Tag: Wine Tourism

European Wine Tourism Index 2025: Ranking Europe’s Leading Wine Destinations

Wine tourism represents one of the fastest-growing segments of global cultural and experiential travel. According to a recent survey by TUI Musement, more than 91% of respondents expressed interest in wine-related travel, with the highest engagement among travellers aged 18 to 44. Responding to this demand, and coinciding with Europe’s harvest season, TUI Musement has introduced the inaugural “European Wine Tourism Index 2025,” the first data-driven ranking of Europe’s most attractive destinations for wine tourism.

Unlike perception-based surveys, the Index employs quantitative data and official registries to assess both viticultural heritage and tourism potential. By combining traditional measures of production with indicators of cultural recognition and international prestige, the Index provides a comparative framework for understanding the evolving dynamics of Europe’s wine tourism map.

Methodology

The Index evaluates European Union member states (with a minimum vineyard area of 500 hectares) across five weighted categories:

Vineyard surface area (20%)

Vineyard land dedicated to PDO and PGI wines (30%)

Number of registered PDO/PGI wines (20%)

Total wine production volume (10%)

International awards received (20%)

Data sources include Eurostat, the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), official EU registries, and the Decanter World Wine Awards 2025. Scores were calculated using a weighted average, providing an objective reflection of both wine heritage and global recognition.

The Results – Europe’s Top 10 Wine-Producing Countries

  1. France (Score: 85.2/100)

France secures first place with unparalleled prestige, the highest number of international awards, and a vast network of PDO regions.

Key regions: Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne

Highlights: Bordeaux’s château tours, Burgundy’s 1,000+ climats (vineyard plots) inscribed by UNESCO, Champagne’s historic underground cellars.

Experiences: Private vintage tastings, vineyard drives through Bordeaux in classic cars, cellar tours beneath Épernay’s Avenue de Champagne.

  1. Italy

Italy ranks second as Europe’s largest wine producer and the continent’s leader in PDO/PGI registrations.

Key regions: Tuscany, Piedmont, Veneto

Highlights: Tuscany’s Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino; Piedmont’s UNESCO-listed Langhe-Roero vineyards; Veneto’s iconic Prosecco hills.

Experiences: Chianti tasting with artisanal oils and balsamic vinegar, Prosecco tours in Veneto, vineyard walks in Monferrato.

  1. Spain

Spain, home to the largest vineyard area in Europe (909,367 hectares), ranks third, with 97% dedicated to PDO/PGI wines.

Key regions: La Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Rías Baixas, Jerez

Highlights: Ribera del Duero’s bold reds, volcanic viticulture in Lanzarote’s La Geria, and cava production in Penedès.

Experiences: La Rioja winery tours, sherry tasting in Jerez, vineyard hikes across volcanic landscapes.

  1. Portugal

Portugal earns fourth place through its internationally awarded wines and unique terroirs.

Key regions: Douro Valley, Alentejo, Vinho Verde

Highlights: UNESCO-listed Douro terraces, Alentejo’s bold red wines, crisp whites of Vinho Verde.

Experiences: River cruises with quinta tastings, traditional Algarve wine trails, and immersive tours of fortified Port cellars.

  1. Greece

Greece combines millennia-old heritage with an extraordinary diversity of indigenous grape varieties.

Key regions: Macedonia, Peloponnese, Santorini

Highlights: Assyrtiko from Santorini’s volcanic soils, Agiorgitiko from Nemea, and Xinómavro from northern Macedonia.

Experiences: Sunset tastings in Santorini, Peloponnesian winery tours, Crete’s wine-and-food pairings.

  1. Germany

Germany places sixth, globally celebrated for its Rieslings and scenic river-valley vineyards.

Key regions: Mosel, Rheingau, Pfalz

Highlights: Steep Mosel slopes, Rheingau’s historic Spätlese birthplace, Palatinate’s iconic Bad Dürkheim wine barrel.

Experiences: Vineyard cycling tours, river cruises with Riesling tastings, heritage wine festivals.

  1. Romania

Romania ranks seventh, drawing on deep winemaking traditions dating to antiquity.

Key regions: Transylvania, Muntenia (Dealu Mare), Dobrogea

Highlights: Fetească varietals of Transylvania, powerful reds from Dealu Mare (“Romania’s Tuscany”), and sweet wines from Dobrogea.

Experiences: Castle-linked vineyard visits, Black Sea coastal tastings, immersive food-and-wine tours from Bucharest.

  1. Hungary

Hungary, in eighth place, is synonymous with sweet wines of global renown and increasingly recognized reds.

Key regions: Tokaj, Eger, Villány

Highlights: Tokaji Aszú (UNESCO World Heritage), Eger’s “Bull’s Blood” (Bikavér), Villány’s full-bodied reds.

