Top 10 Cruise Destinations for Wine Lovers
Here at CruiseHols, we know that what makes a great cruise holiday is the combination of a great ship, fantastic ports and must do excursions and that is why this list consists of not just cruise ports near to the most vineyards or to the most famous but it is our picks of the best ports to visit on a cruise holiday that allow you to have the best possible getaway whilst still been able to enjoy visiting vineyards and enjoying a tipple or 2.
Our Top 10 Cruise Destinations for Wine Lovers
Cape Town (Constantia Valley / Stellenbosch)
The country of South Africa is one of the world’s leading wine producers and whilst production is spread out across the vast country, one of the biggest and most famous regions is in the West Cape- just along the beautiful coast from Cape Town.
As well as producing millions of litres of wine, the main regions of Constantia and Stellenbosch have become tourist attractions in their own right.
There are a choice of vineyard tour, including the chance to tour one onboard a tram complete with wine tasting and perhaps best of all is the vineyards are within easy drive of from the Cape Town bowl and that drive is amongst the most scenic in the world.
What really makes Cape Town stand out as our number 1 choice is that it is an incredible destination in its own right away from the wine tasting opportunities and there is a wide choice of cruises that either call into the port or that start/end their journeys there.
San Francisco (Napa Valley, Sonoma County)
The United States of America is one of the world’s largest producers of wine where the vast majority of production comes out of the state of California on America’s Pacific west coast.
In that state, it is the northern regions of the Napa Valley and Sonoma County that grabs the headlines for their world renowned wineries and it is in these regions that some of the best tours are given.
Thankfully for those wanting to visit on a cruise, these regions are within easy reach of the city of San Francisco which is of course not just a popular stopping off port of call but it is a fantastic location to start or finish your holiday that offers so much more than vineyard tours.
Porto (Douro Valley)
Even if you are not a wine connoisseur, you will likely be able to work out why we have placed the northern Portuguese city of Porto so highly on our list and that is because of the fortified wine that takes its name from the city.
Port is produced in the Douro Valley, from where the product would historically be shipped to the city before setting sail across the globe but nowadays you can simply stroll around the beautiful streets of Porto, where you will come across shop after shop selling the drink and offering samples or you can head down river for an organised tour of one of the numerous vineyards.
Just like the other top rated destinations on this list, the city is also a great place to visit and with a good selection of cruise lines offering itineraries including a stop at the nearby port of Leixoes.
La Rochelle (Bordeaux / Loire Valley)
If you were to ask even a casual wine drinker to name a wine producing country, France would likely be high on their list as not only is the country one of the biggest producers of most types of wine but it is also the source of many of the leading wine producing grape varieties including Cabernet, Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah.
Those are of course now planted around the world but there is nowhere better than visiting the vineyards where these grapes originate from and arguably the best port of call to just that is the western French port of La Rochelle.
There are lots of cruises that offer the city on itineraries to the Med, to Northern Spain and to the Canary Islands whilst some cruise lines call in as part of vineyard specific itineraries.
Located near to Bordeaux and Nantes, there are options away from the vineyards but as one of the cheaper options for a wine tasting cruise, it is the many wine tours offered from the port that prove popular.
Barcelona (Tarragona)
As is the case with so many parts of Europe and Africa, it was during the Roman Empire when wine production first started on a commercial scale in Spain and during that period it was Terraconensis (modern day Tarragona) and Baetica (modern day Andalucía) that were the epicentres of the new industry and both remain important wine producing regions to this very day.
What makes Barcelona such as great destination on this list is not only its proximity to Tarragona and the regions vineyards but also the fact that the city is one of Europe’s leading tourist destination and one of the world’s busiest cruise ports.
Just about every major cruise line in the world will offer cruise itineraries calling into Barcelona whilst many also offer holidays starting and or finishing there.
Livorno (Florence / Tuscany)
Livorno itself maybe a busy port town that perhaps isn’t the first choice of destinations in Italy for a tourist to choose but its proximity to the stunning city of Florence and to the beautiful region of Tuscany make it a popular stopping off port of call for many cruise ships and a fantastic choice for those wanting to visit some of Italy’s top vineyards.
The region is home to many wineries, with many offering tours and it is also home to Italy’s claim to fame when it comes to wine, the Sangiovese grape that is the predominant grape in Chianti.
Adelaide (Barossa Valley)
The Australian wine industry started off struggling to match the majority European wine producing country’s but overtime they have grown in both the quality of their produce and in the quality that they produce to the point where they can match just about any other country.
Most of the grapes grown in the country came from French varieties back in the mid 1800’s and when mixed with mass emigration to the Southern Australia region from Prussia, wine quickly become one of Adelaide’s major industries.
Nowadays the region known as the Barossa Valley is the country’s leading wine producing area and can easily be reached on an excursion from the bustling city of Adelaide, on Australia’s southern coast.
Picton (Central Otago)
New Zealand is a country that has a small but high quality wine industry best known for Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir offerings from a number of vineyards in the Martinborough and Central Otago regions.
What really makes this a great choice for wine lovers wanting a cruise holiday to remember is the stunning scenery that greets you are you arrive into the small port town of Picton, near to a number of wineries and the great itineraries offered by cruise lines calling into the port.
Madeira
The Portuguese Island of Madeira, sitting just off of the coast of Africa, offers year round warm and sunny weather and humid conditions perfect for growing a range of grapes but it is for the fortified wine named after the island that draws wine lovers to the country and that makes for the wine of choice during a tasting session.
Madeira is a small island and that makes it easy to visit a choice of wineries and then enjoy time exploring the nation’s capital of Funchal, where a wide range of cruise lines offer stops as part of itineraries to the Canaries.
La Serena (Coquimbo)
Chile has really developed a strong reputation for the quality of its wines and it is no surprise that the South American country has developed a tourist industry around its many vineyards, with many offering tours and tasting sessions to visitors.
Whilst there are many regions of Chile that produce wine, it is the Coquimbo region that often stands out and whilst this vast area is capable of procuring lots of varieties of grape, the Andes mountains in the region make it ideal for growing varieties such as Syrah.
A number of the regions wineries can be visited from the port of La Serena but what see’s the port added to this list is the fact that you can call into the region on a cruise of the incredible Chilean Fjords or on a expedition cruise to Antarctica- 2 parts of the world that you will simply never forget.
