TravelZIN

Based in Portland, Oregon, Michael Asimos (Mike) is one of the top exporter, importer and wholesaler of wine in the Pacific Northwest region. His strong passion for wine has led him to learn everything there is to learn about wine and the wine industry. Thanks to his vast knowledge of wine and great pallet, Mike can provide his customers with the best wines from around the world. In addition to his passion for wine, Mike loves to travel and listen to jazz music. In fact, Mike has visited some of the top wine destinations in the world. His favorite wine destinations include Santa Barbara, California and Europe. With that in mind, here are Michael (Mike) Asimos' top five summer 2018 wine destinations.

Maipo Valley, Chile

Located just south of Santiago, Maipo Valley is the birthplace of Chile's viticulture and winemaking industry, producing some of the country's finest and most famous wines such as the fruit-driven Cabernet Sauvignon. Because of this, it is one of the most important wine-producing regions in the country. Based on wine production activities, the Maipo Valley can be divided into three sub-regions. These sub-regions include Alto Maipo, Central Maipo, and Pacific Maipo. Out of these three regions, Pacific Maipo is the youngest wine-producing region, whereas Central Maipo is one of the oldest wine-producing regions in Chile. Wineries in Maipo Valley use a wide variety of red and white grapes to produce wine including Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Semillon, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Carmenére, Malbec, and Cabernet Franc.

With nine Appellation d'Origine Protégée (AoP) wine locations, including the Patrimonio region on the north coast, which was established in 1968 and received its AoC designation in the same year, the mountainous island of Corsica is an oenophile's paradise. What's more, Corsica has an island-wide Vin de Pays de l'Île de Beauté designation. The most common types of grapes used to make wine in Corsica include traditional grapes such as Nielluccio (red wine), Nielluccio (white wine), and the red Sciacarello, which is unique to the island.

Located in the southern part of Portugal, the Alentejo wine-producing area covers nearly a third of the country's total land area. This vast region is sub-categorized into eight wine-producing sub-regions including Borba, Redondo, Portalegre, Vidigueira, Granja-Amareleja, Reguengos, and Evora. With a region-wide Vinho Regional designation Alentejano VR, which is like the French vin de pays, wineries in this region produce fine wines from a wide variety of grapes including Alicante Bouschet, Abundante, Alfrocheiro Preto, Arinto, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Rabo de Ovelha. In addition to the region-wide Alentejano VR designation, some regions have the higher Denominação de Origem Controlada (DoC) designation.

With summer temperatures ranging anywhere from 35 °C to 40 °C this is literally one of the hottest wine-producing regions in the world. All the major wine producers here including McWilliams, Stonehurst, and McGuigan make wine from a dark-skinned grape called Shiraz, which does well in this harsh environment.

This wine-producing region is home to nine indigenous grape varieties, including the famous Assyrtiko. To protect grapes from the winds that blow in the winter, vineyards in this area twist young vines to form a wreath around the grapes.

To learn more about the top wine destinations in the world or wine in general, subscribe to Mike Asimos' blog (michaelasimos.com) and follow him on social media including Facebook, and Twitter.