2025’S BEST VINEYARD MINI-BREAKS
11/06/2025
The top European wine regions for 2025 have been revealed, with Rioja in Spain named the best destination for a vineyard mini-break this summer.
Travel insurance experts at Quotezone.co.uk have analysed this surging travel trend and created the 2025 Vineyard Mini-Break index that ranks the top wine regions in Europe.
They looked at some of the most famous wine regions from across the continent including Rioja, Tuscany and Bordeaux – where couples and even hen parties are now exploring for beautiful and relaxing trips that offer a different experience, with quality food and drink.
The wine regions were ranked based on several factors that wine enthusiasts should consider when planning their trip, including the average costs for a winery tour, a bottle of wine, and a 3-star hotel stay.
The experts also analysed weather conditions and looked at the awards the regions have received for their vineyards and quality wines.
Rioja, the largest wine region in Spain, has been named the wine capital of Europe, boasting over 600 wineries and over 65,000 hectares of vineyards.*
Rioja is a great destination for summer holidays, as it offers great weather conditions with warm temperatures and a low chance of rain.
Rioja also offers relatively low prices compared to other famous European wine regions, with an average winery tour priced at just over £19 and a bottle of wine costing an average of around £22.
Rioja’s wines are renowned worldwide, earning recognition in prestigious awards and top rankings last year, including the Decanter World Wine Awards and the World’s Best Vineyards.
| Rank | Wine region | Temperature (°C) | Average rainfall (mm) | Bottle of wine average cost | Mentions in the Top 50 World’s Best Vineyards | Average cost of a winery tour | Cost of a 1 night stay in the cheapest 3 star hotel | Wines represented in the 2024 Decanter Awards | Total points |
| 1 | Rioja, Spain | 23.5 | 20.5 | £22.31 | 5 | £19.2 | £59 | 491 | 56 |
| 2 | Piedmont, Italy | 23 | 46.2 | £24.9 | 1 | £22.7 | £42 | 447 | 46 |
| 3 | Tuscany, Italy | 24.5 | 34.4 | £33.2 | 1 | £28.5 | £40 | 463 | 44 |
| 4 | Bordeaux, France | 22 | 35 | £34.36 | 3 | £15.2 | £54 | 518 | 43 |
| 5 | Douro Valley, Portugal | 23 | 16.6 | £25.6 | 3 | £25.9 | £56 | 118 | 42 |
| 6 | Rhone Valley, France | 22.5 | 50.1 | £25.75 | 1 | £12.1 | £44 | 369 | 38 |
| 7 | Champagne, France | 20.5 | 29.8 | £56 | 4 | £30.1 | £47 | 568 | 37 |
| 8 | Burgundy, France | 21.5 | 49.8 | £35.79 | 0 | £12.9 | £44 | 360 | 30 |
| 9 | Tokaj, Hungary | 22.5 | 45.2 | £27.75 | 1 | £19.4 | £131 | 49 | 29 |
| 10 | Mosel, Germany | 19.5 | 51.3 | £28.5 | 1 | £22.9 | £72 | 5 | 20 |
Second in the ranking is the Piedmont wine region in Italy, best known for its Barolo and Barbaresco wines. With over 44,000 hectares of the region under vine, Piedmont makes up almost a fifth of Italy’s total wine exports.**
Piedmont wines offer great value for money, with a bottle of wine costing £24.90 and a one-night stay for two adults in a 3-star hotel in the region starting from just £42.
In third place is Tuscany in Italy, known for its Sangiovese-based dry red wines and gorgeous landscapes.
Holidaymakers planning to visit Tuscany in August can expect sweltering temperatures, with 24.5 degrees on average, and with plenty of accommodation options available in the area, travellers can find a hotel room for just £40 a night.
Fourth in the ranking is Bordeaux in France, famous for its Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot wines.
Bordeaux is ranked highly in the Top 50 World’s Best Vineyards list, and 518 wines from the region were represented in last year’s Wine Decanter Awards. Tourists wanting to book a winery visit in Bordeaux can expect to pay an average of £15.
Also making the top five is Portugal’s Douro Valley wine region, boasting high temperatures, a low chance of rain and low-cost wines.
Following the top five are famous French wine regions Rhone Valley, Champagne and Burgundy, as well as Tokaj in Hungary.