Experiences: Cellar visits in Tokaj, historic vineyard tours, and urban wine tastings in Budapest.

  1. Austria

Austria’s 46,000 hectares of PDO vineyards demonstrate exceptional quality control.

Key regions: Wachau Valley, Burgenland, Vienna

Highlights: Wachau’s UNESCO terraced landscapes, Grüner Veltliner and Riesling, and Vienna as Europe’s only capital city with significant vineyards.

Experiences: Danube wine cruises, half-day vineyard tours from Vienna, Burgenland’s botrytized dessert wines.

  1. Bulgaria

Bulgaria completes the top 10 with a wine history dating to ancient Thrace.

Key regions: Thracian Valley, Struma Valley, Danube Plain

Highlights: Mavrud-based reds, Mediterranean-influenced wines of Struma, and fresh Danubian whites.

Experiences: Vineyard tours of Nessebar, tastings in the Thracian Valley, and Black Sea wine routes.

The inaugural European Wine Tourism Index 2025 reaffirms Europe’s enduring role as the global centre of wine tourism. While traditional powers such as France, Italy, and Spain remain dominant, the emergence of destinations like Romania, Hungary, Austria, and Bulgaria signals an expanding and diversifying wine tourism map.

This Index provides both travellers and industry stakeholders with an authoritative framework for understanding Europe’s viticultural landscape, linking heritage with tourism potential, and mapping future opportunities for sustainable growth.

Rediscovering Sulcis, Sardinia – From Vineyard to Sea along the Cammino Minerario di Santa Barbara and through the Lands of Carignano

In the far southwest of Sardinia, the second-largest island in the Mediterranean, travellers can now embark on the Cammino Minerario di Santa Barbara (CMSB), a 500-kilometre trail divided into 30 stages. Just 70 kilometres from Cagliari, the regional capital with its international airport, the route links the main towns of the Sulcis region, including Iglesias, Carbonia, Sant’Antioco, and Sant’Anna Arresi.

Walkers, often referred to as “pilgrims,” retrace the paths once taken by miners, shepherds, fishermen, and farmers. Alongside ancient mines and vineyards, the trail also reveals some of Sardinia’s most striking beaches, where long sandy stretches meet crystal-clear waters. Blending history, spirituality, and nature, the Cammino Minerario di Santa Barbara offers insight into Sulcis, one of the island’s most authentic and multifaceted territories.

An Early Test Walk

In September, with a small group of colleagues, we had the privilege of experiencing this trail almost as a preview. What struck us most was the remarkable balance of diversity and coherence. Tourism projects often promise variety but seldom deliver it with such authenticity. Along the Cammino Minerario di Santa Barbara, everything felt naturally connected, from the changing landscapes and historic villages to the local food, ancient mines, and distinctive wines. Each element contributed to a unified, layered sense of place that was both genuine and moving.

What stood out most was the passion of the people behind the project. From museum guides to vineyard workers, from cooperative leaders to volunteers, everyone we met shared a profound connection to their land. Their knowledge, warmth, and pride gave depth to each encounter, transforming the journey into not just an exploration but a human and emotional experience.

From Vineyards to the Sea

The journey began among vineyards overlooking the coast, with an introduction to Carignano del Sulcis and its role in shaping the region’s identity. Tastings and open-air meals revealed the deep bond between wine and territory. Later, quiet paths across Sant’Antioco unfolded into gentle slopes and seascapes, before evenings spent by the harbour with traditional food and local wines.

The next day brought us inland, across rolling hills and historic villages, along trails framed by vineyards and Mediterranean scrub. Lunch featured the symbolic “Pilgrim’s Menu,” tying tradition to hospitality. By evening, the focus shifted to the sea once again at the historic tonnara (tuna fishery) of Portoscuso, founded in the late 1500s. Tuna has long shaped local culture, and here it was paired with Carignano wines—from fresh rosé to complex reds—showcasing the grape’s depth and versatility.

Into the Mines

The journey culminated at the Great Mine of Serbariu, once a hub of coal extraction. Even today, with clean air, normal light, and sound effects muted, stepping inside was a powerful experience. It was easy to imagine the miners’ reality: dust, darkness, deafening noise, and at times tunnels scarcely half a meter high. This moment underscored that Sulcis’s beauty is inseparable from its history of hardship.

The Wine Connection

Carignano, the flagship grape of Sulcis, is demanding in the vineyard. Naturally vigorous and highly productive, it requires careful management to reduce yields. Its slight bitterness, a potential flaw elsewhere, here becomes a signature—integrated, elegant, and defining.

