Willamette valley, Oregon, US
It was pinot noir that first put Oregon on the wine map at the 1979 “Wine Olympics,” a major event organised by French magazine Gault-Millau that featured 330 wines from 33 countries. The region has since grown a reputation for its pinot gris and riesling, too. Spin and sip through some of the best on the 205km Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway, which crosses Oregon’s agricultural heartland between the Coast and Cascade mountain ranges nearly all the way from Portland, in the north, to Eugene, in the south. This route is geared more towards serious bikers than tipple-in-the-saddle oenophiles, but promises a two-wheeled adventure from fields and farm stands to hopyards and vineyards.
Recommended route
Hire a bike in Portland at Cycle Portland (£20 a day) and catch Amtrak’s Cascades Train (which has dedicated bike space, one way from $21 with bike) down to the state capital of Salem, an easy access point from which to begin your trip south along the Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway. A memorable two-day journey will have you cycling 75km on day one to the small town of Corvallis, where you can overnight at a B&B like the Hanson Country Inn (doubles from £65), a 1928 Dutch Colonial home surrounded by landscaped gardens. Finish the remaining 85km the next day down to the hip college town of Eugene, where you can catch the train back to Portland (2.5 hours, from $28) and return your bike. Many valley viticulturists take a handcrafted approach to winemaking, and their devotion is evident at family-run operations along the bikeway such as Ankeny Vineyard (Salem), Springhill Cellars (Albany) and Tyee Wine Cellars (Corvallis). All offer walk-in tastings Friday to Sunday (from £3).
The Wachau valley, Austria
The Unesco-listed Wachau valley, in the north-eastern corner of the country, has medieval castles, Benedictine abbeys and endless stone-terraced vineyards, making it one of the most picturesque parts of the heavily trafficked 365km Danube Cycle Path. Visitors often come to this serene stretch between the historic towns of Melk and Krems on a day trip from Vienna, though it makes a fine beginning to a multi-day bike journey.
Recommended route
Take the train from Vienna to Melk, rent a bike with Nextbike (£6 a day), and set off for the 35km ride to Krems. A typical day commences with lunch at a traditional heurige (wine tavern) like Felsengartl in Emmersdorf before visits to vineyards such as Franz Hirtzberger in Spitz and Denk in Weissenkirchen (call to ensure they’re open as schedules vary). Sample the grüner veltliner – a food-friendly white grape – while staring out across one of the narrowest sections of the Danube. From Krems, take the Brandner or DDSG ferry back to Melk, return your bike and head to Vienna by train.
Clare valley, Australia
A 35km path known as the Riesling Trail follows the gentle contours of a former railway line through the pastoral heart of South Australia’s Clare valley. This well-marked route two hours north of the state capital of Adelaide not only has fantastic white wines, but also a number of storyboards alongside the track that help unravel the history of the landscape and the Ngadjuri people who have called it home for thousands of years.
Recommended route
Rent a bike at Riesling Trail Bike Hire (£20 a day), which is right along the cycleway in the tourist town of Clare. Then, set off on two wheels towards the small town of Auburn, taking in views of mixed farms and pristine bushland while quaffing the region’s award-winning rieslings at celebrated wineries, such as Grosset and Taylors Wines (which have built up reputations over more than three decades of winemaking). The round-trip journey to Auburn and back can take as little as four hours, but most cyclists spend an entire day connecting the dots from cellar door to cellar door.
Colchagua valley, Chile
Biking has emerged in recent years as a popular way to explore Chile’s most promising wine region: The Colchagua valley. Because of cumbersome reservation requirements at the vineyards, however, cycling trips are done almost exclusively through organised tours booked 2.5 hours to the north in the Chilean capital of Santiago. These tours traverse a dramatic landscape just beneath the towering Andes mountains, where Chilean cowboys in flat-brimmed chupalla hats and chequered ponchos roam through emerald green hills. Thought extinct for more than a century in its native Bordeaux, the Colchagua valley is now the best place in the world to sample wines made from the recently rediscovered carménère grape.
