More people than ever before are taking to the road to explore grape growing and winemaking regions and to learn about wine culture. Whether you are a wine connoisseur or someone who just enjoys a good glass of wine, it can be fun to set aside a few days to stroll through vineyards, visit wineries, and learn about winemaking and food pairing. You might even discover a new passion. You can join a multi-day specialist wine tasting tour or just team up with a group of fellow wine enthusiasts.
Wine tasting tours go through vineyards, wineries, and sometimes wine museums. And you don’t need to be a wine professional to partake. Professional tasters assess a wine’s overall quality according to predefined international or national standards. Curiosity about local wine making traditions and the desire to taste and enjoy the flavors and aromas of the different wines is more than enough.
Drinking wine, for most people, is done for enjoyment along with food or on special occasions, while a tour of wine-producing regions can create an unforgettable experience. It’s a way to learn more about wines and explore wine destinations.
Every wine has a local history. Wineries allow you to immerse yourself in the vineyard’s local culture, its history and traditions, but the best part is perhaps to enjoy tasting a variety of wines. Whether visiting wineries for the first time or looking for new destinations, each wine tasting tour is unique.
Besides learning about the wine making process, a wine tasting tour will train your palate to tell the different tastes and determine where a wine comes from. You will also learn what makes a wine good. In a standard wine tasting tour, you can sample from one to six wines at each vineyard. Some wineries may have small samples of local cheeses or meats to accompany your tastings. This means you can also learn what type of food or snack will complement each type of wine.
It’s important to note that wine tasting is different from drinking wine. Often, the amount of wine tasted will be about half the amount you would get in a regular wine glass. During a wine tour, you only taste the different varieties made by each winery. However, if you want more than just a taste, most wineries will often offer you discounted prices for selected wines that you can take home.
Throughout your wine tour, you will also learn about the local grape varieties in the region. If you plan to visit multiple wineries located in the same region, you may worry that the tasting will become repetitive. Often, however, there are small nuances that make every winery and wine different. For instance, wineries often follow a family tradition when making their wines. The taste may also differ from one winery to the next. Besides savoring such differences in tastes, you also get to know about the family history and traditions of each winery.
For many people, making friends doesn’t come easily. An added benefit of joining a wine tour is that it brings together like-minded people. This means it can also be a great opportunity to make new friends.
