Wine Enthusiast Magazine listed the Ten Best Wine Travel Destinations for 2012 in a series of articles published last month on their website. I found eight of the ten. The big one for me was Virginia. It’s the only region on the list that Kathy and I have visited, although we visit Virginia wineries and vineyards a couple times each year and have done so now for several years. The Virginia wine regions tend to draw people to them.

Just last month I wrote a blog suggesting that the International Wine Tourism Conference should consider Virginia as a sight for a future conference. In my blog I mentioned the proximity to Washington D.C., Virginia’s rich history and that a number of wineries are preserving that history. The Wine Enthusiast article by Alexis Korman also mentioned the historical sites and Washington D.C., but also added pastoral landscapes, horses and affable winemakers.

Wait, aren’t all winemakers affable? Actually we discovered one assistant winemaker in Virginia that wasn’t that friendly. He was from another notable world wine region and bashed Virginia because of its humidity and insects. What he didn’t realize at the time was that people are discovering that winemakers in Virginia can make wines that they like to drink regardless of humidity and insects.

Alexis Korman also mentioned in her article the prominent wine varieties in the state including Viognier, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Merlot. The varietal grapes mentioned in my December blog were slightly different. It included Viognier, Petit Manseng, Petit Verdot and Tannat. Petit Manseng is becoming more popular as well as Tannat. I deliberately did not mention Cabernet Sauvignon because at an earlier wine conference in the state, a panel of Virginia winemakers agreed that Cabernet Sauvignon doesn’t always ripen and can’t be counted on year after year.

Here is a list of eight of the Wine Enthusiast’s best travel Destinations for 2012.

Virginia, United States
Priorat-Cambrils, Spain
Central Otago, South Island, New Zealand

Tokaj-Hegyalja, Hungary
Mosel Valley, Germany
Champagne, France
Colchagua Valley, Chile
Santa Barbara, California, United States

Cheers,
Terry