Top 10 Wine Cities

A city known for its merlots and cabernet sauvignons, Santiago is one of the most increasingly prolific winemaking and exporting cities in both South America and the world. The city’s restaurant scene is huge in its own right, but their wine scene is fast becoming one of the biggest across the globe – if it hasn’t gotten there already. Their famous Viña Aquitania winery and vineyard is only about a half hour drive away from the city.

With its fruit wines and locally made wines among its strongest points, this area of beautiful British Columbia is arguably the best Canada has to offer wine enthusiasts. Covering towns within the province like Penticton and Vernon, this area is home to more than 100 different wineries, and so many different varieties of wines – from Pinot Noir to Chardonnay to Riesling – can be easily found within the region. The view of the water and mountains from the vineyards ain’t too bad, either.

Great in terms of both its taste and its affordability, there’s a reason why South Africa is a major player in fine wines nowadays. This city is where a lot of its wines get produced, and the area that has the biggest reputation for winemaking is only a half hour drive away. The Cape Winelands are located just outside of the city limits, and they have a reputation for being a major producer of fine wines like Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs.

Australia in general has built up quite a reputation around the world for its fine wines, and this city in particular – and more generally, the state of Victoria – is arguably where the heart of Australian winemaking is located. The nearby Yarra Valley is accessible from the city by bus, and it’s only about an hour away. Not only is the area itself beautiful to look at, but its restaurants and wineries are truly world class.

It might be the second largest city in the country – and not as recognizable to outsiders as Lisbon – but this Portuguese city has a burgeoning reputation for fine wine. With thousands of wine producers in the country, this city has a reason to boast about its wines, with the Vinho Verde and the Port – the last one being rather fitting – among its most well known types. For those visiting the city, tour buses give you the option of going to a wine tasting.

This Spanish city, located in Catalonia, has been a huge producer of wine for centuries now – more specifically, since – or even before - the Roman Empire. Known for producing fine wines of all kinds, from reds to whites to even sparkling wines – known as Cava – Barcelona is truly a city that has a reputation for far more than just restaurants, warm weather and stunning architecture. Wine tours of different parts of Catalonia are also easy to book and fairly inexpensive for those visiting the city.

When 80% of the country’s wine is produced in this city, there’s pretty much no arguing with its place on this list. And they’ve got the quality to back up their production, too: Malbec and the Syrah are two of their most well-known types of wines. Although most wine tours and tastings in the city need you to book a reservation in advance, the wines are both tasty and distinctive: the grapes are grown at high altitude, thousands of feet above sea level.

While Paris is more well known around the world for its culture and museums, Bordeaux takes the cake for its wines as far as French citiesgo. It’s hard to argue with that considering it’s the wine capital of France, and this is fairly obvious thanks to wines such as the Médoc and the St-Emilion, as well as the fact that they produce some of the most expensive bottles in the world. Oh, and the city’s Gothic architecture and local food aren’t so bad, either.

If you’ve got more than 450 wineries for people to visit, then any list of the best cities for wine would be incomplete without you. That’s just how important the Napa Valley is to wine culture, not only in the United States, but around the world. It’s got enough of a reputation to pull in more than 4 million visitors every year, and produces Cabernet Francs, Zinfandels and Pinot Noirs – among many others. Plus, the nearby Sonoma has a similar reputation for fine wines.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

- Vienna, Austria
- Tokaj, Hungary
- Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
- Dealu Mare, Romania

Its valleys, hills and castles are stunning to look at by themselves, but Tuscany is also known for being the home of many of the finest winesin the world. In Chianti specifically, you’ll find the type of wine that’s named after the region itself, a constant favorite of those who look for awine to drink with their pasta. With wine still stored in basements and wine grapes still being crushed by feet, there’s no questioning Tuscany’s place at the top of this list.

Do you agree with our list? What do you think is the best wine city in the world? With entertaining top 10 lists published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.