Unique conditions make it possible: sandy soils that allow ungrafted vines, old bush-trained vineyards yielding naturally low harvests, a Mediterranean climate tempered by steady mistral winds, and a late ripening cycle that traditionally stretches into mid-October. These factors create dense, characterful wines that remain contemporary in style.

Carignano del Sulcis, recognized as a DOC since 1977, comes in a range of styles: dry reds, riservas, and passito versions. Rosé is also noteworthy—often deeply colored thanks to the grape’s natural intensity, with marked personality and a savoury edge that makes it highly gastronomic, pairing beautifully with both land and sea dishes.

The Food Connection

Food in Sulcis is equally central to its identity. Despite being an island, meat holds a place of honour: maialetto (suckling pig), in its many variations, is a festive staple. Cheese is just as significant, particularly Sardinia’s distinctive pecorino, known for its intensity, and fresh ricotta, used in both savoury and sweet dishes.

Handmade pasta, often filled, anchors family cooking, while along the coast, tuna and fish define local tradition. Mussels, too, are a point of pride, frequently featured as a specialty of Sulcis. The cuisine also preserves its humbler roots in dishes like fried bread, a clever way to avoid waste. This blend of land and sea, of richness and simplicity, gives Sulcis a gastronomic identity as layered as its landscape—always authentic, always true to tradition.

A Complete Journey

The Cammino Minerario di Santa Barbara is far more than a hike. It’s wine tastings by the sea, Carignano vineyards shaped by the mistral, ungrafted bush vines, archaeological sites, tuna fisheries, nuraghi, medieval churches, and, above all, the proud voices of the people who live here. It’s a journey through hardship and beauty, history and revival—an experience that lingers long after the last step and the final sip.

Filippo Magnani

Wine Tourism Review: Dimora Cottanera on the slopes of Etna

This is a retreat where Sicilian authenticity meets understated luxury – vineyard views, an infinity pool that spills into the landscape, and gardens perfumed with exotic flowers, lavender and citrus.

Lunch by the pool was all about simplicity and elegance: seasonal dishes paired with Cottanera’s Etna Bianco.

As the sun set, the Winter Restaurant revealed its magic. We savoured the essence of Sicilian cuisine – simple, elegant flavours paired with Cottanera wines, against a stunning backdrop of mountains with their vineyards glowing in the evening light and soft mountain breezes.

This one-night stay felt like entering a different rhythm of life – where time lingers, and every detail invited me to savour the moment… final article to follow on ……www.liz-palmer.com

For further details on Dimora Cottanera https://dimoracottanera.com/

Picciolo Etna Golf Resort & Spa, Curio Collection by Hilton, Sicily

Just arrived at the breathtaking Picciolo Etna Golf Resort & Spa, Curio Collection by Hilton, tucked away in the heart of Castiglione di Sicilia.

Surrounded by lush vineyards, ancient olive groves, and the dramatic slopes of Mount Etna, this place is pure magic. Here’s a fun fact: It’s the only place in Europe where you can play golf on the slopes of an active volcano

Stay tuned — a full review is coming soon!

Alto Adige Wine Summit 2025: Expanding Horizons and Strengthening Global Influence

The Consorzio Alto Adige Wines has successfully concluded the Alto Adige Wine Summit 2025, marking its most ambitious and internationally resonant edition to date. Held biennially, the summit serves as the preeminent platform for positioning Alto Adige as a dynamic contributor to the global wine dialogue, uniting international trade media, sommeliers, wine merchants, and hospitality professionals.

For the first time in its history, the summit extended its program by two additional days, reflecting its growing scope and influence. From September 4 to 8, a total of 82 delegates from thirteen countries immersed themselves in the cultural and viticultural fabric of Alto Adige. Participants engaged in exclusive behind-the-scenes experiences, in-depth tastings, and direct exchanges with local winegrowers and producers, thereby gaining a comprehensive understanding of the region’s unique terroirs and winemaking traditions.

The summit’s opening sessions introduced international wine journalists and opinion leaders to the region’s viticultural identity, while the expanded program specifically targeted sommeliers, wine merchants, and hospitality professionals. This deliberate broadening of audiences reflects Alto Adige’s strategic aim of deepening its global market presence and strengthening cross-sector partnerships.

A major highlight was the large-scale tasting hosted at NOI Techpark in Bolzano, which presented 365 wines from 100 producers. This unprecedented showcase provided delegates with a singular opportunity to appreciate the breadth, quality, and stylistic diversity of Alto Adige’s contemporary wine production.

The strong representation of U.S. media reinforced Alto Adige’s rising prominence in the American market, its most dynamic export destination.

With its expanded scope, the Alto Adige Wine Summit 2025 has further cemented its role as a global reference point for promoting wine culture, trade dialogue, and cross-cultural exchange, strengthening Alto Adige’s position within the evolving landscape of international wine.