Wine Region Road Trip: 5 Tips To Make Your Journey a Memorable One

Even if you’ve meticulously planned your road trip, covering everything from the wineries you want to visit to the time of year you’ll head out, there are still a number of subtler factors to consider. These are the details that will make the difference between a hum-drum trip and an experience you will remember for a lifetime. To ensure your winery road trip falls into the latter category, consider the tip below:

Wine Region Road Trip - 5 Tips To Make Your Journey a Memorable One

1. Pace yourself

There’s a reason most wineries provide spit buckets (someone needs to come up with a fancier name, but for now, that’s what they’re called). If you’re stumbling around drunk, tripping over grape harvester parts, you’ll hardly have a memorable experience. Of course, you don’t need to spit out every drop of wine you sample, but it’s important to keep an eye on how much you’re consuming, especially if you’ll be visiting multiple wineries on your trip.

2. Consider hiring a driver

Many people rent a vehicle for their winery road trip, but few think to rent a chauffeured service instead. This doesn’t have to be prohibitively expensive, especially if you’ll be splitting the cost with a group. What it does do, however, is take a lot of pressure off your shoulders. Of course, you’d still be wise to stick to point 1 above. Otherwise, with a paid driver, no one in your group has to miss out on having a couple of drinks, and you don’t need to stress about whether you’re over the limit.

3. Expand your palate

It’s only natural that you’ll gravitate to your favorite wines on this trip. However, it’s worth putting a genuine effort into expanding your horizons and sampling wines that you either haven’t tried before or are convinced you don’t like. 

If you’re a fan of sweeter wines like Moscato, venture into Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio territory. If you adore any kind of white wine you can get your hands on but aren’t that into the reds, give Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon a chance. Worst-case scenario, you can always make hearty use of the aforementioned spit buckets.

4. Take your time between tastings

Though it’s fine to hit two, or maybe even three, wineries in a day, you should give yourself some time between each one. This will maintain the fun and excitement and prevent the trip from feeling like an overly scheduled chore. It also gives you time to do other things in the area. Most of the world’s wineries are in beautiful locales, so you can often do sunrise hot-air balloon rides, horse riding, hiking, shopping, fine dining, and other lush activities in the region.

5. Keep your palate pure

Many people don’t realize this, but you can completely mess up your palate by indulging in certain foods or drinks before a Wine Tasting. Avoid coffee, chewing gum, and candy in the hours before heading to a winery tasting. Otherwise, you’ll have a less-than-stellar experience.

Certain scents can also interfere with your ability to properly appreciate wine, and the worst part is, if you trail the scent in with you, it might ruin the experience for others too. Avoid wearing perfumes or cologne on wine tasting days, and if you can, avoid vaping or smoking too. The last thing you want is to be known all day as the one who ruined the experience for everyone else. 

Follow the tips above, and you’re sure to have an unforgettable experience in wine country.