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| image via http://www.flickr.com/photos/bittermelon/5763483765/ |
Travelers who would like to add more than just fun and adventure in their trips may want to add vineyard and winery tours in their travel itinerary. It’s not just the fresh country air and beautifully sculpted landscapes that make these tours enjoyable. You also get a taste of the rich history of the land and savor some of the most flavorful and best tasting drinks that these wineries have to offer. There are several wine tours destinations in the world like Philip Island, Auckland, Sicily, Napa and Sonoma Winery. Each of the vineyards in these regions produce different wine flavors using different farming and wine making methods that you will discover during the tour.
A popular destination for wine tours in the US is the Napa and Sonoma Valley where the best wines in California are made. You can go over the different vineyards and explore them on your own or join a tour group of your choice. A Wine Country Trekking tour allows you to explore private winery estates on foot at your own leisurely pace. Your travel agent will arrange for your luggage transportation from one accommodation to the next so you can enjoy your trek from vineyard to vineyard. Your long walks will be rewarded with first class lodgings, fine dining and excellent wine at the end of the day. The Napa Wine Train Tour is also another option for the discerning tourist. Here you will enjoy a ride across the Napa Valley on an original rail car, restored to reminisce a classic era. The cars are equipped with fine dining facilities and fitted with large glass windows so you can enjoy a great view of the Napa Valley Vineyards.
The standard winery tour includes a trip to a couple of vineyards, wine tasting, and a picnic in the winery grounds. The owners or the winery staff usually provide some interesting tidbits about the history of the land and the wine that are produced from their establishment. The Benziger Family Winery is also a popular destination for tourists. It is one of the vineyards in the Sonoma Valley which is owned and operated by their founding families. They pride themselves for creating unique flavors through Biodynamics, a concept developed by Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner. This is perhaps the reason why the place somehow reminded me of some vineyard pictures that I shot from Austria.
Going on a wine tour is an enriching experience for the mind, the body and the soul. It gives us added knowledge on history, farming and wine making processes, refreshes our body with flavorful drinks, and nourishes our soul with the experiences of people who love and nurture their land.
