Weloveonlidays, an online travel company, ranks the most loved destinations by wine lovers in Europe. Italy secures an excellent position ahead of France and Spain.
Italy's millennia-old viticulture tradition, breathtaking landscapes, and renowned hospitality have crowned the country as the most sought-after enotourism destination worldwide. However, Weloveonlidays' ranking of Europe's most appreciated wine-loving nations is based on seven technical factors, which are as follows:
- Vineyard Surface Area - The total surface area of vineyards in hectares for each country.
- Wine Consumption - The overall wine consumption in hectoliters for each country.
- Wine Production - The total wine production in hectoliters for each country.
- Grape Production - The total grape production in tons for each country, including dried, table, and fresh grapes.
- Vivino Wine Listings - The total number of wines listed for each region/country on Vivino with an average rating of 4.2+.
- DWWA Awards (Decanter World Wine Awards) - The total number of gold/platinum/best wines awarded to each region/country during the DWWA 2021 annual ranking.
- Wine Festivals - The total number of wine events for each country listed on https://allexciting.com/.
The wine culture is becoming increasingly widespread, and the number of wine enthusiasts - even among casual aficionados - is steadily rising. Consequently, more and more people choose to include visits to wineries and explore the viticulture traditions of their travel destinations. In Italy, food and wine tourists are particularly curious to discover small, family-run wineries during vineyard tours and cellar tastings set in uniquely beautiful landscapes. With over 400 indigenous grape varieties, the highest global wine production (50,232 hl), and five wine festivals, Italy secures the title of the world's best enotourism destination. The country's wine industry generates an impressive 14 billion annually, attracting 15 million wine lovers each year.
France, known for producing some of the world's finest and most acclaimed red wines, takes the silver medal. Spain secures the third spot with the world's largest vineyard surface area and a vinification approach that combines ancient vineyards with modern techniques. Moving down the podium, we head to the north with Germany, a paradise for Riesling enthusiasts. The fifth spot goes to Portugal and its terraced vineyards in the Douro Valley on the Iberian Peninsula. Whether one prefers whites, reds, rosés, high-altitude wines, or those influenced by their proximity to the sea, the "Dear Old Continent" is a wine lover's paradise from around the globe!