Recommended route
Upscape (formerly Santiago Adventures) is one of the best outfits offering multi-day bike and wine trips along the region’s dusty unpaved trails. All-inclusive getaways (from £1,230) begin and end in Santiago and include two nights at Colchagua Camp, a “glamping” resort with private domes and sweeping valley views. Those more passionate about the wine than the 136km of pedalling can use one of Upscape’s motorised e-bikes, which make travelling the hilly paths between internationally renowned wineries, such as Casa Silva, Mont Gras and Viña VIK, much more pleasant.
Loire valley, France
“La Loire à Vélo” is an 800km choose-your-own-adventure-style cycle trail through France’s Valley of the Kings that was developed in 1995 as an eco-friendly way to hop from chateau to chateau through the historic villages and undulating vineyards lining one of Europe’s last wild and unpredictable rivers (the Loire). Because most stages of La Loire à Vélo are less than 40km long, it’s possible for the intrepid tippler to split the trip up into multiple days or jump in and out of this Unesco-listed valley as they please.
Recommended route
Renting a bike from Detours de Loire (£11 a day) is one of the easiest ways to enjoy the valley at your own leisure because the company has a network of rental providers next to rail stations at 20 stops along the way. To tackle the entire Loire à Vélo, grab some wheels in the small commune of Cuffy (about 2.5 hours south of Paris by car) and return them at the Detours de Loire shop in the city of Saint-Nazaire along the Atlantic coast. The full route can take up to two weeks to complete at a leisurely pace, and cycling-loire.com has a great list of cycle-friendly accommodation options along the way, ranging from campsites to hostels or four-star hotels. One of the highlights of the journey is sampling the wide variety of wines, which run the gamut from crisp sauvignon blanc-heavy whites to smoky cabernet franc-heavy reds. Try your luck at high-profile vineyards along the cycle trail, including Clos de la Poussie in Sancerre and Domaine de l’Ecu in Muscadet.
Sonoma valley, California, US
The 9km West County Regional Trail links the picturesque Sonoma valley towns of Sebastopol and Forestville along a former railway line with a gentle grade and (mostly) paved surface. A ride along this easy bike path, 1.5 hours north of San Francisco by car, offers a homier (and much cheaper) alternative to the pomp and circumstance of nearby Napa valley.
Recommended route
Rent a bike at the Sebastopol Bike Center (£23 a day) and set off for an easy half-day loop of 18km to Forestville and back, calling in at boutique family-run wineries such as Taft Street (closer to Sebastopol) and Iron Horse (closer to Forestville), which specialise in pinot noir and chardonnay. There are also fantastic opportunities to buy gourmet goodies along the way, including homemade jams, preserves and dressings from Kozlowski Farms and baked goods straight out of a wood-fired oven at Nightingale Breads. Picnic opportunities abound as the trail wanders through the bucolic countryside between Graton and Forestville.
Coquimbito, Argentina
Coquimbito is a rural wine region in the shadow of the Andes about 20 minutes south of the city of Mendoza by public bus (171-173; £1). Its claim to fame is a new 12km ciclovia (bike path) alongside Urquiza Street that links nearly a dozen tourist-friendly bodegas (wineries) on an easily navigable and well-signposted path.
Recommended route
Hire your wheels from Mr Hugo Bikes (£6 a day), next to the police station in Coquimbito, and use the map provided as a guide to exploring the nearby vineyards, all of which are on the dusty cross streets that intersect the ciclovia up to 4km north and 8km south of Mr Hugo. Some of Argentina’s top producers, including Trapiche and La Rural, lie just off the cycle route and provide exceptionally affordable tastings (from £3) of their premium malbecs within some of the oldest stone-built wine estates in the Americas. Also found on the ciclovia are a number of ways to break up a long day of drinking, including a wine museum at Bodega La Rural, chocolate tastings at Historias and Sabores and olive oil tastings at farms such as Santa Augusta Olivicola Boutique.
