Unusual Wine Countries

[funtimes]

Hello LL community and fellow wine enthusiasts I am in Arizona now and have discovered a wine area here - Amazing...What started out as a University of Arizona science project about 10 or so years ago - has now blossomed into a full fledged wine country. Elgin Arizona and Sonoita Arizona are the primary producers - Who would have thought there would be enough water here to produce good wine.Five area wineries are now in operation. The wine is very good - especially the reds. The scenery is fabulous - you can picnic and enjoy a bottle ...Quite Fun! Any other unusual wine locations???

[CMDAVILACLI]

Hi Funtimes,

I'm off to Arizona in May and am delighted to hear about the wines... any specific labels to look for - love both reds and whites... (grew up in California drinking Napa wines!)

Cathy

[bonniejoy03]

Funtimes. Yes, our most unusual is Lake Balaton a few hours drive outside Budapest Hungary. Our friends had a little home there with vineyards. We actually made our meals over a fire in a big pot. The highlight was actually sucking the wine right out of the vats! Boy, was that good stuff! We could drink as much as we liked for free. That's a vacation!



Madeira is also a dream for Madeira wine. Even if you don't like wine, you must try it. They have many different variations with the most popular being the dessert type drink. Its offered at almost all your meals. The sad part now is when you go and want to bring back the stuff, you really need to check it through. In the old days, we could carry it right on board. (PS- Madeira had a property on LL-Reids....quite lovely!)

[cruisinred]

The island of Bali actually produces wine...the vineyard is called Hatten and the wine is said to be quite good, particularly the whites.



On the east coast of the US, my favorite wine area is Long Island. Several very good vineyards, such as Pindar.



More conventional wine regions I look forward to visiting soon include South Africa (this year) and Portugal (next year).

[funtimes]

Hello all - great places to dream about Yes CMD there are some labels to look for Sonoita Vineyard is our favorite - their Cabernet is exceptional and has won many awards they also produce wines from "mission grapes" - old vine stock that was once used by missionaries these are sweeter wines such as Arizona Sunset and Angel Wings Other favorites are Tombstone Red from Elgin Winery and Bisbee Copper - all really good and affordable!!! Happy travels ...Funtimes

[funtimes]

Oops I forgot - The Sonoita Colombard is fabulous and also affordable approx $12 Yes it is a pain to try to get wines home now Try shipping straight from the vineyard Fortunately we are here long enough to enjoy the wines Our friends came to visit and after leaving asked that we ship them some bottles ...Caution... now in Arizona you can NOT ship wine out of state - only the vineyards can

so even if there are fees incurred with shipping - best bet is to let the winery direct ship

Take Care...Funtimes

[TravelFan]

What great find! I just discovered Luxury Link because my girlfriend is an avid traveler and uses LuxLink all the time. I surfed the site for a while - love all the travel - fun to dream and plan the next adventure. And its all tasteful and presented well - not some eBay type site just pushing travel on you. But I just stumbled across the community. I love it.



Hawaii & wine. Check it out - I had no idea - but there are actually some decent wines produced in Hawaii. The volcanic activity has produced some fertile soil with minerals not typically found in other regions. There is only one winery on Maui that I know of - Tedeshi I think - and one on the Big Island called, aptly, Volcano. We mostly think of hawaii as hot and tropical - but there are so many mocro climates that lend to unique growing regions. We are looking into LL packages to combine with a wine tour.



Love all of the other suggestions. Thanks. I have heard NY state wines are good as well. Anyone?

[funtimes]

Hi Travelfan - welcome to the LL community We were lucky enough to be the high bidders on an LL package to Tuscanythat featured a private wine tour and tasting - Can't Wait to take this trip!!! I've also noticed Sonoma trips on LL. These would be a natural for wine tasting. Another unusual place for wines is Virginia - we found several wineries around Smith Mountain Lake Virginia They also have a wine festival in Virginia every September. Some Virginia wines are sweet to some palettes - but these are often refreshing accompanying summer light meals. Happy travels ...Funtimes

[obrienkf]

funtimes



if your travels get you any where near Montelcino, in Tuscany, go to the Banfi Estate for a 5 course meal (8 courses of wine). Not cheap, but exceptional value for money. And elegant and a perfect 'icing' on the tuscany cake.



google Banfi Estate. Book in advance. If not dinner, then lunch. Dinner is exceptional. And if you are there mid-July they have a Jazz festival at the castello.



If your travels lead you to Florence, go to the Antinori Cantina (google Antinori Cantina Firenze), again, lunch or dinner, I suggest dinner. I have messaged before on these places. Great value for $$$. Excellent food, and perfect service.



best wishes

[cruisinred]

I was just doing some reading about Morocco, in preparation for a possible trip there, and was surprised to read that it is a wine producing country! Red, ros and white wines are made near Meknes, as well asthe Atlantic coast region of Essaouira.