Last in the ranking is the Mosel wine region in Germany, largely due to its lower temperatures and higher chance of rainfall, and slightly higher costs for accommodation, with 3-star hotel prices starting from £72.
Quotezone travel insurance expert Helen Rolph said: “Wine tourism is on the rise, and with many travellers looking to visit beautiful vineyards and wineries across Europe this year, we’ve created the 2025 Vineyard Mini-Break index to help holidaymakers decide which destinations offer the best value for the experience.
“We’ve ranked ten famous European wine regions based on several factors including weather conditions, the average costs for a bottle of wine, winery tour and accommodation, as well as the amount of awards and recognitions the regions received last year.
“Our index revealed that the Rioja wine region in Spain is the number one wine destination in Europe, which came as quite a surprise as it’s not as well-known as some of the other competitors including Bordeaux, Tuscany and Burgundy.
“Rioja offers great weather and is also well represented in different industry awards and rankings, all while offering premium-quality wines at a reasonable average price.
“Also among the top three were the Piedmont and Tuscany wine regions in Italy, both receiving excellent scores across all categories, making them ideal mini-break material.
“While some travellers choose which region to visit based on their wine preferences, if you’re keen for new experiences then this index is a handy guide for discovering new wines across Europe, and creating a great value mini-break with a difference.”
Quotezone can help travellers compare and find savings on all sorts of travel insurance, no matter where their summer adventures take them.
References:
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rioja_DOCa
**https://daily.sevenfifty.com/regions/piedmont/
Methodology:
All sources and information correct as of 09/06/2025. Each region was given a nominal score which was totalled up to give a final ranking.
Average temperature – https://www.visualcrossing.com/average-weather *Temperature (average of daily high and low) in regions on August 1st
Average amount of rainfall – https://weatherspark.com/ *Average monthly rainfall in August
Wines represented in the 2024 Decanter Awards – https://awards.decanter.com/DWWA/2024/search/wines?competitionType=DWWA * Wines that received ANY award in the DWWA 2024 competition
Average cost of a bottle of wine – https://www.majestic.co.uk/ * Average cost of a bottle of wine from each region on Majestic.co.uk on 06/06/25 for wines priced £100 and under
World’s Top 50 Best Vineyards list – https://www.worldsbestvineyards.com/list/1-50 * How many mentions regions have in the top 50 best vineyards list
Average price of a winery tour – winetourism.com * Average cost of a winery tour from each region on winetourism.com on 09/06/25, filtered to family-friendly tours up to 90€
Cost of a one night stay for 2 people in the cheapest 3 star hotel in the region – booking.com
Euros to pounds conversion – https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter
Research Findings / Index Scoring:
| Wine region | Temperature (°C) | Points |
| Tuscany, Italy | 24.5 | 10 |
| Rioja, Spain | 23.5 | 9 |
| Piedmont, Italy | 23 | 8 |
| Douro Valley, Portugal | 23 | 7 |
| Tokaj, Hungary | 22.5 | 6 |
| Rhone Valley, France | 22.5 | 5 |
| Bordeaux, France | 22 | 4 |
| Burgundy, France | 21.5 | 3 |
| Champagne, France | 20.5 | 2 |
| Mosel, Germany | 19.5 | 1 |
*Temperature (average of daily high and low) in regions on August 1st
**Piedmont and Douro Valley tied up but Piedmont was awarded a higher point because it had a higher average temperature in the morning (21°C) compared to Douro Valley (20°C)
***Tokaj and Rhone Valley also tied up but Tokaj was awarded a higher point because it had a higher average temperature in the morning (21°C) compared to Rhone Valley (20°C)
| Wine region | Average rainfall (mm) | Points |
| Mosel, Germany (Trier) | 51.3 | 1 |
| Rhone Valley, France (Lyon) | 50.1 | 2 |
| Burgundy, France | 49.8 | 3 |
| Piedmont, Italy (Turin) | 46.2 | 4 |
| Tokaj, Hungary | 45.2 | 5 |
| Bordeaux, France | 35 | 6 |
| Tuscany, Italy (Florence) | 34.4 | 7 |
| Champagne, France | 29.8 | 8 |
| Rioja, Spain (Logroño) | 20.5 | 9 |
| Douro Valley, Portugal (Porto) | 16.6 | 10 |
*Average monthly rainfall in August.
