Wine Tourism Report 2026: A Global Sector in Full Transformation

An In-Depth Report on the State of Enotourism Worldwide

February 2026

1. A Booming Market: The Numbers Behind Wine Tourism

Wine tourism has evolved from a niche pursuit enjoyed by a handful of enthusiasts into one of the fastest-growing segments of global experiential travel. The figures speak for themselves: the enotourism market was valued at approximately $46.5 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 12.8%, reaching nearly $95 billion by 2029. Some more bullish forecasts put the market at over $106 billion by 2030.

In 2025 alone, the global enotourism market was estimated at close to $12 billion, with projections of $13.66 billion for 2026 — a year-on-year growth of 14.3%. The long-term trajectory, driven by the global appetite for experiential and culturally immersive travel, points firmly upwards. By 2035, the market is expected to surpass $17.5 billion under conservative estimates.

Tourism now generates around a quarter of total revenue for wineries that offer visitor experiences, a figure that has grown markedly over the past decade. Two out of three wineries worldwide describe wine tourism as profitable or very profitable, and half of all wineries globally plan to expand their tourism investments in the near term. These are not marginal numbers: wine tourism has become a strategic pillar of the global wine industry, particularly at a time when bottle sales are under pressure.

2. The Established Giants: France, Italy and Spain Hold Firm

Europe continues to account for more than 51% of global wine tourism revenue, and the three dominant players — France, Italy and Spain — show no sign of relinquishing that position. What is changing is how they compete. The days of simply opening the cellar door and waiting for visitors to arrive are over.

France: Bordeaux Reinvents Itself Even as It Burns

It is a paradox that defines the current moment: Bordeaux is simultaneously experiencing its deepest crisis in modern times and investing more than ever in wine tourism as an alternative revenue stream. Wineries such as Château Pichon Baron, which has recently completed major renovations to its visitor facilities, are attracting thousands of visitors annually through guided vineyard tours, barrel tastings and food pairing dinners. The Route de Bordeaux Graves et Sauternes now features eco-friendly travel options, and Bordeaux has positioned low-carbon wine tourism as a key differentiator. Even in crisis, the region understands that the experience economy offers a lifeline that pure production economics cannot.

Spain: Rioja and Priorat Lead a Premium Repositioning

Spain’s wine tourism offer has matured considerably. Rioja and Priorat lead a premium repositioning that sees the country competing not on price but on architectural boldness, gastronomy and landscape. The so-called “wine cathedrals” — the spectacular purpose-built wineries designed by architects such as Frank Gehry at Marqués de Riscal and Zaha Hadid at López de Heredia — continue to draw visitors for whom the building is as much of an attraction as the wine. Spanish wine tourism operators are also among the most advanced in Europe in terms of digital marketing and online booking infrastructure.

United Kingdom: A 55% Surge in Vineyard Visits

One of the most striking statistics to emerge from recent data is that the United Kingdom recorded a 55% increase in vineyard visits, driven by the surging popularity of English sparkling wine. This is no longer a curiosity: English sparkling wine from regions such as Sussex and Kent is winning international awards and challenging Champagne on its own terms. Domestic tourism to English vineyards is booming, fuelled by a sense of national pride in a product that did not meaningfully exist a generation ago.

3. The Emerging Destinations: From the Caucasus to Scandinavia

Perhaps the most exciting development in global wine tourism is the emergence of entirely new destinations that are rewriting the map of where serious enotourism can happen. From the ancient qvevri cellars of Georgia to the improbable vineyards of Scandinavia, a new geography of wine is taking shape.

Georgia: The Cradle of Wine Reclaims Its Inheritance

Georgia has one of the most compelling wine tourism propositions in the world: an 8,000-year-old winemaking tradition, a unique method of fermenting wine in clay vessels buried underground (the qvevri, now a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage), and landscapes of extraordinary beauty. The country is capitalising on its ancient winemaking traditions whilst simultaneously developing the tourism infrastructure needed to attract international visitors. Wine tourism is being positioned as a vehicle for rural community development, creating employment in regions that have long suffered from depopulation.

Moldova: Europe’s Best-Kept Wine Secret — Not for Much Longer

Moldova is one of 2026’s most talked-about travel revelations. The World Tourism Organization places Moldova as the third-best-performing European country in terms of tourism growth, after it recorded a 60% surge in visitors in the first half of 2025. Wine tourism is central to this story. The country is home to Mileștii Mici, the world’s largest wine cellar, a labyrinthine network of tunnels stretching 200 kilometres beneath the earth and stocked with millions of bottles. Visitors navigate its ‘streets’ — named after grape varieties — by bicycle or by car.

