When we think of wine regions of the world, many times our minds venture to the same places. Images of Tuscany, Provance, Napa Valley, maybe even Argentina or Chile come to mind. We love wine and enjoy learning about it anywhere we are, which has led us to discovering some wildly off the beaten path wine regions of the world. Hopefully, most of the places on this list will surprise you and you’ll feel encouraged to try some new places and things when it comes to wine!
Wurzburg, Germany
Germany having wine regions might not be news to you, but when I think of Germany, I just imagine the land of beer! When we pulled into Wurzburg and saw the vineyards on the hills surrounding the small city center, we were beyond surprised. I planned to come here knowing that this was a wine region, but I had a hard time finding a wine tour for 2 people and I didn’t know what to expect.
Wurzburg is the main city in the Franken wine region of Germany. There are two huge producers here, Juliusspital and Burgerspital. When you think of German wine, if you ever do, I assume Reisling comes to mind. We did taste Reisling during our time in Wurzburg, however, the main wine in this region is a white wine called Silvaner.
Another special thing about this wine region is the wine bottle itself. You won’t find bottles that look this way in any other places around the world. The bottle is called a “bocksbeutel”, and it is distinctive for its flattened shape. It was said that in the past it was easier to carry a flattened wine bottle in a bag or pocket. It was also easier to keep the wine bottle from rolling down the steep hills of the vineyards. The bottle shape is actually protected and regulated in Germany, only able to be used with certain wines.
I found us a tour with Dr. Marcus Frankl where we’d get to walk through vineyards and taste some of the wines of the region. We met him in the vineyards and this was our first huge surprise. In Germany, you can walk freely through the vineyards. People were strolling through as if it was a public park having picnics, walking dogs, playing with children, taking in the views etc. We have been to very few places where vineyards could be freely explored by the public, and this was such a pleasant surprise. The next wonderful surprise was our wine necklaces! He gave us each a necklace that held a glass of wine so that we could keep our hands free while strolling and chatting, taking sips whenever we wanted! We were able to try 3 different wines from the two major producers and got to keep the bottles and remaining wine after the tour.
In town, you can also visit each of these large producers. You can tour their cellars and do tastings as well. We actually visited Juliusspital after our tour and had another glass in their charming tasting room.
A true highlight of Wurzburg, and something I feel is not to be missed, is the experience of visiting the wine window on the main bridge and enjoying a drink as the sun is setting with what feels like everyone else in the town. It’s a great social event and so beautiful. You get your glass from the shop on the end of the bridge, paying a small “security deposit’ to take it away, and when you return the glass, the money is returned to you. Then you just relax and take in the beautiful scene with tourists and locals alike.
Wurzburg was our last stop driving the Romantic Road in Germany and it was a great place to spend a full day/night. It’s very close to Frankfurt if you are looking to make a day trip and, honestly, not too far from Munich as well.
You can find the website for these tours here —> Wurzburg Wine Tour
Gozo Island
We attempted to visit Malta & Gozo for years before we were finally able to make it. We had planned to go in 2020, and therefore didn’t end up visiting until 2022. But when we finally did, it was a fantastic experience.
One of the highlights of our time in Malta & Gozo was our wine tasting dinner at Maldonado Bistro on Gozo. During the experience we got to taste many different wines from Gozo and Malta and learn about how they pair with different local foods. The owner, George, was extremely knowledgeable about the wines of Gozo and we really loved some of the wines that we tried.
One of our favorites was called Girgentina, it was a white wine and it is one of only 2 indigenous wines to the region. We found this wine to be really fresh and light (and we enjoyed a considerable amount of it on our boat day in Malta). We also tried a Chardonnay, which on Malta is starting to replace the Girgentina in the hearts of many. I have to admit, though, we weren’t completely sold on it and enjoyed the Girgentina more!
Overall, we found the wines of Malta & Gozo to be very enjoyable and I would highly recommend this experience to anyone visiting the area.
If you’re looking for more to do on Gozo, check out my post here —–> 48 Hours on Gozo Island
Berat, Albania
I’m willing to guess that unless you’ve spent time in or are considering visiting Albania, you’ve never even heard of Berat. Berat is an amazing UNESCO World Heritage town, and while stunningly beautiful and full of incredible architecture, history, and a castle overlooking the town, it is also… a wine region.
We participated in wine tastings at 3 different wineries in Berat and we loved the experience at all 3.
