For a wine country tour, no matter where you want to go - California, Washington State, France, Australia, Chile, or wherever - planning will make the trip a better experience. This guide on how to take a wine tasting vacation has tips that can make your upcoming visit to wine country your best vacation ever.

A great wine tasting vacation starts with a little research and planning. Below are helpful suggestions on how to conduct a search for the best wineries, hotels and restaurants for a wine-producing area. It may take a couple of days for you to do the research to gather the information, but it will make your wine tour much more enjoyable and it may open up some new possibilities for different wineries to visit. Through web research and a few phone calls you will be able to have enough information to plan and schedule your wine tasting vacation. It will also be helpful beforehand for you to study wines (oenology) and to read the section below, "Wine Tasting Recommendations."

If you are thinking about doing a wine tasting vacation, you probably already have an idea of where you want to go. Do a web search to investigate the travel routes to take, hotels and restaurants available, and the wineries of the area. One of the best sites on the web for deciding on good hotels, restaurants and wineries is TripAdvisor, a service that depends on the reviews of people who have been at these places. Other resources that may be useful are:

1. Local Chambers of Commerce,
2. Wine Trail Websites.
3. Visitor's Centers, and
4. Tourism Bureaus

From these sources you should get an area map and lots of information about the wineries. You should then be able to make an informed decision about where to stay, eat and what are the best wineries to visit.

Here are some tips regarding scheduling that will make your wine tasting vacation more rewarding:

1. Not all wineries have an open tasting room. Sometimes you have to make an appointment for a tour and tasting, so it is important to verify that and the hours that the winery is open for tastings and tours.
2. If you decide to start at around 10 AM, do not schedule more than two winery visits before your mid-day meal. Eating a good lunch is important.
3. Limit the total wineries visited to no more than 5 so that you can truly experience the wine tasting and wineries on your tour. Plan about 45 minutes to an hour for each winery.

Bringing these items with you on your tour is advised:

1. Cash - Some wineries have a minimum amount of purchase with credit cards. If you want to do a limited amount of tasting, having cash on hand is nice.
2. Sweater - It can keep you warm in the 55 degree F cellar.
3. Large Cooler - Put your lunch in it, ice or ice packs, water, snacks that you like (things you can snack on between wineries). You can put the wines in it that you buy - it is a better place than the trunk if the outside temperatures are warm.
4. A Wine Tasting Journal - Many of the bookstores carry these. If you can't find one, buy one online. It will help you remember important things about the wines you buy or will buy in the future.

1. Wine tasting doesn't involve swallowing. You do not have to swallow wines you do not enjoy. You may pour out the remaining amount in your wine glass in the dump bucket. If you spit out what is in your mouth, be sure you have your technique down so you can hit the bucket.
2. You don't have to buy or taste any wine you do not enjoy. Feel free to say, "It's not my kind of wine." or "It's not for me."
3. First look at the wine and do an assessment, then smell it and finally taste it. If you like the wine, record in your wine journal its characteristics and ask the wine expert(s) at the winery salient information regarding wine pairing, if the wine improves with age, recommended opening dates if it does improve with age, and general information on the bottle.
4. Have a snack between wineries to clear your palate and get ready for the next winery experience.