklyn to the Manhattan of wine tourism. While visitors to thebest mild red wine area’s wineries will find that just about every type of wine imaginablethe best wine with seafood abounds in this region, Zinfandel is a must-try California classic.best red wine from virginia Kentucky calls to mind bourbon, and many of the wines from the state — which was actually home to the first commercial vineyard in the country — might as well: Many Kentucky wines are made in bourbon barrels, which lends them a distinctive flavor. best wine bars west side

Before you visit, though, keep in mind: liquor before wine, you’re fine. (The other way around, not so much.) Along with Austin, San Antonio sits at the center of what’s known asbest wine for any occasionThis region is home to a large portion of the state’sbest tasting homemade wine recipes 200-plus wineries, and its vineyards specialize in warm-weather wines, such as Italian Sangiovese and French Syrah. “Walla walla” might sound like a hungover person’s parched approximation of “water, water” but it’s in fact an all-the-rage wine city inLocated in a county of the same name on the eastern side of the state, south of Spokane, the city is home to some 125 wineries, as well as a spate of downtown tasting rooms. That Grand Junction in Colorado is a certifiable wine

destination speaks to the diversity of environments in which wine grapes can be to USA Today, the “high desert country of western Colorado has a microclimate perfect for vineyards.” Visitors can even ride a wine-tastingIf you decide to hop on, be sure to sample the region’s biggest billings, Riesling and Cabernet Franc. This city in northern Michigan was once known as the cherry capital of the world, and the climate that proved ideal for that fruit is now being harnessed for exciting new wines. IB Times points out, Traverse City is situated at the same latitude as Bordeaux and Burgundy in France. And while Michigan doesn’t have quite the claim on romance and history that France does, visitors will doubtless enjoy the area’s natural beauty —views of the Grand Traverse Bay abound — as they uncork its array of reds and whites. The north fork of Long Island doesn’t get the attention that the south fork, but this is