Wine connoisseurs eager for exotic travel adventures should head "down under" and explore the booming wine country of Australia. It's the world's eighth largest wine producer, with total production of around 209 million gallons annually, so there's a wine for everyone. Not to mention, a luxury vacation touring Australia is perhaps the best way to experience the fine wines, fabulous food and beautiful countryside.

Australian Wineries
When visiting Australian wineries, you can tour both large corporate-owned and smaller boutique operations. And throughout Australia, wineries, maintain public wine tasting, rooms and invite visitors in to relax and sample the local wine and spirits. In fact, in the state of South Australia (where half of the country's wine is produced), there are more than 400 wineries within one hour of the city of Adelaide and many depend on those wine tasting or "cellar door" sales.

Wine Regions
In New South Wales, you can wine and dine your way through the Hunter Valley, one of Australia's oldest wine making regions, where the vineyards and Australian wineries are small, boutique operations run by owner operators. The grapes are picked by hand and wines largely hand made in small quantities that are of exceptional quality. In Victoria, you can miss a visit to the Yarra Valley, one of Australia's most promising wine regions featuring high-quality Riesling, Chardonnay, Shiraz, Cabernet and the country's best Pinot Noir. South Australia is home the Barossa Valley, the region that produces what are arguably Australia's finest wines. Just outside of Adelaide, you can also wine and dine in the Barossa Valley has both small boutique Australian wineriessuch as Kies Estate, Grant Burge, Rockford and Elderton, as well as larger well-known wineries including Yalumba, Penfolds, Orlando, Peter Lehmann and Richmond Grove.

Wine Varietals
Although the Australian Shiraz is the one varietal that defines the highest qualities of modern Australian wineries, many other grapes are grown and production is becoming increasing more sophisticated. Chardonnay is the dominant white varietal grown in South Australia and Western Australia, and Riesling is growing in popularity in the cool climates of the Barossa and Eden Valleys. After Shiraz, Cabernet is the second most planted grape, particularly in South Australia, while Pinot Noir is grown in concentrated areas of southern Victoria and Tasmania.