Winery sights in Europe
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Biddenden Vineyards
Kent's oldest commercial vineyard was established in 1969. As well as a range of wines, traditional Kentish Ciders have also been made here for over 20 years - together with farm pressed apple juices. There's also a coffee shop open daily.
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Regional Wine Centre of Barolo
Inside the old wine cellars of Barolo Castle is the exhibition showroom and tasting room ('enoteca') for the promotion of barolo, one of the many famous wine varieties from the Langhe region. Nebbiolo grapes are grown in 11 villages and 66 vineyards in the area. In another part of the 1000-year-old castle, there is a historical library and farm museum.
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Chapel Down Vinery
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North Cape Wine
Its products may not be from the juice of the grape but North Cape Wine is the world's northernmost winery, making its own special vintages from Arctic berries. Ring the winery or tourist office for a tour and tasting, or pick up a bottle at the Vinmonopolet in the Torgsenteret shopping centre.
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Alitalo
One of the largest apple orchards around the lake is Alitalo, on Lohjansaari, which has a cafe and gentle farm animals for younger children.
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Cava Martín Soler
Located 8km north of Vilafranca in a 17th-century farmhouse surrounded by vineyards, this winery only makes cava (the Catalan version of champagne).
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Caves Romagosa Torné
This winery at Finca La Serra is on the road to Sant Martí Sarroca. Cava is, again, the star. Head on for a look at nearby Sant Martí Sarroca.
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Nadal
Nadal is just outside the hamlet of El Pla del Penedès. The centrepiece is a fine masia (Catalan country farmhouse) where you can join organised visits.
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A
Barros
Barros is well worth seeking out, with some of the town’s oldest surviving cellars and a more in-depth look at the process of making the wine itself.
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Weingut Der Stadt Krems
Weingut der Stadt Krems is the city-owned vineyard, yielding 200,000 bottles per year (90% is Grüner Veltliner and Riesling), some of which you can sample free and buy.
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Jean León
Born in Santander as Ceferino Carrión in 1928, Jean León uses cabernet sauvignon and other grape types imported from prestigious vineyards in France to create a unique name in wines. Visits must be booked in advance.
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Sugar Loaf Vineyards
On the western edge of town are the Sugar Loaf Vineyards, established in 1992 and producing around 12,000 bottles a year of award-winning Welsh wine. You can take a self-guided tour before sampling the goods at the café and gift shop.
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Orkney Wine Company
The Orkney Wine Company produces handmade wines made from berries, flowers and vegetables, all naturally fermented. Get stuck into some strawberry-rhubarb wine or carrot-and-malt-whisky liqueur – unusual flavours but surprisingly addictive.
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Turasan Winery
The abundant sunshine and fertile volcanic soil of Cappadocia produce delicious sweet grapes, and several wineries carry on the Ottoman Greek winemaking tradition. You can sample some of the local produce at Turasan Winery.
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Vinag
The wine cellars in trg Svobode, dating from the early 19th century, are managed by the wine export company Vinag. The wine shop here has a large selection of local vintages, including Mariborčan, Laški Rizling, Chardonnay, Traminer and Gold Muscatel.
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Taylor’s
Up from the river, British-run Taylor’s boasts lovely, oh-so-English grounds with fine views of Porto. Its tours are free and even include a tasting of one top-of-the-range (late-bottled vintage) wine – your reward for the short huff uphill.
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Giró Ribot
The magnificent winemaker’s farm buildings ooze centuries of tradition. These vintners use mostly local grape varieties to produce a limited range of fine cava and wines (including muscat). The times given are for the shop. To visit the cellars, call ahead.
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Valamo Orthodox Monastery
The Valamo monastery, Finland's only Orthodox monastery, is a hidden gem. The original monastery was annexed by the Red Army during WWII; the latest church was consecrated in 1977. Like all good monks, the clergy at Valamo produce their own wine (which visitors can buy) using crowberries, raspberries, strawberries and blackcurrants.
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Cricova
Cricova is the Grand Duke of Moldovan wineries. Its underground wine kingdom is one of Europe's biggest, with 120km (74mi) of labyrinthine roadways, 60 of which are used for wine storage. Up to 100m (328ft) under ground, the 'cellars' hold 1.25 million bottles of rare wine. You must be in private transport and have advance reservations to get into Cricova.
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Bodegas Ysios
A couple of kilometres to the north of Laguardia is the Bodegas Ysios. Designed by Santiago Calatrava as a ‘temple dedicated to wine’, it’s wave-like roof made of aluminium and cedar wood matches the flow of the rocky mountains behind it. However, it looks its best at night when pools of light flow out of it. Daily tours of the bodega are by appointment only.
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Hildurs Urterarium
Around 400 types of herb, 100 varieties of rose and 1000 species of cactus flourish at Hildurs Urterarium. At Tilrem, about 6km north of Brønnøysund, it also produces its own wine. There are some rustic old farm buildings, a small art gallery and the shop carries locally grown products. The garden also makes a lovely spot for a lunch stop; dishes seasoned with locally grown herbs, of course.
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Dourakis winery
Wine buffs will enjoy a stop at the Dourakis winery near the Alikambos turn-off on the road to Hora Sfakion. Winemaker Andreas Dourakis is happy to show visitors around the stone-built winery and there is a pleasant tasting room upstairs where you can sample some of his 17 excellent wines, including an organic red and his well-known Logari label. Dourakis produces more than 180,000 bottles a year using local and foreign varietals.
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Adega Regional de Colares
En route to Praia Grande and Praia das Maçãs, ridgetop Colares makes a great pit stop with its panoramas, stuck-in-time village charm and wines dating back to the 13th century. The vines grown today are the only ones in Europe to have survived the 19th-century phylloxera plague, saved by their deep roots and sandy soil. Call in advance to arrange a visit to Adega Regional de Colares to taste some of its velvety reds.
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Old Vine
About 150m east along the Pristan embankment is Maribor's most celebrated attraction, the so-called Old Vine, which is still producing between 35kg and 55kg of grapes and about 25L of red wine per year after being planted more than four centuries ago. It is tended by a city-appointed viticulturist, and the dark red Žametna Črnina (Black Velvet) is distributed to visiting dignitaries as 'keys' to Maribor in the form of 0.25L bottles designed by the celebrated Slovenian artist Oskar Kogoj.
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Vinag Wine Cellars
This square east of Maribor Castle, along with leafy Trg Generala Maistra and Rakušev trg to the north, would be unremarkable except for the honeycomb of Vinag Wine Cellars below that cover an area of 20,000 sq metres and can store seven million litres of plonk. The cellars, dating from the early 19th century, are managed by the wine export company Vinag.
They are filled with old oak barrels, steel fermentation tanks and an 'archive' of vintage wine - all kept at a constant 15°C. There's a small cellar open to the public.
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