Moldova’s appeal rests on several pillars: exceptional value for money, an almost complete absence of crowds, a fascinating blend of Romanian and Soviet-era heritage, and wines of genuine quality that remain largely unknown to the wider world. American tourists in particular — representing 4.7% of international visitors in 2025 — are discovering Moldova as a destination that offers something utterly different from the well-worn European circuit.

Croatia: Where the Adriatic Meets the Vineyard

Croatia’s Istrian Peninsula has built a reputation as one of Europe’s most sophisticated wine tourism destinations, combining excellent indigenous varieties such as Malvazija and Teran with a gastronomic culture that rivals anything in Italy or France. The model here is deeply integrated: wine tourism is bundled with agritourism, truffle hunting, olive oil production and access to some of the most beautiful coastline in the Mediterranean. Croatia exemplifies the broader trend of wine tourism evolving into a holistic rural lifestyle experience rather than a purely viticultural one.

Sweden and Estonia: Wine at the Edge of the World

The emergence of Sweden and Estonia as wine tourism destinations is the story that has most captured the imagination of the global wine press in recent months. These are not metaphorical edge cases: we are talking about vineyards planted within sight of the Arctic, cultivating varieties bred to survive winters of extreme severity. The wines are real, the quality is improving season by season, and the experiences being built around them are genuinely innovative.

In Sweden, the transformation has been given a decisive legal boost. In June 2025, a landmark change in Swedish regulations broke the decades-old monopoly of Systembolaget — the state-owned alcohol retailer through which all wine sales to the public had previously been channelled — by allowing wineries to sell directly to consumers on site. This single measure has dramatically altered the economics of running a vineyard in Sweden and has opened the door to a credible wine tourism sector. Wineries such as Luscher & Matiesen, one of the world’s most northerly, now offer guest accommodation, paired dinners and workshops alongside their tasting rooms.

The broader significance of the Nordic phenomenon is what it says about climate change and the future of wine geography. The UK Met Office forecasts 2026 to be among the warmest years on record. As temperatures rise, regions that were previously too cold for viticulture are opening up, whilst traditional wine regions in southern Europe and California face increasing stress. Sweden and Estonia are not anomalies; they are advance indicators of a profound and permanent shift in where wine will be made — and, by extension, where wine tourists will go.

Argentina: Mendoza Consolidates Its Position

In the New World, Mendoza in Argentina remains the outstanding success story of wine tourism development. By 2024, 230 wineries in the region were open to tourists, with the Luján de Cuyo and Uco Valley sub-regions attracting the largest volumes. Argentine wine tourism has evolved well beyond the standard cellar tour: participatory harvests, yoga sessions among the vines and art exhibitions within the winery architecture are now standard components of the premium visitor offer. Mendoza has understood that the wine is the starting point of the experience, not its conclusion.

4. Technology, Sustainability and the Future of the Wine Tourism Experience

Artificial Intelligence Enters the Vineyard

Artificial intelligence is making its presence felt across the wine tourism experience. In Napa Valley, hotels are partnering with AI-driven recommendation platforms to offer personalised food and wine suggestions based on guest preferences. In Bordeaux, AI-powered robots are assisting with vineyard management tasks such as pruning and disease detection. The technology is imperfect — AI tends to recommend well-known tourist spots rather than hidden gems — but its integration into the visitor journey is accelerating rapidly.

Digital Tools and the Direct Booking Revolution

The digitalisation of wine tourism has restructured the relationship between producer and visitor. Direct bookings through winery websites now account for over 38% of revenue, reflecting a clear consumer preference for personalised booking experiences and the convenience of accessing winery information and availability online. Social media continues to play a critical role: stunning visuals of vineyards, curated tastings and local culinary scenes inspire travel decisions, particularly among the 25 to 44 age group. Wineries that have invested in their digital presence — producing high-quality visual content, maintaining active social media profiles and responding to reviews — consistently outperform those that have not.

Sustainability: From Marketing Claim to Business Imperative

Sustainability has moved from a fashionable label to a genuine market requirement, a shift that is reshaping wine tourism offer at every level. Eco-conscious travellers increasingly seek out vineyards practising organic farming, water conservation and biodiversity preservation. The Route de Bordeaux Graves et Sauternes, for example, now features explicitly low-carbon travel options. Leading wine regions in Napa Valley and Bordeaux have integrated sustainable practices into both their vineyard management and visitor engagement strategies, from solar-powered winery operations to biodynamic certification. These efforts are not merely ethical statements; they are competitive advantages in a market where the 25 to 44 visitor cohort places sustainability near the top of its decision-making criteria.

