Domaine Les Crayères, Champagne, France
The ultimate chic wine? Bien sûr, it’s Champagne. And given the region is just a quick train ride from Paris, a tour of its lauded houses is a perfect indulgence come le weekend. Stays don’t come more old-world glamorous than Domaine Les Crayères, set on the outskirts of Reims in a chateau-esque pile. Rooms drip in Marie Antoinette-style opulence with gilded frames and jolie fabrics, while two-Michelin-starred restaurant Le Parc crafts intricate, decadent dishes featuring local wine grapes. This is about as French as it gets. From £421, lescrayeres.com
Tasting time: You’re stumbling distance from many of Reims’ top caves (cellars) — enormous, ancient chalk caverns burrowed deep into the ground — so you can tick lots of tastings off in a short time. Join the tour at recently renovated Champagne Taittinger, one of the few large-scale family-owned houses, or sip fine Blanc de Blancs at historic Champagne Ruinart. Got more time? Hop the onward train to nearby Epernay, where more big names await.
Wine & dine: Set above a poissonnerie, Le Bocal pairs glasses of bubbly from small growers with ultra-fresh seafood. Consider it the perfect lunch break between Champagne tasting tours.
Delaire Graff, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Framed by soaring peaks and basked in reliable rays, Stellenbosch is postcard-pretty. But South Africa’s most prestigious wine region, home to local grape Pinotage and world-class Cabernet Sauvignon, also has a glut of fine hotels. A jewel in its crown — in fact owned by jeweller Laurence Graff — this spot is set on hillside to give you an epic vantage point over the vine-lined expanse. As a Relais & Châteaux pad, food is given top billing with Afro-Asian cuisine at restaurant Indochine. But there’s also beauty in the gardens, studded with large-scale sculpture, and the lodges with heated plunge pools. From £465, delaire.co.za
Tasting time: Get more great garden action — plus supremely elegant whites and reds — at Mullineux & Leeu in the neighbouring wine region of Franschhoek. Or stay local and sip seriously ageworthy Bordeaux-style blends and cracking Pinotage at Kanonkop Wine Estate.
Wine & dine: Owned by the billionaires behind The Newt in Somerset, Babylonstoren’s Babel is a proper farm-to-fork set up housed in one of the country’s oldest Cape Dutch farms.
Stanly Ranch, Napa Valley, USA
America’s capital of wine, Napa Valley is home to some of the world’s glossiest tasting rooms — most of them pouring inky, powerful Cabernet Sauvignon. In the south of the region, closest to gateway San Francisco, recently opened Stanly Ranch sprawls across a former farm and adheres to a programme of laid-back Californian luxe. Generous pours of wine meet you at check in, lubricating the walk to your desert-hued suite overlooking ripening grapes. Later, you’ll retreat to the Halehouse Spa for muscle-melting massages, dips in a suntrap pool or sessions in an epic window-lined sauna before dinner in the sunset-bathed Bear restaurant. From £1,079, aubergeresorts.com
Tasting time: Only a short drive away, Ashes & Diamonds has striking nostalgic Cali decor, a tasty array of single-vineyard wines and fabulous food pairings on alfresco tables. Or visit grand Inglenook, owned by Francis Ford Coppola, for cinematic drama in an old European-inspired chateau.
Wine & dine: A feast of all things seasonal Napa awaits at PRESS in quaint St Helena. Chef Philip Tessier’s artful platings of heirloom tomatoes and sweetcorn join what is probably the world’s most extensive Napa wine list.
L’And, Alentejo, Portugal
Design aficionados can really geek out over this ultra-contemporary stay in the rugged Alentejo, a dramatic vision of white, glass and wood rising from the verdant landscapes. Set on a lake by Montemor Castle, it puts nature at the forefront; expect coffee tables hewn from tree trunks and skylights above the bed for stargazing. There are estate-made wines too, crushed from a local Portuguese grapes. While variety names like Touriga Nacional might not be familiar, trust us when we say they’re seriously tasty. From £322, l-and.com
Tasting time: Get a glimpse at the region’s more trad side at Herdade do Mouchão, renowned for its long-lived wines. Or continue on the design-forward vibe at Adega Mayor, a white-box build ringed in vineyard where you can taste fruity rosé or full-bodied reds.
Wine & dine: Zip over to São Lourenço do Barrocal for a lunch of estate-reared veg and orchard fruit, washed down with plenty of wine made from their own 15 hectares of vineyards.
