Heading to any destination, you wonder if there are wineries in the area to visit. How do you research to find wineries or vineyards in the area? There are some simple quick ways to find wineries/vineyards.

Use Google maps and type the city and state or country your travels will take you to. For example, type “Auckland, New Zealand” in the search maps box. A map of Auckland will appear in the map box. Next delete the city and type “wineries.” You should probably scroll out a few times to cover a larger geographical area. Several balloons and dots appear on the map. You can hover the cursor over a balloon or dot and click on it for more details. Often there is a link to the winery/vineyard website in the more information box. Notice that you will have balloons and dots that give you false positives. Rather then a location for a winery or vineyard it may give a location for a business such as a wine tour company or church, some churches use the word vineyard in their name.

Another method is to search for a wine growers association website in the region you are visiting. For example if you were to type “Temecula wine growers association” into the Google search box, the Temecula Valley Winegrowers Association will be the first listed item. There is a direct link to the wineries and vineyards in the area. Note that not all destinations have a winegrowers association.

If you are really pressed for time, you can view the trip itineraries on the Wine Trail Traveler site. More than fifty itineraries can be used to help you plan wineries and vineyards to visit. Lodging facilities are also suggested on the trip itineraries.

As part of you research, discover the list of wineries/vineyards you’d like to visit. Note the times they are open to the public and if you need to make an appointment. With thousands of wineries in the United States and tens of thousands of wineries and vineyards in other countries, hopefully you will find some to visit close to your destination.

Happy Travels
Terry