Experiences Beyond the Tasting Room

The global wine tourism market is being reshaped by a fundamental expansion of what a winery visit means. Where once a cellar tour and a tasting were the beginning and end of the offer, today’s leading operators are building full lifestyle propositions. Cooking classes, farm-to-table dining with acclaimed chefs, visits to historical sites, wellness activities such as yoga and mindfulness in the vineyard, and adventure sports such as mountain biking and zip-lining through the vines are all becoming standard components of the premium wine tourism package.

Spending on these experiences has risen 16% according to Deloitte, and the premium end of the market is proving particularly resilient. Hotel de’Ricci in Rome represents an extreme but instructive example: every suite features a curated personal wine cellar, with guests selecting their contents from a central cellar of 1,500 labels and 15,000 bottles. India’s Sula Vineyards is planning the launch of a 30-room resort at its York Winery in Nashik for 2026, adding to its existing hotel portfolio. The winery as a resort destination is no longer an exception; it is a growing model.

Loyalty: The Underrated Asset of Wine Tourism

One of the most commercially significant findings from recent consumer research is the extraordinary loyalty of wine tourists. In Arizona, 80% of winery visitors return frequently, and 42% of wine festival-goers attend multiple times. This level of repeat visitation is rare in the travel industry and speaks to the emotional connection that wine tourism creates. Operators that invest in branded merchandise, take-home kits, wine club memberships and exclusive vintage releases for past visitors are turning one-time guests into long-term advocates — and, critically, into year-round revenue streams that smooth out the brutal seasonality that has historically characterised wine tourism.

5. Asia-Pacific: The Next Frontier

Europe may dominate the current wine tourism market, but the most significant growth opportunity lies in Asia-Pacific, where rising disposable incomes, expanding wine culture and improving tourism infrastructure are combining to create a market of transformative potential.

China: Ningxia and the Ambition to Compete with Bordeaux

China’s Ningxia wine region is rapidly emerging as the country’s most important wine tourism destination, supported by active government investment and a growing domestic wine culture. Ningxia’s ambition is explicit: to position itself as China’s answer to Bordeaux, producing wines of comparable quality whilst developing a visitor infrastructure capable of attracting international tourists. The region has opened dozens of new wineries with visitor facilities in recent years, and its wines are winning medals at international competitions.

India: Nashik Becomes the Napa Valley of Asia

India’s Nashik Valley, increasingly referred to as “the wine capital of India”, is experiencing a surge in wine tourism driven by the country’s rapidly expanding middle class and the growing normalisation of wine in Indian food culture. Sula Vineyards, the country’s leading producer, already operates two hotels on its estate and is adding a new 30-room resort in 2026. The producer also runs SulaFest, an annual music and wine festival that has become one of India’s most popular cultural events, attracting tens of thousands of visitors.

Australia and New Zealand: Mature Markets, Evolving Offers

Australia’s Barossa Valley and Hunter Valley and New Zealand’s Marlborough region continue to attract growing numbers of international tourists. These are mature markets with well-developed visitor infrastructure, but they are not standing still. New Zealand’s Marlborough, famous for its Sauvignon Blanc, is expanding its offer beyond tastings to include culinary events, cycling trails through the vines and luxury lodge accommodation. The Asia-Pacific wine tourism market as a whole is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR of any region globally — 14.9% from 2024 to 2030.

6. Conclusion: A Sector Rewriting Its Own Rules

Wine tourism enters 2026 in a paradoxical position: the global wine industry is under severe structural pressure, yet wine tourism continues to grow. This divergence is not accidental. It reflects a fundamental shift in how producers relate to their end consumers, moving from an anonymous transactional model — wine sold through distributors, retailers and supermarkets to consumers who never see the vineyard — to a direct experiential model in which the story of the wine, the landscape and the people who make it becomes the product itself.

The wineries that are thriving are those that have understood this shift earliest and most completely. They are not selling wine with tourism as an afterthought; they are building cultural destinations where wine is the organising principle. From the ancient qvevri cellars of Georgia to the improbable vineyards of northern Sweden, from the luxury estates of Napa to the underground wine cities of Moldova, wine tourism is rewriting its own geography — and in doing so, it is becoming one of the most resilient and creatively dynamic segments of the global travel industry.

Sources: Hochschule Geisenheim University / UN Tourism Global Wine Tourism Report 2025 • WineTourism.com • Grand View Research • Future Market Insights • Deloitte • Wine Intelligence • Sobrelias • The Drinks Business — February 2026