The Best Way to Use Wine Enthusiast’s New Tasting Room Directory

Wine tourism has seen significant growth in the past few years, with increased demand for authentic, local, eco-friendly, and nature-based experiences. As a result, more wineries are embracing wine tourism and opening their doors to visitors. According to the recently released Annual Global Wine Tourism Report 2025, two-thirds of the 1,300 wineries surveyed viewed wine tourism as important or very important. For many of them, it is a significant percentage of their revenue.

But how do consumers find out which wineries welcome visitors and what kind of tastings are offered? I can tell you from personal experience that it takes a lot of research to plan a visit, whether you’re mapping out a multi-day trip to a new wine region or simply looking to spend a pleasant afternoon at a tasting room nearby.  

So I was pleased to learn that Wine Enthusiast Companies, the publisher of the venerable magazine Wine Enthusiast, has launched a new travel division featuring a searchable winery tasting room directory. It’s both practical and consumer-oriented. It also includes additional resources, such as ratings and reviews from Wine Enthusiast’s tasting panel for a quick snapshot of each winery, user-friendly incorporated Google maps, access to travel-related articles, and an easy booking process to make tasting room reservations.  

The directory currently includes wineries around the United States and in nine other countries, including Spain, Canada, and Australia.

Wine With Our Family recently had the opportunity to interview Jacqueline Strum, President and Publisher of Wine Enthusiast Media, to learn more about this new initiative and the best way to use this new tasting room directory.  

Wine With Our Family: Why did Wine Enthusiast decide to create this directory?

Jacqueline Strum: There are an innumerable number of tools when searching for hotels, restaurants, flights, and general travel. However, there are not as many resources for wine travel. Wine is already so complex, and not having a tool like the tasting room directory is another barrier to entry. We want to help people navigate wine country.

In addition, the tools that do exist were only focused on domestic travel, usually in one region. While California has built a booming business around wine tourism, we know that there’s a lot more wine tourism to discover in other parts of the United States and certainly other parts of the world.

WWOF: How does the directory differ from other existing resources?

JS: In addition to what I mentioned above about several resources focusing mostly on one region, they typically do not include reservation software like Tock, or in-depth overviews from our trusted editors. And they do not include a full database of credible Wine Enthusiast ratings and reviews. The Wine Enthusiast tasting panel blind tastes and scores 25,000 wines and spirits a year, making it the most trusted and prolific in the industry. All of these elements contribute to a well-calibrated offering of tools in our tasting room directory to help wine lovers make travel decisions.

WWOF: How do the wineries get listed?

JS: The tasting room directory is a dynamic new resource for wine tourism and offers a wealth of information on the wines and winemakers. When we launched this directory, Wine Enthusiast partnered with Tock and acquired tasting room listings from around the world. Since the launch, we have partnered with wineries to build out their listings with content. Either the winery sends us an inquiry or our media team reaches out to wineries. They pay a small annual fee to enrich the experience for visitors.

Each partnered page includes one cover image, five additional images of the property, winery location and details, Tock or preferred reservation link, map and locator information, editorial copy about the winery, direct-to-consumer sales offerings, and relevant wine scores from our buying guide.

WWOF: How many wineries are listed?

JS: We currently have 1,600 wineries listed in the directory, and it’s growing every day.

WWOF: Does the directory focus on particular regions/countries?

JS: The Wine Enthusiast tasting room directory is region-agnostic, meaning we want it to be the go-to resource for anywhere in the world that features wine tourism. There was real white space around international wine travel. We’re often asked by our peers where to go in Tuscany or Bordeaux, for example, and there was nowhere to direct them!

WWOF: Is it for Wine Enthusiast subscribers only, or do subscribers receive special perks/benefits?

JS: Anyone is welcome to use the tasting room directory. Making wine less opaque is a huge part of Wine Enthusiast’s core values, and this product speaks to that drive.

WWOF: Is there a cost for people to use the resource?

JS: There is no cost to use the directory. We strive to make our valuable information and resources as accessible as possible. Anyone can visit our website and start planning their next wine-tasting adventure.

WWOF: How can people get the most benefit from using it?

JS: I recommend narrowing in on one wine region and using the map tools to best navigate a future trip. The imagery, content, and scores add an immense amount of intel to every page. The scores tell you a lot of information, not only about the winery’s quality, but also about the style of wines they create. I would use that as a guide in addition to imagery and content to drive your decisions. You can book your reservation directly through the directory. It’s very convenient!

WWOF: Does the directory offer other resources or tools, such as tour guides and recommended wine trails?

JS: We are hoping to offer more tools of that nature in the future. At this time, we’re working on iterating and improving our initial product. As with any tech product, we have loads of features and iterations on the docket. Stay tuned for more exciting updates to come.

WWOF: Do you have any advice for our readers?

JS: Wine is made in all 50 states. I recommend trying some lesser-known regions across the country that may be right in your backyard. Most recently, we’ve been working with wineries in North Carolina, New York, and Pennsylvania. Wine is an inspiring beverage, and I would advise your readers to look for it in surprising places. 

We hope you enjoyed this interview with Jacqueline Strum and take advantage of the best way to use Wine Enthusiast’s new tasting room directory.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What resources have you used to determine which wineries to visit? Which were most helpful? We’d love to hear about it. Send us a message at info@winewithourfamily.com.

If you enjoyed this post, visit our website and some of our related articles:

How One Company is Using Wine Waste to Make Healthier Chocolate

6 New Ways Wineries May Change Their Tasting Rooms to Attract Visitors