Bordeaux has some of the most incredible soil I’ve ever seen.
I love Piemonte, but Burgundy on a sunny day is quite something. There are so many beautiful regions: the hill of the Beaujolais, the steep slopes of Alsace or Northern Rhône (the Priorat pictures could have been taken in Cornas for example), the rugged landscape of the Languedoc…
Vineyards have this tendency to enhance the landscape so much.
Right now my vote goes to the Loire but I’m still looking 
If Cinque Terra counts as a region I’ll cast my vote accordingly.
Tom
It does and I’ll join you.
It is a tough call. Cinque Terre for being on the cliffs along the ocean (and the gorgeous villages), Lavaux because it was home for so many years, Piemonte because it is our part-time home (Italian wife), but for overall stunnning and beauty I have to go with the Valais.
Incredible seasons, near vertical stone terraced vineyards, the stunning color of the Rhone in the spring as the snow melts, a pedestrian path that stretches 65km (http://www.cheminduvignoble.ch/fr/chemin/) with the soaring Swiss Alps as a backdrop…
Andrew, that last photo appears to be an INFRARED shot unless a perfect ice storm left those trees like that.
Can’t argue with this statement.
Roberto, pulled this off one of the Valais sites as not at home where all my personal pics are stocked, but can assure you that this is not manipulated. I have lots of pictures like this and have personally seen the exact conditions on too many occasions to count; whether it be Lavaux, Verbier or the Valais.
Cool, it just reminded me of stuff like this:
Here you go Roberto. One of these days I will have to spend a couple of weekends organizing photos…which I have not done over the years.
Winelands, South Africa
I am not the photographer a lot of you are (those are magnificant) but don’t sleep on Alsace. Truly beautiful.
Italy does have so many gorgeous wine regions - but here’s another vote for CINQUE TERRE - the most beautiful wine region I have ever seen.
As far as the US is concerned - my vote is cast for the Finger Lakes region.
Re New Zealand, every time some winemaker from there is here showing me pictures, I always ask them why they plant on the flats when they have those gorgeous slopes and then show them picks of Valtellina and Germany.
The usual response is “but that would be too much work…”.
I think they could make even BETTER wines if they went up those hills.
Roberto, you are probably right. The problem with NZ vineyards is that we are so young we are only starting to learn about our terroir (it only took the Burgundians 800 years).
Some NZ vineyards are seeking hills, often with good Northern exposure sun. Felton Road and Mt Difficulty are elevated above Lake Dunstan. Mike Eaton of Terravin in Marlborough seeks hills. His home vineyard is on a small but steep hill, from which he even manages to ripen Cabernet Sauvignon (some achievement in temperate Marlborough). Below is a photo of his Hillside vineyard from which he produces good pinot noir.
Thinking about hilly NZ vineyards reminded me of Te Whau in Waiheke Island.
Last spring I had a bit of an epiphany moment staying at a friend’s place on the Island. I was out on their deck over the bay on a warm spring evening with a glass of wine in my hand. At around 8.00 pm the last rays of the setting sun were falling on just one spot of the hill across the bay. I recognised the spot as the Te Whau vineyard and I immediately thought, ah, that’s why they are in that site …
Photos looking down from the Te Whau side:
