GRAPE EXPECTATIONS!
Want vino with your vacation? Forget California’s Napa Valley, these new destinations have got a whole lotta bottle
ESCAPE TO... MOROCCO
DRINK UP! Thanks to Morocco's French heritage, it's vines aplenty in the countryside around the northern city of Meknès. In between testing your haggling skills and enjoying the year-round sun, check out Les Celliers de Meknès (Lescelliersdemeknes.net), one of the country's biggest wineries, awash with Cabernet Sauvignon, plus local Gerrouane wines. Cheers! Or 'saha' if you want to practise your Arabic.
LIE DOWN! Stay in the medieval medina (walled town) of Fes. Three nights at Dar Anebar, a converted traditional riad, costs from £715 per person (including flights and B&B) with The Best Of Morocco (Realmorocco.com). They can also arrange vineyard tours and tastings in Meknès, booked 15 days in advance, for around £110 per person.
ESCAPE TO... SWITZERLAND
DRINK UP! Never come across Swiss wine? It's not surprising, as less than two per cent is exported. So head for Geneva, which boasts around 95 wineries, plus the bright lights and shopping of a capital city. There's a huge range of grapes to choose from such as Chasselas, Findling and Gamay - all local specialities. Many wineries offer free tastings on Saturdays - visit the wines section at Geneve-tourisme.ch for a list. Also hop on the Train des Vignes, which whisks you from nearby Vevey along Lake Geneva and through the terraced Lavaux vineyards. Return tickets cost around £6.50 per person.
LIE DOWN! Stay at the four-star Hotel Auteuil in Geneva. Three nights cost £271 per person during September, including flights from London Gatwick to Geneva. Visit Expedia.co.uk or call 0871 226 0808.
ESCAPE TO... PORTUGAL
DRINK UP! There are more reasons to head to the Portuguese countryside around Porto than a glass of port. The Vinho Verde region is definitely worth a visit. Despite the name, the local 'green wine' is a sparkling white, and there are rosé and red versions. The Vinho Verde wine routes office (Vinhoverde.pt) has links to 67 wineries and can arrange visits. But tipple fans shouldn't miss Arblaster & Clarke's Port Harvest tour (Winetours.co.uk), from September 25 to 27, costing £369 per person. As well as wine and port tasting, there's grape crushing too!
LIE DOWN! The Port Harvest tour includes accommodation in Porto at either the three-star Hotel da Bolsa or four-star Hotel Pestana Porto. Alternatively, rooms at the castle-esque Castelo Santa Catarina cost from around £65 in September and October. Return flights to Porto with Ryanair cost from £67.50 in September.
ESCAPE TO... GREECE
DRINK UP! Hold the retsina! Greece has been cultivating the humble grape for millennia, but forget Athens and head for the Peloponnese in Southern Greece for a tour of the family-run Mercouri Estate near Pyrgos, with 60,000 hectares of stunning vines, stretching out to the Ionian sea. And a spot of wine tasting, of course!
LIE DOWN! The Aldemar Olympian Village in Skafidia (Aldemarhotels.com), which has a kids club plus a spa offering thalassotherapy treatments to counteract all that wine, costs from £399 per person for seven nights. The hotel can arrange trips to the nearby Mercouri Estate, for around £26 per person. Flights to Kalamata from London and Manchester (May-October) cost around £135 return (visit Flythomascook.com). For further information on wine tours in Greece, log on to Greekwinemakers.com.
ESCAPE TO... CORNWALL
DRINK UP! Step away from your passport! For stylish slurping in stunning countryside, head south to Cornwall. Visit the Camel Valley vineyard, just outside Bodmin, which has won the accolade of 'Britain's best wine tour' and even featured in the BBC1 TV series Mistresses! The grand tours, which include a visit to the vineyard and a wine- tasting session, are on Wednesdays at 5pm until October 30, priced £7.50. There are also guided tours from
Monday to Friday at 2.30pm until September 30, costing £5.
LIE DOWN! To minimise the risk of staggering back to your accommodation afterwards, stay in one of the vineyard's converted barns, tucked away on the south side of the Camel Valley. A seven-night stay during September costs from £360, including a tour and a bottle of wine. For more information, visit Camelvalley.com.
PHOTOGRAPHY: ALAMY, CORBIS
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