Five of the best fine-wine destinations

A grape escape in northern Italy

Piedmont is an Italian region that’s relatively off the radar – except for the gastronomes and oenophiles, for whom it’s hallowed territory. For 400 years, the Durazzo family has owned Castello di Gabiano here, perched on 260 hectares above the Po river, near Casale Monferrato. Last year Giacomo Cattaneo Adorno, a descendant of those Durazzos, and his wife Emanuela opened the splendid Palazzo Durazzo in Genoa, which has established itself as one of the best new hotels in Italy. Gabiano is where they started their hospitality business, alongside the wine-producing one that has existed on the 8th-century estate for hundreds of years.

The 11 accommodations, ranging from one-room junior suites to a clutch of small apartments, reflect the patrician rural setting: simple white walls and timber floors, cast-iron beds. The views from the windows over the 22 hectares of vines – the Cattaneos cultivate Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Barbera – are what make them singular. Various tastings, from privé (which includes a tour of the owners’ private cellars) to a four-course pairing dinner, are available; the airy, contemporary restaurant is under the pitched-tile ceilings of what used to be the castle’s vinegar-making facilities. castellodigabiano.com, from €174

To the manor born, in Bordeaux

Over the past 25 years, Clos Dubreuil, east of Saint-Émilion, has gone from relative obscurity to producing Grand Cru Classé Bordeaux vintages and a highly-touted Chardonnay, thanks to a happy collaboration between winemaker Benoît Trocard and the estate’s Houstonian owner, Ralph Eads. Trocard left in 2023, replaced by world-renowned consultant Alain Raynaud; the goal is to elevate the Chardonnay to one of the best in France. Meanwhile David Eads, Ralph’s son, has renovated the six-bedroom château on the estate, which is now available for holiday lets of the most indulgent order.

Bedrooms are embellished with embroidered Scalamandre silks and block-print cottons. Downstairs is a large sitting room, an equally large kitchen (with a snappy blue Lacanche range) and a bar room; the pool, with its grass surround and cute wood-hut pool house, directly abuts the vineyards. The Eadses go long on the five-star experiences, from helicopter and hot-air-balloon tours to private tastings at the surrounding châteaux and a day’s escape to Cap Ferret for oysters, Atlantic-ocean swims and sandy feet. maisondubreuil.com, from €3,500 per night half-board, three-night minimum

Heavenly vintages in the Alentejo

São Lourenço do Barrocal, deep in the east of Portugal’s Alentejo region, is beloved by design fans for its commitment to architectural integrity: Pritzker prize-holder Eduardo Souto de Moura was awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale Architettura for his work restoring, down to the last salvaged roof tile, a farm estate reclaimed after the revolution by its original owning family.

The term “minimal intervention” gets trotted out a lot; at Barrocal, it’s put into evident practice – a place where the sense that nothing has changed here in hundreds of years, beyond the application of a few coats of paint, is paramount. The 40 cottages, rooms and suites are simple. The food is farm-to-table perfection; the kitchen gardens here are huge, the quality of the cheeses and charcuterie from the surrounding towns famous.

The vineyards have been in existence since the early 19th century; the Herdade do Barrocal reserve red, blended from three local varietals and aged in French oak, is excellent. Book one of the rooms adjacent to the winery for easy proximity to the whole experience; all guests are welcome to explore the vineyards and organise tastings. barrocal.pt, from €480

Coastal Croatia’s vintage pleasures

Istria has been called the Tuscany of Croatia, and it’s not hard to see why: rolling hills, oak and cypress forests, medieval castles, charming hilltop villages. Also, vineyards: across the peninsula, varieties of Malvasia and the red Teran grape flourish alongside newer Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot vines. Meneghetti, located just south of Rovinj on the coast, is in Istria’s terra rossa – severe soil that produces dry, mineral-forward wines, evinced in the estate’s Malvasias and Merlots.

Not that you need to be oeno-forward to enjoy the hotel: the accommodations range from suites in the main building to 30 one- and two-bedroom residences and a handful of family villas – all new builds with stone façades and contemporary interiors (and some with their own pools and gardens). A recently inaugurated land-art project sees work by the likes of Arne Quinze adorning the grounds. For the lollers, there’s the Meneghetti Beach Club, with loungers, umbrellas and its own bar. meneghetti.hr, from €290

Old-world wines and contemporary style in Chile

The Colchagua Valley is one of Chile’s more appealing landscapes; milder and lusher than Patagonia to the south, but with enough drama – snow-capped peaks, roaring streams – to keep things interesting. With the second-largest vineyard surface in Chile, it’s also home to excellent wines: vines run from the base of the Andes westward towards the Pacific. Situated in the Entre Cordilleras sub-region, known for its soils’ friendliness to red varieties, is Clos Apalta, a century-old, French-owned estate that produces highly-rated Cabernet-Carmenère-Merlot blends (the American critic James Suckling gave the 2015 vintage a 100-point score).

For years, various parts of it have been available for holiday lettings, each room or residence with views over the valley and privileged access to the restaurant, cellar and tasting facilities. After a three-year closure and renovation, everything re-opened late last year with a rustic-modern new look and 10 additional casitas – private one-bedroom villas on the hillside, with wood decks and plunge pools that overlook terraced vines and miles of valley. Guests can go for early-morning market tours with the chef, who’ll then help you prepare your own lunch. Yoga and in-room massages are available; there are horses and mountain bikes available for exploring the Apalta hills, and tennis courts will arrive later in the year. closapalta.com, from $1,500

@mariashollenbarger