Wander the Resort, Prince Edward County, Canada
While it flies under the radar compared to many world wine regions, Prince Edward County, just east of Toronto, packs serious style. Steps from glittering lake fringed in beach, historic barns have been transformed into chic tasting rooms turning out elegant Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Sleek Wander the Resort, a clutch of Scandi-minimalist cabins right by the water, is the most in-demand place to stay. Sit out in the evenings by your private firepit, polishing off that bottle of rosé cracked open at the onsite beach club. From £415, wandertheresort.com
Tasting time: For Pinot Noir and Chardonnay so good it could turn the head of a Burgundian, check out Closson Chase in Hillier, housed in a vast purple-painted barn lined with art. Meanwhile Hinterland Wine Company serves sparklings and small-scale natural still wines in a tasting room overlooking the vines.
Wine & dine: Woodfire cooking with a sustainable focus and a stellar vino list draws crowds to Flame + Smith. Tuck into merguez-spiced cauliflower with baba ghanoush or arctic char à la plancha.
Meneghetti, Istria, Croatia
Just a cork’s toss from northern Italy, the Croatian peninsula of Istria boasts some seriously fabulous wines. And when you check into luxe Meneghetti you get scrumptious white pours served up alongside romantic honey-hued stonework and interiors dressed in oyster shell-hues. The surrounding terra rossa soil gives birth to some fabulous red wine too, but also a range of piquant olive oils for drizzling over the estate’s Med-style cuisine. In other words, come hungry. From £421, meneghetti.hr
Tasting time: Pay a visit to pioneering winemaker Moreno Coronica to sample local star varieties like Malvasia. Then carry on to KozloviÄ Winery, a stand out for its funky, modernist design as well as its highly rated white wines.
Wine & dine: Friendly and unpretentious, Alla Beccaccia turns out local dishes laced in the likes of dried ham and olives.
Kingsford, Barossa, Australia
Though it’s often called a ‘new world’ wine region, Australia’s Barossa Valley — heartland of Shiraz — has serious history. From the gnarled trunks of century-old vines to the aged tasting rooms that dot the landscape, wine has run through the region’s veins since the 1840s. In keeping with the vibe, Kingsford combines the best of old and new, splitting your stay between an 1856 stone farmhouse and a fresh extension with big windows opening up to the sunrise. From £413, kingsfordbarossa.com.au
Tasting time: With rambling grounds and a European-style clock tower, Yalumba is Australia’s oldest family-owned winery (going since 1849) and, among various other delights, has its own working cooperage you can visit. Rockford, famed for their robust Shiraz, really does things the old-school way, still pressing grapes with traditional basket press equipment.
Wine & dine: Pair ultra-fresh modern Southeast Asian nibbles with a vast Aussie wine list at FermentAsian. Look out for the Barossa’s top winemakers on the next table over — it’s a local favourite.
Hotel Viura, Rioja, Spain
In contrast to the rounded vine-lined hills of Rioja, Hotel Viura is an angular vision in concrete, glass and steel; a contemporary statement in the heart of Spain’s best-loved wine region. It’s perfectly placed for exploring the treasures of the area — the pretty wine towns of LogrÅno and Haro, for example — but it’s in no way fusty, filling its spaces with calming tones and pops of dramatic art. Settle into the downstairs restaurant and work your way through the wine list featuring a near-exhaustive list of local producers. From £112, hotelviura.com
Tasting time: Muga makes some of the best-loved red Riojas out there and has tours aplenty; you can even check out the vines from aboard a hot air balloon. Meanwhile the slick operation at Marqués de Riscal doesn’t fail to impress with its spectacular Frank Gehry frontage and polished tasting flights.
Wine & dine: In cobbled Haro, Michelin-starred Nublo serves up minimalist cuisine that’s cooked simply but plated so beautifully it could be on display in the Guggenheim Bilbao.
COMO Castello del Nero, Chianti, Italy
Wine and Tuscany go together like rhubarb and custard. Flanked by vineyards and olive groves 40 minutes south of Florence, this 12th-century castle had a makeover a few years back by wellness brand COMO, and is now a cool, minimalist space to retreat to after a day of Chianti tastings. Grab a map from the front desk and hike through the grounds, then refresh with a dip in the vast pool overlooking the purple hillscape. Dinner is at Michelin-starred La Torre, which reinvents local flavours alongside - yep, you guessed it - an array of top local pours. From £730, comohotels.com
Nearby wineries: One of Tuscany’s most lauded producers, Antinori bottles Super Tuscan wine Tiganello; though if your budget doesn’t stretch to hundreds of euros a bottle, you can find more reasonably priced pours on its cellar tour. Or try Castello di Ama, home to a range of knock-out reds.
Wine & dine: Haven’t had your fill of Michelin eats at COMO? Osteria di Passignano, on the Antinori estate, has more than 1,000 wines on hand to pair with its new-wave Chianti cuisine.