The first was Kantina Luani, and we loved this place because it was within walking distance from our hotel in the old town of Berat. Here we did a tasting of 3 wines and a spirit, as well as a charcuterie board that could have served 8 people! And one of the best parts, all this for the price of $15 per person! We found that we really enjoyed the red wines here and found one that we liked in particular, called Kallmet.
Next up was Pupa Winery and we had the FULL experience here. We had a seemingly endless lunch to go along with our wine tasting experience. We tried white, red, and rose wines and we appreciated the rose so much that we had a bottle with lunch. The place is incredibly modern and you could have fooled me into thinking I was in Napa if I didn’t know better. You could also stay on this property, which I would have loved to do if we had another night in the area. The surrounding area was so beautiful and peaceful, it would have been an excellent place to have a wine tasting, dinner, and spend the night.
Finally we visited Cobo Winery. This seemed to be the winery that many of the locals were excited about. Everyone seemed to know someone in this family, or someone who worked there, or just had some sort of connection to the place. Here we got to sit outside to taste and have another delicious cheese board. The wines were delightful and the staff and location were just fantastic.
We traveled around on this tour with Berat City Tours. This way we didn’t have to drive ourselves while drinking so much. They took us to Pupa and Cobo wineries, with pick up and drop off from our hotel, and arranged both of our tastings and lunch. They were so kind and easy to work with and it was an excellent experience.
If you’re interested in visiting Berat I also have : A Mini Guide to Berat, Albania
Korcula Island, Croatia
Korcula is still a lesser known (compared to Hvar), but completely amazing, island in Crotia. We absolutely loved our time here, and some of our highlights were the wine experiences.
We participated in a biking and wine tour with Korcula Explorer, and loved every minute of this tour experience. The tour starts with cycling around the island and seeing some incredible sites. We rode past beaches and vineyards and a lot of areas we hadn’t seen when exploring around town. We ended up at a stunning winery overlooking the vineyards and the ocean. Here we were able to taste SO much wine! Thankfully, the tour provides you a ride home in a vehicle, so you don’t have to hop back on the bike after all of that drinking. During the tasting, you get to try Grk, which is a white wine unique to Croatia. We loved trying this wine and then we knew to enjoy it more along our travels. There are tour options you can do in Korcula to learn about the wine that don’t involve biking, as well.
We also loved wine tasting in the town of Korcula itserlf. They had some wonderful wine bars where we tasted reds that I still dream about! Croatian wine is not often available in the US where we live, so I really enjoyed tasting and experiencing the wine here.
Aconcagua Valley, Chile
Okay, if you know wine, then you already know that Chile is in fact a very large and well known area for producing it. HOWEVER, this valley is much lesser known. The producers here are much smaller, and that is what I LOVED about this visit. We did a wine tour with a company called Bodega Wine Tours, and we were able to visit 3 wineries in this valley on the most wonderful day trip from Santiago.
The first winery we visited on the tour was called Vina Sanchez. This place was stunning. The views were like no other vineyard I’ve ever seen, with amazing mountains rising up behind the vines. This place is the oldest Chilean winery still in operation and we got to meet the owner and chat with him (through our guide who acted as a translator) about the wines. We got to tour the winery and try multiple wines, all of which we greatly enjoyed. This place was WONDERFUL to experience.
Next up we visited El Escorial which was another beautiful location. We got to go into their cellar and taste wines with a meat and cheese pairing. They taught us about their wines, about the area, and about the pairings. It was really nice to just chat with them about life, both in the valley, and in general in Chile. We loved this stop.
Finally, we visited Flaherty and got to taste 4 wines as well as enjoy a GIANT charcuterie board filled with meats, cheeses, breads, etc. We loved the wine here and loved exploring this family run property. We got to sit among the vines and even meet the family pets!
We also did a tour of the Casablanca valley in Chile. Our favorite part about wine in Chile was learning about Carmenere wine. Carmenere was grown in France for centuries until the mid-1800s, when all of the vines in Europe were destroyed by an epidemic (you will learn about this on many-a-wine tour in Europe). Winegrowers had to start all over and many of them spliced their vines with American rootstock to begin their vineyards again. Carmenere wasn’t really replanted in France and, eventually, was assumed to be entirely gone.
