Featured in Departures magazine’s piece on “When to visit Europe’s wine regions, where to go—and the best under-the-radar gems to sniff, swirl, and sip in.” Full article here, excerpts below. 

VinConnect‘s European winery director, Sarah Bray opts for shoulder season in May “when the vines (and everything else) are flowering, and it’s before the summer heat and throngs arrive.” The experts all agree on the destinations to watch and the wines that you should be sipping right now.

Italy

Sicily’s Mount Etna has been cultivating grapes on its volcanic soil since the dawn of civilization—Homer sang the praises of Etna’s vineyards some 2,800 years ago, declaring them “watered by Zeus, yielding wine of strength in which ambrosia and nectar flowed in abundance.” Bray agrees, she’s visited Mount Etna nine times in four years (she’s about to make it 10). “It’s an ancient place to make wine, but they’re having their own renaissance.”

Germany

If you’re traveling during harvest season—and you’re interested in seeing vines heavy-laden with grapes, Bray recommends picking a German region with a later pick time, such as the steep-sloped vineyards lining the Mosel Valley, known for its Rieslings.

France

Bordering Germany and Switzerland, the small region of Alsace is “the only region in France dedicated almost exclusively to making white wine, and it possesses an immense range of grapes, soils, vineyards, and styles,” says Bray. The picturesque scenery along the wine route, which stretches from Strasbourg to Colmar, maintains this particularly quirky character, and it’s a particular delight to visit around Christmas time when the villages fill with traditional, German-style Christmas markets.

Spain

“Spain is so exciting right now,” says Bray. Thanks to land in the northwest corner of the Iberian peninsula being less expensive to areas like Rioja and Priorat there’s been room for experimentation, innovation and the focus on elevating traditional grapes such as the Mencía in rural and remote regions like Bierzo.