But the latest extraordinary place to stay, opened last year, is Six Senses resort in Lamego (from $577 during high season; suites $1,386). Blue and white azulejos (tiles) and cork ceilings echo the region’s aesthetic. Besides the requisite gorgeous pool, aerial yoga (it’s very complicated), and wellness spa, the staff can arrange private quinta visits and a day picking grapes and crushing them by foot in a traditional square stone trough called a lagare. Prepare for purple feet.
For the Adventurer: Franschhoek, South Africa
The Cape Wine Country is a tapestry of lush green vineyards, craggy hills, 17th century white-washed Cape Dutch farmhouses, and sleek, glamorous contemporary wineries. South Africa's stunning wines are still under the radar and deserve discovery.
Picturesque Franschhoek is east of better-known Stellenbosch and an hour from Cape Town. Its appeal is contrast—ringed by towering, dramatic mountains and nature preserves ideal for hiking, it’s also studded with 50 wineries, super-luxury places to stay, and shops and restaurants with French flair.
Settled by fleeing Huguenots, it now attracts such people as Sir Richard Branson, who bought wine farm (and hotel) Mont Rochelle two years ago, and Indian entrepreneur Analjit Singh, the founder of the local Leeu Collection boutique hotels, as well as new hot micro-brewery Tuk Tuk. Just-opened Leeu Estates (from $506, suites from $830) is set among sauvignon blanc vineyards with brick walkways and gardens and includes a winery, boutique hotel, and wellness spa; the Mullineux-Leeu wines are stellar.
Other fascinating wineries to visit are Allée Bleue, Chamonix, La Motte, Babylonstoren, Boschendal, Solms-Delta.