Zuccardi Valle de Uco has been voted the World’s Best Vineyard and Best Vineyard in South America for the third year running
World’s Best Vineyards has unveiled the very best wine tourism destinations across the globe in a ceremony that took place on 20 September at Schloss Johannisberg, Rheingau, Germany. The countdown of the Top 50 vineyards was announced in a hybrid event combining a real-life ceremony and digital live film to showcase the world’s best and most unique vineyards.
Argentina’s Zuccardi Valle de Uco topped the list, making it a hat trick of celebrations for the Andean winery. The stunning Bodegas de los Herederos del Marques de Riscal in Spain’s Rioja region took second place, and was closely followed by Chateau Margaux in Bordeaux, France. The 2021 Top 50 vineyards represent 16 countries and includes first-time entrants onto the list from Lebanon and Russia.
The World’s Best Vineyards list aims to highlight the sheer diversity across both established and emerging wine tourism destinations and the list is voted by the Academy of 600 global wine and travel experts. This year saw 10 new destinations in the Top 50 with Karam Wines in Lebanon becoming the highest new entry and reaching number 14 in the list. There are two new Russian entries from the Krasnodar region with Sikory Winery famous for its rocky clay soil entering the list for the first time at number 20 and the Lefkadia Valley hitting number 23.
Karam Wines, Lebanon, won the 2021 Asia Continent Winner and the highest new entry
In the opening speech of the ceremony, Andrew Reed, Managing Director Wine and Exhibitions at William Reed, highlighted that, ‘Wine tourism is hugely important to the global economy and local economies, creating jobs directly at the wineries but also encouraging visitors to the area and the associated revenue which that generates. This is more important than ever with the recent global situation, and we know that by shining the light on wine tourism as we do with the World’s Best Vineyards the message gets out to more people to come and discover the uniqueness of wine and where it is made.’
Steffen Schindler, this year’s partner from Wines of Germany commented ‘We’d like to thank the organisers and the masterminds behind these awards for raising awareness of wine tourism worldwide and in Germany, of course. Wine tourism has become a very important economic pillar for many of our wine estates, and we know that the most loyal customers are those that have come to our estates and our wine regions in person.’
Schloss Johannisberg, Germany, (number 34) this year’s host venue
2021 Top 50 results:
| Place | Vineyard | Country | Continent winner | Highest in country | Position in 2020 |
| 1 | Zuccardi Valle de Uco | Argentina | South America | Argentina | 1 |
| 2 | Bodegas de los Herederos del Marqués de Riscal | Spain | Europe | Spain | 6 |
| 3 | Château Margaux | France | France | 22 | |
| 4 | Bodega Garzón | Uruguay | Uruguay | 2 | |
| 5 | Montes | Chile | Chile | 4 | |
| 6 | Antinori nel Chianti Classico | Italy | Italy | 9 | |
| 7 | Catena Zapata | Argentina | 11 | ||
| 8 | VIK Winery | Chile | 10 | ||
| 9 | González Byass – Bodegas Tio Pepe | Spain | 18 | ||
| 10 | Creation | South Africa | Africa | South Africa | n/a |
| 11 | Craggy Range | New Zealand | Australasia | New Zealand | 17 |
| 12 | Château Smith Haut Lafitte | France | 7 | ||
| 13 | Champagne Taittinger | France | 28 | ||
| 14 | Karam Wines | Lebanon | Asia | Lebanon | n/a |
| 15 | Rippon | New Zealand | 13 | ||
| 16 | Quinta do Crasto | Portugal | Portugal | 8 | |
| 17 | Clos Apalta | Chile | 27 | ||
| 18 | Trapiche | Argentina | 50 | ||
| 19 | Quinta da Aveleda | Portugal | n/a | ||
| 20 | Sikory Winery | Russia | Russia | n/a | |
| 21 | Chateau Oumsiyat | Lebanon | 38 | ||
| 22 | Domäne Wachau | Austria | Austria | 3 | |
| 23 | Lefkadia Valley | Russia | n/a | ||
| 24 | El Enemigo Wines | Argentina | n/a | ||
| 25 | Henschke | Australia | Australia | 25 | |
| 26 | Familia Torres – Pacs del Penedès | Spain | 42 | ||
| 27 | Soalheiro | Portugal | n/a | ||
| 28 | Viña Santa Rita | Chile | n/a | ||
| 29 | Quinta do Noval | Portugal | 49 | ||
| 30 | Delaire Graff Estate | South Africa | 14 | ||
| 31 | d’Arenberg | Australia | 34 | ||
| 32 | Abadía Retuerta | Spain | n/a | ||
| 33 | Château Mercian Mariko Winery | Japan | Japan | 30 | |
| 34 | Schloss Johannisberg | Germany | Germany | 12 | |
| 35 | Bodega Colomé | Argentina | n/a | ||
| 36 | Château Mouton Rothschild | France | 33 | ||
| 37 | Penfolds Magill Estate | Australia | 24 | ||
| 38 | Quinta do Bomfim | Portugal | n/a | ||
| 39 | Château Héritage | Lebanon | 48 | ||
| 40 | Robert Mondavi Winery | United States | North America | United States | 5 |
| 41 | Viña Casas del Bosque | Chile | 40 | ||
| 42 | SuperUco | Argentina | n/a | ||
| 43 | Bodegas RE | Chile | 32 | ||
| 44 | Klein Constantia Winery | South Africa | n/a | ||
| 45 | Viu Manent | Chile | 43 | ||
| 46 | Weingut Dr. Loosen | Germany | 15 | ||
| 47 | Ridge Vineyards – Monte Bello | United States | 16 | ||
| 48 | Château Cana | Lebanon | n/a | ||
| 49 | Quinta do Vallado | Portugal | n/a | ||
| 50 | Quinta do Infantado | Portugal | n/a |
The first-ever Top 51-100 vineyards list can also be found on www.worldsbestvineyards.com and on social @worldsbestvineyards on Facebook and Instagram and @wbestvineyards on Twitter.
To enquire about sponsorship opportunities, and hosting the World’s Best Vineyards 2022 please email kate.labate@wrbm.com
The awards ceremony took place on Monday, 20th September in Schloss Johannisberg, Germany and online at 18.00 CET.
The Top 50 list is compiled from all of the nominations by the global academy of voters. The world is split into geographical regions, each headed up by an acknowledged expert as the Academy Chair. Each Academy Chair is responsible for recruiting 36 wine and travel experts. Each member of the Voting Academy must vote for 7 vineyards and this year, due to the restrictions on international travel, these could be from within and outside their specific region. There is no pre-determined check-list of criteria or predefined list to choose from – each vote is a nomination for a vineyard experience open to the public that they deem to truly be the best in the world.
The World’s Best Vineyards was hosted this year by the German Wine Institute.
Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for more information on the list and the regions. @worldsbestvineyards on Facebook and Instagram and @wbestvineyards on Twitter
About William Reed:
William Reed Business Media Ltd and William Reed Business Media SAS are members of the William Reed Group, the leading information source for the food and drink industry. For more information go to http://www.william-reed.com.