Years later, some winegrowers in Chile realized that the “Merlot” they had been producing didn’t quite look or taste like Merlot. They did some DNA testing and found out that it was in fact, Carmenere. Lucky for us, Chile began producing Carmenere on purpose and now it is made throughout the country. We loved this wine and can only hope that more US retailers will continue to pick up and sell Carmenere.
If this is your vibe I have more details about this wine region as well as the Casablanca region here: Chilean Wine Tours
I also have more information about visiting Santiago: Santiago, Chile
Bled (Hotel Triglav), Slovenia
You’d probably never think of a hotel on Lake Bled in Slovania as being an excellent place for a wine experience, but this was another great one! We stayed at the Hotel Triglav, which is one of my favorite places I’ve EVER stayed. The hotel has it’s own sommelier and cellar for wine. We were able to do a Slovenian wine tasting in the wine cellar of the hotel and learn so much more about the culture, history, and wine of Slovenia. We highly recommend this experience and hotel in Lake Bled!
This hotel is one of my favorite places we’ve ever stayed in all of our travels.
Mazzorbo Island: Venissa Winery (Day Trip From Venice), Italy
Maybe it’s because we had this experience more recently, but this was a very cool experience that really stands out in my mind. We visited Venissa Winery on the island of Mazzorbo off of Venice. Here, they make the only wine of it’s kind in the world. This wine was almost lost to the world until it was rediscovered in a small family run vineyard on a nearby island. It is fascinating to learn about how the vines grow in the shallow land surrounded by the lagoon. We did a tasting here of 2 whites and 2 reds. We also learned about the amazing design of the bottles. The gold label on the bottles is actually made by the only gold smith left in Italy who practices the original art. He even did the ceilings of the Vatican during recent renovations. It is really neat to learn about all of the history and creativity put into this wine and winery. The site also has a Michelin star restaurant and grow all of their produce in the garden surrounding the vineyard. This was such neat place to visit, and a wine area we’d never have suspected!
Hotel Winebox: Valparasio, Chile
This hotel was created by a sommelier and winemaker. The entire hotel is based on a wine theme. Each room is named after a different variety and is decorated in a special way. The hotel is made of shipping containers, and the owner can tell you entertaining stories about each one, where it came from, and what it had been used to transport before being decommissioned. We were lucky enough to visit on New Years Eve. The hotel hosted a wine tasting and dinner on the rooftop terrace, and it was an unforgettable experience. They led us through a full wine tasting experience and then we were able to continue to drink wines all night as we celebrated the new year. I couldn’t recommend this more highly if you’re in Valparasio. Even if you can’t go for the NYE, ask. about wine tasting experience at this hotel.
If you’re interested in Valparaiso I also wrote a guest post for one of my favorite travel bloggers Travel Tom Tom: Everything You Need to Know to Visit Valparaiso
Prosecco Hills, Italy
Wine tasting in Italy is a popular activity. However, I haven’t actually met another person that has visited the Prosecco Hills. The area where Prosecco is made is right outside Venice, and you can actually visit here on a day trip from the city. We chose to do it differently by staying overnight at Mani Sagge. Mani Sagge is a winery on the Prosecco road and tasting here was incredible. They have an amazing terrace with views of the vineyards and the Dolomites beyond. The Prosecco is beyond delightful and is possibly my favorite ever. The hosts are the kindest, most welcoming people and the food is just as good. They taught us so much about the different types of Prosecco, which follow styles similar to Champagnes. We were big fans of the extra brut, which has the least amount of sugar added, but still enjoyed the high-sugar extra dry Prosecco along with a sweet desert.
If you’d like more details about Prosecco I have a full post here: The Best Way to Experience the Prosecco Hills
Syros, Greece
Syros Island surprised us in countless ways on our visit to Greece. One of the best parts was our tour with Syros Wine Trails. They were a new company when we arrived and we were some of their first clients. I think I am actually their first review on trip advisor! The first stop was for cheese, which always makes me happy. We got to see how the cheese was produced on the island and we got to try a variety of cheeses that were all very impressive. The second stop was at a family run vineyard. We got to try their wonderful wines and enjoy some charcuterie with a fantastic view of their vineyards. The third stop was at a gorgeous mansion in Syros and we had dinner in the garden. We got to try so many different specialties and again to taste so many wonderful wines. The experience was wonderful over all, and I know that they run many different custom tours. I would highly recommend this experience if you are visiting Syros.
If this sounds like your vibe I have an entire blog post about visiting Syros & Andros here: Andros & Syros the two Greek Islands you need to know about
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