Travelers today have taken wine as the key to a new dimension of travel; it has become a doorway through which the atmosphere, history, and philosophy of a country are viewed. The art of visiting a wine-making country is to talk about its soil, its climate, and its people. In 2026 the world map of wine travel is altering slightly, and certain obscure but powerful destinations are taking center stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When people talk about world-class wine regions, Bordeaux, Tuscany, and Napa Valley dominate the conversation. However, in 2026, the European Best Destinations organization awarded Maribor in Slovenia\u2014the city of just 110,000 people\u2014the title of “European Best Wine Capital,” beating Porto and Bordeaux. Not without reason, as the title suggests, but as a way of rewarding the new wine tourism in Europe, in which the world over was turning away from the artificiality of the past and towards the natural and authentic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The soul of Maribor is, among other things, embodied in the venerable vineyard, which has survived for over 450 years, and which, according to Guinness World Records, is the oldest noble vine in the world. This vine, which produces fruits and rare vintage wines every year, is a living symbol of the rebirth of winemaking in Maribor. It is not confined to the far-away wine-yards; here wine is intertwined with the city itself. Under the old town lies the 2.1-kilometer-long Vinag cellar, one of the largest traditional wine cellars in Europe. Its visitors find time seems to move slowly through the stone walls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The \u0160tajerska region\u2014where Maribor is situated\u2014is famous for its sloping vineyards, the dramatic difference between the day and night temperature, and a freshness and fullness of flavour, which abound in the white wines of the region, mainly Furmint, Welschriesling, and Sauvignon Blanc. But the true secret of the Maribor cuisine is the symphony of flavours that are not spoiled by the complexity of the food, the delicacy of the flavours, and the harmonious combination of the wine and the food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is impossible to find anywhere in Slovenia such dishes as are served in the Slovenian \u0160tajerska kitchen, but the most notable are pumpkin seed oil, buckwheat, wild mushrooms, handmade pasta, and freshwater fish. The chefs in the region do not seek to make “innovative” dishes, but merely interpret old flavours in new ways, so that the food is an extension of the wine in your glass. Imagine, for example, a cold Sauvignon Blanc served with a salad of pumpkin seed oil and buckwheat or a nourishing dish of local mushrooms with home-made pasta. The food does not seek style, but rather the truth in simplicity. And Maribor was also named by the magazine Forbes among the most interesting wine countries in Europe to visit in 2026. The judges appreciated the city’s lack of tourist hordes and good value for money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In short, those who want to travel to taste something, and not just for the sake of seeing and doing, have in Maribor a rare experience: in the morning in a cave under the town, in the middle of lunch at a family-run inn and in the afternoon surrounded by the vineyards of the surrounding hills. Not a tour bus, not a luxury product, just a slow rhythm that allows you to enjoy the real taste of the land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When one speaks of a burgeoning wine region, then Santorini is the eternal classic, the place where beautiful nature and ancient winemaking traditions merge. The vines here grow in a very stubborn way, weaving into low baskets (kouloura), which cling to the ground in order to resist the hot Aegean sun and the squally wind. This unique pruning method is a result of an agreement between man and the harsh environment over the centuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Santorini\u2019s vinous soul is Assyrtiko, a white grape with astonishing minerality and fresh acidity as if volcanic rock, sea breeze, and sun had been trapped inside it. And Vinsanto, the sweet wine made from sun-dried grapes into an amber liquid\u2014sweet but not cloying, layered with dried fruit, honey, and spice\u2014is another hallmark. The Estate Argyros Vinsanto Late Release 2005, which we mentioned earlier, is the essence of the land\u201416 years in oak, with only 4,850 bottles produced. Not wine, but drinkable time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Santorini the pace of wine travel can be leisurely. A typical tour of the island’s wineries takes in three distinctly different places\u2014the calm and tradition of Argyros Estate, the labyrinthine underground passages of the Koutsoyannopoulos Wine Museum, and the unique atmosphere of Art Space Winery, where wine and art combine. The opportunity to taste a dozen wines, accompanied by local cheese, nuts, and traditional meze, is sufficient to bring an abstract concept of the volcano into a concrete form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A five-course feast is generally served in a family restaurant: fava puree, a salad of cherry tomatoes and small local cucumbers, handmade dolmades, tomato fritters, and feta wrapped in filo pastry drizzled with honey and sesame. There is nothing fancy about these dishes, but they are remarkably pronounced, because the volcanic soil has nourished them so richly. Sitting on the terrace of a vineyard with this savoury, simple food before one, tasting the minerality of Assyrtiko and the sourness of tomato in one\u2019s mouth and seeing the sun sinking into the Aegean in the distance, wine does not need to be argued with; it speaks for itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n