AR Argentina
Mendoza
High-altitude vineyards, Andean horizons and destination-worthy lunches.
Best Mar — Apr · 5–7 days · MDZ 16 minTravel thoughtfully · drink responsibly · 18+
4 of 20 regions
Volcanoes and altitude.
Wine grown somewhere geologically or vertically extreme — black lava soil, ungrafted basket vines, or vineyards at an altitude that would be alpine anywhere else.
How a region qualifies
The region is defined by volcanic soil or by vineyards well above ordinary planting altitude, as set out in its sourced context.
What it changes
Altitude and gradient make distances misleading: budget more travel time than the map suggests, and expect a real temperature swing between afternoon and evening.
The 4 regions
IT Sicily, Italy
Etna
Black lava soils, mountain railways and bright wines grown on a living volcano.
Best May · Oct · 4–5 days · CTA 71 minGR Greece
Santorini
Vines coiled into baskets on the ground, ungrafted, on an island most people visit for something else entirely.
Best May — Jun · Sep — Oct · 3–5 days · JTR 10 minNZ New Zealand
Central Otago
The world's southernmost commercial wine region: continental, high, and about as far as this gets.
Best Feb — Apr · 5–7 days · ZQN 46 minOther kinds of trip
one base, no moving, walking between the wine, fortified and sweet, the drive is the trip, and sparkling. Or start from the places themselves.