World's Best Vineyards - and a tipple or two

What makes the world's best vineyard? The one where you get the best photos? The tour which explains everything? The best lunch? The best shop selling souvenirs of scarves with grape designs, jewellery and items for yourself and friends? The tasting which tells you which wines to buy?

My favourites


USA California
Drive north from San Francisco


UK
London has tours of breweries and wineries and places producing spirits.

Drive from London.
Denbies. Outdoor tours in summer. Indoor tours. Must book. Huge busy place.

England has many more. Get a map and pick your favourite.

France
Champagne in Rheims.
Numerous tours in the Champagne region.
Drive from Paris


Spain
Rioja in the North. Drive from Santander.
Numerous establishments around the wine capital, all grouped around the old railway station.

Some surprise wines
For Jews who don't drink much wine

Sabra Chocolate orange liqueur

More details of my favourites
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/07/the-best-vineyards-to-visit.html

Official current awards
 https://www.worldsbestvineyards.com/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-8521055/Worlds-50-best-vineyards-2020-named-years-Argentinian-winner-No1-overall-again.html

Travel and wine information

Victoriana Nursery
https://www.victoriananursery.co.uk/Grape_Vines/
top vineyards around the USA
https://www.travelandleisure.com/food-drink/wine/best-vineyards-yelp
visittheusa.co.uk
visitbritain.com
visitengland.com
https://www.denbies.co.uk/tours-and-experiences/
https://www.denbies.co.uk/events/forthcoming-events/

https://www.denbies.co.uk/
To learn languages to translate wine labeles
duolingo.com
memrise.com
translate google

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/07/the-best-vineyards-to-visit.html
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/06/english-wine-white-sparkling-rose-and.html

About the Author
Angela Lansbury is a travel writer and photographer, based in the UK and Singapore. Her family has also lived in Spain, Switzerland and the USA.

Prosecco in Italy: a guide to guided or self-guided tours

 At the World Travel market in ExCel London 2015 I went looking for a tour of Prosecco. Prosecco was originally both a place and a grape. Confused? So was everybody else.

So they changed the name of the grape from prosecco to G l e r a and let other people nearby make Prosecco. Still confused. Never mind. Just have a glass of Prosecco and smile.Want to take a tour and find out more? Here is one suggestion.

 Wine tasting in Capello Andrea winery, aperitif at Bar Alpino, dinner at Salis Ristorante Enoteca.

I made notes for myself. You could fly from Heathrow to Treviso on Ryanair; or on Alitalia to Venice. Or drive there taking the ferry from Dover to Calais. Then drive via France to taste Champagne and do a Champagne tour; then drive on across the border to Italy via Milan. 

If you did not stop at all it would be 15 hours of driving, which is possible if you have two or more drivers, in relay, such as a husband and wife, a foursome of two couples, a stag party, business associates, or two generations of an adult family with parents and children who drive.

In Italy you could drive with stops at Milan, Verona and Padua and Venice then north of Venice is Prosecco.

More details: Champagne: On your way through France, stay in Rheims or Epernay and book a tour at one of the Champagne cellars. If no tours are available, stop at a champagne shop or two and look around. 

Milan, see the cathedral in the main square. Even if you don't go inside, the facade is impressive. Verona, see the courtyard with the statue of Juliet of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, under the balcony. Verona , still on the Shakespeare theme (two gentlemen of Verona).Venice is another possible stop. More photography, Venetian glass.

Speaking of glass, then on to Prosecco.

Can't wait? Your supermarket will have plenty of bottles to get you in the mood. Here's the Waitrose bottle with the reminder that to avoid confusion with the place name and grape name being the same, the grape name was changed from Prosecco to G l e r a. (Letters separated because Spell checker keeps changing names.) J a n c i s Robinson, British wine expert, author of the Oxford Companion to wine, in at least one of her books, if I remember rightly, makes a point of using the original old grape name Prosecco.) 

Only 11%. You would not think it makes much difference but it does. The lower alcohol content means it doesn't knock you out so quickly.

More on alcohol from waitrose.com/alcohol

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, speaker and author.

Factory Tours and Factory Shops Worldwide

You can visit factories making toys, clothes, shoes, chocolates, cider, beer, whisky, pottery, silk, batik, jewellery and many more. Here are some of my favourite factory tours.

England
Lots of chocolate shops offering chocolate making courses in London and around England.
https://www.facebook.com/Bianca.Marton.Chocolates/photos/pb.267376836614050.-2207520000.1444593023./1055111944507198/?type=3&theater just won an award.

Cadbury chocolate near Birmingham

Cadbury's chocolate shop, and tours are so popular that you are advised to book

D e n b i e s  indoor winery or outdoor vineyard tours. Restaurant, shop etc.

France
Cider factory tours in north France.
Champagne tours in Rheims

Korea
Amethyst jewellery factory.

Netherlands
Diamonds in Amsterdam
Delft pottery in Delft.
Tulips.

Scotland
Whisky distilleries.

Singapore
yakult singapore factory tour

Spain
Rioja - small town with several wineries offering tours

Switzerland
Chocolate factory A l p r o s e

Wales
Vineyard tours

USA
Hershey factory shop in New York

Vineyard tours in California north of San Francisco.

Many city tours include a stop at a factory shop.
You might be given a sticker for a discount. If on your own, look in maps given away free at the airport for discounts at factory shops.

Several books give factory tours. Tourist boards in each country can tell you what is open each season.

See my later post on chocolate week in October
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and Photographer.