The Cape Winelands, De Zalze Winelands Golf Estate golf course

Ranked · 8 destinations · updated 2026

The Best Golf and Wine Destinations

Golf in the morning, a cellar in the afternoon. Few trips suit a mixed group of golfers and non golfers as well as a region where great courses sit among great vineyards. From the Cape Winelands to Napa, Bordeaux and Tuscany, here are the eight golf and wine destinations we rate most highly, ranked, with our verdict on each.

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By the GolfForKings editorial desk · How we rank · Last reviewed June 2026

Photograph: De Zalze Winelands Golf Estate, CREVO METAMEDIA, via Google

How we chose them

A golf and wine destination has to deliver on both counts. We looked for regions where the courses are genuinely worth travelling for and where the wine country around them is among the best in the world, close enough that a morning round and an afternoon tasting fit comfortably into the same day. The ideal is a mixed trip, where the golfers play and the rest of the party tours the cellars, and everyone meets for a long lunch. The eight here do that better than anywhere.

Every fact, from course designers to wine regions, was checked at the time of writing. The verdicts are ours, and the order reflects our editors' view rather than any single published list, so reasonable people will reorder it. We name the signature courses, but these are destination trips built as much around the table as the tee. If you want one planned and costed to the head, golf, stays, transfers and tastings included, that is exactly what our concierge does.

The ranking

The Cape Winelands, South Africa

Stellenbosch and Franschhoek · De Zalze by Peter Matkovich

Our number one, and the most complete golf and wine destination on earth. Around Stellenbosch and Franschhoek sit more than two hundred wine estates, some dating to the seventeenth century, and a course like De Zalze, a Peter Matkovich design laid out on a working wine estate. Add Pearl Valley nearby, world class food, dramatic mountain scenery and favourable pricing, and you have a destination that satisfies golfers and oenophiles in equal measure. It also pairs naturally with a safari. Unbeatable value and variety.

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Napa and Sonoma, United States

California · Silverado by Robert Trent Jones Jr

America's wine country and a serious golf destination too. Napa alone holds more than four hundred wineries, and the Silverado Resort, with two Robert Trent Jones Jr courses, has long hosted a PGA Tour event, alongside other options such as Chardonnay and Eagle Vines. The combination of cabernet country, farm to table dining and resort golf an hour from San Francisco is hard to beat. Premium pricing, but for a couple or a group that loves big reds and good golf, it is close to ideal. A bucket list pairing.

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Bordeaux, France

Golf du Medoc, Chateaux course by Bill Coore, 1989

The world's most famous wine region, and now with golf to match. Just north of the city, the Chateaux course at Golf du Medoc, a Bill Coore design from 1989 recently taken on by the Cabot group, runs among the vines of the Medoc, one of the most admired layouts in France. Pair a round with cellar visits to the grand chateaux of Pauillac and Saint Emilion and dinners in Bordeaux itself, and you have an unimprovable golf and wine week. Refined, historic and very French. A connoisseur's choice.

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Tuscany, Italy

Argentario by Mezzacane and Dassu · Chianti and Brunello country

Golf among the cypress and the Sangiovese. Tuscany pairs the rolling vineyards of Chianti, Montalcino and the Maremma with courses such as Argentario, a 2006 design by David Mezzacane and Baldovino Dassu on the Monte Argentario promontory, and the Tom Weiskopf course at the Castiglion del Bosco estate in Brunello country. Add hilltop towns, extraordinary food and the wines of Italy at their best, and it is the most romantic golf and wine destination in Europe. Slow, sumptuous and unforgettable.

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Hawke's Bay, New Zealand

Cape Kidnappers by Tom Doak · New Zealand wine country

A rare combination of a top ten world course and a celebrated wine region. Hawke's Bay, on the east coast of the North Island, is home to Cape Kidnappers, Tom Doak's clifftop masterpiece, and to some of New Zealand's finest vineyards, known especially for syrah and chardonnay around Hastings and Napier. Play one of the great modern courses in the morning and tour the cellar doors in the afternoon. Remote and special, it is the southern hemisphere's premier golf and wine pairing. A trip of a lifetime.

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Mendoza, Argentina

Algodon Wine Estates · Malbec country under the Andes

Malbec, the Andes and golf in the high desert. Mendoza is the heart of Argentine wine, and estates such as Algodon Wine Estates pair their own vineyards with a golf course beneath the snow capped Andes. The region's bodegas, asados and big reds make for memorable afternoons, and the dry, sunny climate suits golf for much of the year. Less developed for golf than the others on this list, but for a wine lover who also plays, the setting and the value are extraordinary. An adventurous, rewarding choice.

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Margaret River, Australia

Western Australia · surf, cellars and coastal golf

Australia's most glamorous wine region, three hours south of Perth, where premium cabernet and chardonnay estates sit between tall forest and a wild surf coast. The golf is relaxed and scenic rather than championship, with courses around the region and the renowned layouts of Perth a drive away, but the appeal is the whole package, world class cellar doors, beaches and food. For a mixed trip of golf, wine and coast in a stunning corner of Australia, it is a delight. Easygoing and beautiful.

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The Douro Valley, Portugal

port country · pair with Porto and the north

The terraced vineyards of the Douro, where port and increasingly fine table wines are made along one of the most beautiful river valleys in Europe, a UNESCO World Heritage landscape. Golf in the valley itself is limited, so the trip works best paired with the courses around Porto and the Portuguese north, or with a river cruise and quinta stays. For a wine lover who plays a little, the scenery, the port lodges and the food make it a memorable and distinctive break. Spectacular and underrated.

Plan a Douro trip

Course designers and wine regions verified June 2026. Cellar access, tastings and tee times vary by estate and season, and harvest is the busiest time. Always confirm golf access and winery bookings directly before travelling. Check estate and hotel availability.

Plan a golf and wine trip

Tell us which region tempts you and roughly when, and how many of the party play. One concierge arranges the courses, the cellar visits, the stays and the transfers and costs the trip to the head, with no obligation.

Golf and wine questions

What is the best golf and wine destination in the world?

The Cape Winelands of South Africa, centred on Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, are our pick, combining a course like De Zalze, set on a working wine estate, with more than two hundred producers, superb food and value pricing. Napa and Sonoma in California and Bordeaux in France run it close. The best choice depends on the wines you love and where you fly from. Reasonable people will reorder the list.

Can you play golf on a wine estate?

Yes, in several of these regions the course sits within or beside the vineyards. De Zalze in Stellenbosch is built on a wine estate, Argentario in Tuscany and Algodon in Mendoza are surrounded by their own vines, and the Bordeaux courses sit among the chateaux. Tastings, cellar tours and estate dining are usually a short walk or drive from the first tee, which is the whole appeal of a golf and wine trip.

When is the best time for a golf and wine trip?

Harvest season is the most atmospheric, though the wineries are busiest then. In the northern regions, Napa, Bordeaux and Tuscany, that means September and October, with spring also lovely and quieter. In the southern regions, the Cape Winelands, Hawke's Bay, Mendoza and Margaret River, harvest falls around February to April. Shoulder season usually offers the best mix of weather, golf and available tastings.

Are these trips good for non golfers?

Very. A golf and wine destination is the ideal mixed trip, the golfers play in the morning and everyone meets for tastings, long lunches and cellar tours in the afternoon. The Cape Winelands, Tuscany and Napa in particular are world class holiday destinations in their own right, with food, scenery and culture to fill the days of anyone who never picks up a club. It is the most companion friendly golf trip there is.

The Tee Sheet

Golf and wine pairings, harvest seasons and where to base. Every other week.

Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course designers and wine regions verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.