The vibrant vineyards engulf the Douro river region, with the stunning, hilly landscape flowing throughout the Porto region, Portugal.

July 21, 2015

The Best Vineyard Views in Europe

Founder & CEO

We love a good view here at SmoothRed.

No matter whether you’re hiking, driving or even just kicking back with a glass of wine, nothing beats taking in the scenery in some of Europe’s most scenic regions. These that follow are, we think, the best vineyard views on the continent… which, though, is the best? We’re not sure. If one stands above the others (or you have a better suggestion), then answers on whatever the digital post-2000 equivalent of a postcard is, please.

The Marques de Riscal, Rioja

Check that out. That right there is the Frank O. Gehry-designed Marques Riscal Hotel in Rioja. In the background, the vast Cantabrian mountain range. In the foreground, the hotel’s local vineyards, which produce a staggering 3-4 million bottles of wine each year. And the best thing is, the Marques Riscal has a rooftop bistro, so you can enjoy that view for as long as you want. With a glass of local Spanish wine, of course.

The Alsace Wine Route

Thann to Marlenheim, via Mulhouse, Colmar and Strasbourg. The Alsace Wine Route is 170km of medieval châteaux, Renaissance houses and charming, sleepy French villages. This, specifically, is the village of Kayersberg – where the first vineyards were established in the 16th century, and which is known in particular for its very fine Pinot gris wines – but the fact is that you’re guaranteed to get something as pretty as this wherever on the route you are.

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San Gimignano, Tuscany

This is the town of San Gimignano in Tuscany, also known, perhaps unsurprisingly, as the Town of Fine Towers. A great deal of the architecture here has survived since the 14th and 15th centuries – the height of the Italian Renaissance. Throw in the surrounding rolling, vine-strewn hills, and you’ve got a view that is not only more-or-less the same today as it was centuries ago, but also comes packaged with some stupendous wines; the most esteemed of which is the world-famous Vernaccia di San Gimignano.

The Douro Valley, Portugal

This is the Douro Valley. Or part of it, at least. The entire scope of the Douro includes up to 103,000 acres of vineyards and, most famously, is the source of arguably the world’s finest ports. And also, you know, one of the world’s finest views.