A region most travellers couldn't place on a map has beaten Piedmont and Rioja-era heavyweights to the title of Europe's best wine destination for 2027. European Best Destinations assessed more than 90 wine territories across the continent and whittled them down to a top 12, weighing wine heritage, grape varieties, scenery, food, hospitality, sustainability and how easy each area is to actually visit. Štajerska in Slovenia came out on top, ahead of Italy's Langhe–Roero–Monferrato and Spain's Ribeira Sacra.
So why Slovenia? Štajerska stacks up wine history in a way few places can. Maribor is home to a vine over 450 years old, recognised as the oldest in the world, with wine cellars running beneath the city centre. Nearby Ptuj keeps Zlata trta, a 1917 vintage said to be Slovenia's oldest preserved wine, and Gornja Radgona is where the country's first sparkling wine was made back in 1852. Outside the towns, driving routes link family wineries and hillside villages, passing the famous heart-shaped road bend at Špičnik — one of the most photographed vineyard views in Europe. The Jeruzalem area's sunny slopes and cool nights suit white varieties like Šipon, while Haloze offers steeper, more demanding hillside plantings. Look out for klopotci, the wooden wind clappers traditionally used to scare birds off the grapes.
Italy appears four times in the ranking. Second-placed Langhe–Roero–Monferrato in Piedmont pairs Nebbiolo-based Barolo and Barbaresco with Barbera, Dolcetto and Moscato, plus a serious food scene built on local cheeses, hazelnuts and Alba's white truffles — autumn is the season to aim for. Chianti Rufina in fifth is a compact Tuscan zone northeast of Florence, where higher, cooler elevations shape Sangiovese wines, and farm stays (agriturismi) make it easy to combine tastings with a city break. Etna in Sicily and the alpine Valle d'Aosta round out Italy's entries. Spain's Ribeira Sacra, in third, is arguably the most dramatic of the lot: Mencía vines grow on narrow terraces carved into the Sil and Miño river canyons, with boat trips, hiking trails and ancient monasteries between cellar stops.
Austria has two entries. Kamptal, fourth, is known for Riesling and Grüner Veltliner, with the town of Langenlois as a base, vineyard trails and traditional Heurige wine taverns. The Wachau, eighth, needs little introduction to Danube river cruise fans. The list is completed by Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé and Saumur-Anjou in France, Portugal's Alentejo and Naoussa in Greece — seven countries in total.
The takeaway for anyone planning a wine trip in 2027: the familiar names aren't the whole story. Štajerska is affordable, uncrowded and within easy reach of Graz and Vienna, while Ribeira Sacra offers scenery that rivals anything in the Douro. If you want world-class wine before the crowds work it out, this ranking is a solid starting point.
