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Fall is falling and snow is soon to follow. The next few weeks in the Vail Valley should be quiet with many of us taking off before the ski season gets underway. If you’re looking to get out of town, let’s talk about one of my favorite getaways – a wine country vacation. But, where do you start and how do you plan a great grape escape?

First off, how much time do you have, what is your budget and do you want to plan it yourself or have someone else do it for you? There are a variety of services that can plan something for you – I can help too. Not to mention local restaurants and wineries that put together tours to specific regions. These can be a lot of fun and more or less like pressing the easy button – they do everything. For those of you doing it more DIY style, here are a few things to keep in mind.

Time & budget

Perhaps you’re already traveling to France and want to get to Champagne for two days or you’re playing golf in the  and are curious to sip the local wines. These are easy and cost-effective wine tasting opportunities since you’re already there and can set aside time in your trip

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When it comes to cost, not all wine regions are the same. If you’re visiting you can expect lodging, tastings, and transportation to be more expensive than and . If you’re going international,  is going to far exceed Mendoza, Argentina in just about everything with the exception of flights.

Pick your wine region & how to get around

Once you know how much time you have and your budget, you can pick your wine region. Keep in mind, there are thousands of wine regions around the world, so if you can’t jet off to France or – don’t worry; all – no passport required.

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For getting around wine country, it all depends on what you’re after and how comfortable you are with wine tasting. Consider your preferences, experience level, and travel situation. There are a few tour options to consider.  

1. DIY: Cheapest, but you handle all arrangements – wine tasting reservations, driving, meal reservations, etc. Not recommended for international trips unless you’re fluent in the local language.
2. Private guided tour: Most expensive, but fully customized to your wine preferences and desired experiences and it’s all arranged for you.
3. Group tour: More affordable, great for beginners or solo travelers. Less personalized, you do not pick any of the wineries but it can be very educational.

Determining which wineries to visit

The biggest challenge about planning a wine vacation I hear from people is how to determine which wineries to visit. And I totally agree, especially when you’re visiting wineries in another country. The first rule of thumb you need to stick with is that you should only plan to visit three, maybe four wineries a day – with a meal in between. If you do more wineries, your palate will be shot, not to mention your ability to stand. Outside of a Google search and using online sources like , here are some tried and true resources to use to narrow down which wineries to visit.

Hotel concierge

Your  is a great, local resource to tap for information on the best wineries to visit. Call or email them before your visit to get recommendations on both wineries to visit and possible wine tour guides to hire.

Ask the locals

Local recommendations are always the best! Don’t forget to ask people around you – your waitress at dinner, the bartender at happy hour, the pourer at your last tasting room, the Uber driver, the couple sitting next to you at breakfast. You get my point. I’ve discovered so many great, small boutique wineries through locals.

Social media

Using  and  to narrow down wineries to visit in a region can be hit or miss but totally worth a quick hashtag search. I suggest using the terms – #StateAbbreviationWINE, #NameOfWineRegion and/or #NameOfWineRegionWINE. For example, #cowine and #palisade will give you content on the .

Local tourism boards

Local tourism boards are often overlooked as a resource but they are a wealth of information. You may not find a list of “the best wineries” on their websites, but many times they include different experiences offered by specific wineries. Check their local events pages, too, to see if there are any wine events during your visit.

Local and state wine associations

Like the tourism board, you probably won’t find a list of the best wineries to visit, but they should include news about which local wineries have received awards. This is always a good measure to use. Award-winning wineries = good wine! The one caveat with the wine associations is they only promote wineries that pay to be a part of the association. So, there might be other awesome wineries in the area that are totally worth sipping in.