Finger Lakes, New York, US
There are several fantastic bicycle routes around the spindly Finger Lakes of upstate New York, but the 70km circuit around Keuka Lake pairs a storied history of wine production (including America’s first bonded winery) with some of the region’s most dramatic scenery. It’s no wonder an increasing number of urbanites from New York City have made the 4.5-hour trek by car to Keuka for an active weekend of wine-cycling, returning Sunday night with as much dry riesling and peppery cabernet franc as their bike backpacks can carry.
Recommended route
Rent your bike from I Do That Tee’s (£20 a day) in the tourist town of Hammondsport and follow the Keuka Lake Wine Trail north as it skirts the glacial lake’s vine-clad slopes. Keuka is where the Finger Lakes’ wine industry first began, in the 1860s, and it remains home to the original pioneer, Pleasant Valley Wine (in Hammondsport), alongside more recent additions such as Heron Hill (closer to Urbana). The circuit to and from Hammondsport follows Keuka’s y-shaped perimeter past eight tasting rooms in total. You’ll also find several charming villages like Branchport and Penn Yan with lakefront dining, cottage-style accommodations and public beaches for a refreshing afternoon dip (try Red Jacket in Penn Yan).
Marlborough, New Zealand
The northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island is a paradise for active wine lovers who can cycle between 30 wineries scattered across rural, vine-lined roads. While grassy sauvignon blanc is Marlborough’s celebrated export, the wineries here are on a mission to convince tasters that the region’s rieslings and pinot noirs are just as world class. Judge for yourself as you follow the Marlborough Wine Trail from one complementary tasting to the next, snagging the best bottles to pair with the region’s succulent surf clams and endemic greenshell mussels (note: a few of the more internationally renowned wineries charge a tasting fee of up to £5; most others pour for free).
Recommended route
Marlborough doesn’t have a designated cycle path but there are as many two-wheelers as four-wheelers on New, Old, and Middle Renwick roads, which connect the agricultural hub of Blenheim with the smaller (and cuter) township of Renwick, 12km to the west. Rent from Bike 2 Wine (£15 a day) in Renwick, but pay the extra £4 and have the bike delivered to Blenheim so you can make the trip a meandering one-way journey. Start off going south from Blenheim towards New Renwick Road where you’ll encounter the outstanding boutique winery Lawson’s Dry Hills. Then, cycle west on New Renwick Road to explore more iconic brands such as Brancott Estate (turn on Brancott Road) or Cloudy Bay (head north to Jackson Road).
Cape Winelands, South Africa
French Huguenots settled the Franschhoek valley more than 300 years ago with vines in hand, and it remains at the heart of the South African wine industry to this day. This favoured sector of the Cape Winelands dishes up some lush scenery, with row upon row of gnarled vines as a foreground and the abrupt Groot Drakenstein Mountains as a backdrop. The historic town of Franschhoek also dishes up some mean cuisine and has a reputation as South Africa’s gastronomic capital. Its famed pinotage, an earthy cross between pinot noir and cinsault, pairs well with local dishes such as bobotie (curried meat) or braai (barbecued meat) and is a fixture at the growing collection of top-flight restaurants in town, such as Le Bon Vivant and Foliage.
Recommended route
Book an all-inclusive day trip to Franschhoek from nearby Cape Town with Bikes ’n’ Wines (£75) to secure access to private farm roads and exclusive tastings. Excursions begin and end at the expansive Franschhoek Cellars, with stops at chic wineries including Maison Estate and more historic properties like La Bri Estate, the oldest Huguenot-allocated farm in the Franschhoek valley. Several of the wineries along the 15km route offer tastings paired with biltong (a cured meat) or droëwors (a coriander and clove-spiced sausage), local delicacies you’re unlikely to find with wine anywhere else in the world.