| Wine region | Average cost of a bottle of wine | Points |
| Rioja, Spain | £22.31 | 10 |
| Piedmont, Italy | £24.9 | 9 |
| Douro Valley, Portugal | £25.6 | 8 |
| Rhone Valley, France | £25.75 | 7 |
| Tokaj, Hungary | £27.75 | 6 |
| Mosel, Germany | £28.5 | 5 |
| Tuscany, Italy | £33.2 | 4 |
| Bordeaux, France | £34.36 | 3 |
| Burgundy, France | £35.79 | 2 |
| Champagne, France | £56 | 1 |
*Average cost of a bottle of wine from each region on Majestic.co.uk on 06/06/25.
**The average was calculated for all bottles of wine priced £100 and under.
| Wine region | Top 50 World’s Best Vineyards list | Points |
| Rioja, Spain | 5 | 10 |
| Champagne, France | 4 | 9 |
| Bordeaux, France | 3 | 8 |
| Douro Valley, Portugal | 3 | 7 |
| Mosel, Germany | 1 | 6 |
| Piedmont, Italy | 1 | 5 |
| Tuscany, Italy | 1 | 4 |
| Tokaj, Hungary | 1 | 3 |
| Rhone Valley, France | 1 | 2 |
| Burgundy, France | 0 | 1 |
*How many mentions regions have in the top 50 best vineyards list.
**For the regions that tied, the points were allocated based on their rankings on the list.
| Wine region | Average cost of a tour (€) | In pounds | Points |
| Rhone Valley, France | 14.40€ | 12.1 | 10 |
| Burgundy, France | 15.3€ | 12.9 | 9 |
| Bordeaux, France | 18€ | 15.2 | 8 |
| Rioja, Spain | 22.8€ | 19.2 | 7 |
| Tokaj, Hungary | 23€ | 19.4 | 6 |
| Piedmont, Italy | 27€ | 22.7 | 5 |
| Mosel, Germany | 27.20€ | 22.9 | 4 |
| Douro Valley, Portugal | 30.80€ | 25.9 | 3 |
| Tuscany, Italy | 33.70€ | 28.5 | 2 |
| Champagne, France | 35.8€ | 30.1 | 1 |
*Average cost of a winery tour from each region on winetourism.com on 09/06/25, filtered to family-friendly tours up to 90€.
**Prices were converted to pounds using https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/ on 09/06/25.
| Wine region | Cost of the cheapest 3 star hotel in the region (£) | Points |
| Tuscany, Italy | 40 | 10 |
| Piedmont, Italy | 42 | 9 |
| Burgundy, France | 44 | 8 |
| Rhone Valley, France | 44 | 7 |
| Champagne, France | 47 | 6 |
| Bordeaux, France | 54 | 5 |
| Douro Valley, Portugal | 56 | 4 |
| Rioja, Spain | 59 | 3 |
| Mosel, Germany | 72 | 2 |
| Tokaj, Hungary | 131 | 1 |
Prices correct as of 09/06/25
1 night stay (2nd to 3rd August) in the cheapest hotel in the region for 2 adults on booking.com.
Rhone and Burgundy in France tied, but Burgundy gets a higher point because the hotel has a 7.1 review score, compared to the hotel in Rhone which has a 6.9 review score.
| Wine Region | Wines represented in the 2024 Decanter Awards | Points |
| Champagne, France | 568 | 10 |
| Bordeaux, France | 518 | 9 |
| Rioja, Spain | 491 | 8 |
| Tuscany, Italy | 463 | 7 |
| Piedmont, Italy | 447 | 6 |
| Rhone Valley, France | 369 | 5 |
| Burgundy, France | 360 | 4 |
| Douro Valley, Portugal | 118 | 3 |
| Tokaj, Hungary | 49 | 2 |
| Mosel, Germany | 5 | 1 |
*Wines that received ANY award in the DWWA 2024 competition.
This article is intended as generic information only and is not intended to apply to anybody’s specific circumstances, demands or needs. The views expressed are not intended to provide any financial service or to give any recommendation or advice. Products and services are only mentioned for illustrative rather than promotional purposes.