World’s Best Vineyards has revealed its list of the best wine tourism destinations across the globe, with three Australian wineries making it into the top 50.
Argentina’s Zuccardi Valle de Uco (pictured above) topped the list, making it a hat trick of celebrations for the Andean winery.
Bodegas de los Herederos del Marques de Riscal in Spain’s Rioja region took second place, and was closely followed by Chateau Margaux in Bordeaux, France.
The 2021 Top 50 vineyards represent 16 countries and includes first-time entrants onto the list from Lebanon and Russia.
The Barossa’s Henschke Winery once again made the top 50, coming in 25th, also making it the highest-ranked Australian winery.
In a social media post, the winery said: “It is wonderful to be recognised for our Henschke wine experiences that celebrate over 150 years of winemaking history with the no. 25 spot in the Top 50 World’s Best Vineyards for the second year in a row, and no. 1 in Australia.
“Thank you World’s Best Vineyards from our little corner of the Barossa’s Eden Valley.”
D’Arenberg vineyard in McLaren Vale was the second-ranked Australian winery, at 31st overall, with Penfolds Magill Estate also making the top 50, coming in at 37th.
The World’s Best Vineyards list aims to highlight the sheer diversity across both established and emerging wine tourism destinations and the list is voted by the Academy of 600 global wine and travel experts.
“Wine tourism is hugely important to the global economy and local economies, creating jobs directly at the wineries but also encouraging visitors to the area and the associated revenue which that generates,” says Andrew Reed, Managing Director Wine and Exhibitions at William Reed.
“This is more important than ever with the recent global situation, and we know that by shining the light on wine tourism as we do with the World’s Best Vineyards the message gets out to more people to come and discover the uniqueness of wine and where it is made.”
This year saw 10 new destinations in the Top 50 with Karam Wines in Lebanon becoming the highest new entry and reaching number 14 in the list.
There are two new Russian entries from the Krasnodar region with Sikory Winery famous for its rocky clay soil entering the list for the first time at number 20 and the Lefkadia Valley hitting number 23.
New Zealand’s Craggy Range and Rippon vineyards came in at number 11 and number 15 respectively.
“It is incredibly humbling to be named the Best Vineyard in Australasia, especially considering the breadth and depth of stunning estates scattered across New Zealand and Australia,” Craggy Range Director Mary-Jeanne Peabody told the NZ Herald.