Ugly Vineyards

I’ve learned recently that a complaint about visiting “wine country” in whatever region is the lifestyle quotient that is often attached to such experiences. It seems a truism that locales where wine is made are naturally beautiful. So, I was wondering where the least attractive wine regions are. That is, those places where quality wine is being produced but isn’t an otherwise lovely place, one that doesn’t lend itself to lifestyle tourism.

Thoughts?

Saw some ugly vineyards in Turkey.

Hmmm… I thought, perhaps, this was a new winery.

I saw some ugly stuffing in turkey.

Colares

This may be heresy to some but I didn’t think Burgundy was very beautiful. On the flip side (for me), Barolo and Mendoza are the most beautiful I’ve visited.

Ampuis isn´t a very beautiful Village - but the wine (Cote Rotie) is great.
There are also far nicer locations than Pernand-Vergelesses …
(meaning the villages, not the vineyards …)

BTW: most beautiful:
Barolo is really great, and I love Chateauneuf-du-Pape -
but Southern Styria (often called the Styrian Toscana)in Austria at the Slovenian is hard to match.

(dsisclaimer: I´m Styrian)

Lodi makes some pretty good wines, and while I wouldn’t call the vineyards ugly, it’s dead flat farmland and with not great weather. It’s definitely not high on the list for wine country living / tourism.

About fifteen years ago, rich in petrodollars, the ugly part of Patagonia was planted with thousands of acres of vineyards. Quality of the wines I tasted was incredibly poor.

I think it’s a stretch to call any vineyard areas “beautiful”, as they are nothing but rows and rows of vines, quite utilitarian looking and about as attractive as looking at the fruit tree crops in the Central Valley which are also planted row by numbifying row.
The most beautiful areas would be the ones most integrated with the land, and perhaps a bit wild with a variety of other activities taking place instead of the monoculture that grape growing produces.

I don’t find much of Washington State wine country all that visually appealing. Red Mountain is basically desert sagebrush scrub with vineyards coursing through it. Dry, brown…not ugly (and I personally love it in a not-necessarily-beautiful way since i grew up there), but not really pretty.

Having grown up in the Yakima Valley, I’d have to agree with you. Sagebrush, rattlesnakes, cotton-tails, less than 7 inches of rain p/year…a basic desert. But summer in Eastern
Washington is another story…hot, dry, desert heat…but irrigation brings bright, fecund life and long lingering evenings outside. And the quality, quantity, and amazing price of every type of vine-ripened fruit and vegetable makes it a veritable paradise.

I went to Willamette Valley the first time last year. My reference before that was Sonoma, Napa, and the Santa Cruz Mountains.

WV was beautiful in its own way, but definitely didn’t stack up to those areas of Cali. That said, for me it doesn’t need to. I’m not going for the views, I’m going for the wine.

I’m right there with you. All vineywards are essentially monoculture, so I always have that in the back of my mind when seeing this. Whats amazing to me is that in many european wine growing regions, they havent even saved the riparian areas.

I will not say ugly, but a good part of Champagne didn’t visually blow up my skirt. Love the wines and people though. I imagine West Texas and Western Colorado could make my list when I eventually visit the vineyards, but that is just speculation.

On the contrary, Piedmont and the Wachau Valley are at the top of my list for their beauty.

There is nothing pretty about the Mendoza region if you don’t count the Andes in the distant background. Of course you can see them from anywhere in Mendoza. Some great wineries to visit in Maipu, Lujan, and Uco.

Not a region, but Evangelgo Vineyards ranks up there. Cinque Terre is a pretty beautiful setting
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I generally agree with that. Native Oregonian and visit there somewhat frequently, so would be inclined to get offended, but I find Napa and Sonoma to be more visually striking.

But even more beautiful than Napa/Sonoma is the Douro Valley.

There are many areas of inland Mendocino county that are edgy. Calpella and Redwood Valley have some great old vine vineyards, but right next door could be a single wide mobile home with junked cars all around. Potter Valley has some great sights but there are both legal and covert pot gardens everywhere. Pit bulls are used to protect the cannabis…fun! I’ve had lots of visitors from out of the area shocked at the homeless and poverty of inland Mendo.

My previous comments aside, river valleys are nice, and make a spectacular backdrop especially if the valley is steep, like the ones in Germany & Austria, Spain (Ribera Sacra) and the Douro, as are ones with an ocean backdrop like Madeira or Santorini.