Hotel Watch

Boutique Wine Hotels: Escapes for Oenophiles

By Elizabeth Harvey

These new boutique hotels are made for sipping something chilled on a lazy fall afternoon. Plus: They offer high design, family history and gourmet adventures aplenty. Cin-Cin!

The Tributary Hotel | Willamette Valley, Oregon

Joining the ranks of Meadowood in Napa Valley, Blackberry Farm in Tennessee and Hotel Zero George in Charleston, The Tributary opened in the summer of 2022 within a restored 100-year-old building in downtown McMinnville, in Oregon’s most acclaimed wine region (particularly celebrated for its Pinot Noir production). It contains eight rustic suites (each named for a different river within the Valley) and the restaurant ōkta, a hyper-local and seasonal, sustainably-sourced (often from its own farm) tasting experience from Matthew Lightner, of New York’s two-Michelin-starred Atera, and Shaun Kajiwara and Katie Jackson of Sonoma County’s Jackson Family Wines. (The entire operation is helmed by Christine Langelier, whose résumé includes stints at Eleven Madison Park and Blue Hill at Stone Barns). In addition to preferred reservations at ōkta, guests have access to the “secret” cellar lounge serving a robust list of nearly 200 producers, with a focus on the Willamette as well as international wineries.

Palacio de Samaniego | Rioja, Spain

Opened in 2021, just an hour from Bilbao, Palacio de Samaniego is the latest hotel from wine and hospitality royalty Edmond de Rothschild Heritage (whose significant holdings are localized within the Médoc and Saint-Émilion). With just nine rooms and suites within a restored 18th-century palace, the property offers an intimate, residential atmosphere—made lively by pops of color in the décor—along with a fine-dining Basque restaurant, gardens, a lap pool, and direct access to the villages of Samaniego and Laguardia, the Rothschild winery Macán, and the mouthwatering vintages of the surrounding seven valleys of Rioja Alavesa, a lesser-known but equally rich corner of the region.

Casa di Langa | Piedmont, Italy

To the delight of design lovers and oenophiles, Casa di Langa brought contemporary style to the ancient hills of northern Italy’s Piedmont region—which produces some of Italy’s most coveted wines, including Barolo and Barbaresco—when it opened in the spring of 2021. Casa di Langa has 39 current yet earthy rooms, a spa and wellness center, a wine academy and 42 hectares of land, where guests can immerse themselves in Piedmont’s culinary traditions, through such experiences as hunting for white truffles, exploring the vegetable garden and greenhouse and strolling through the property’s hazelnut groves and orchards. Those wishing to venture off-property can reserve a guided Vespa tour to access historic castles, UNESCO World Heritage sites and nearby vineyards. Plus: The hotel places a unique focus on sustainability, both in its winemaking and culinary practices as well as in the building itself.

SB Winemaker's House and Spa Suites | Mendoza, Argentina

Susana Balbo—the first woman in Argentina to graduate with a degree in enology (in 1981) and one of the country’s most successful female winemakers—opened a food-, wine- and wellness-focused boutique escape, with just seven suites, in partnership with her daughter, Ana, in the fall of 2022. In addition to the restaurant (offering chef’s table experiences with Flavia Amad Di Leo), tasting room, bar, pool and gardens, each suite is equipped with a private heated deck, fire pit and garden area, onto which a spa shower and soaking tub face; the sauna suites also have their own dry saunas, and all suites are designed for in-room treatments. A variety of tasting and pairing classes are available on property, along with wine, gastronomy and adventure activities throughout the foothills of the Andes.

Osborn House | Southern Highlands, Australia

The Southern Highlands is an upscale, bucolic region in Australia just a 90-minute drive from Sydney that is often compared to the Hamptons, but is more akin to Hudson Valley and Sonoma, or the Cotswolds. Designers and celebrities like Nicole Kidman keep homes there, and it’s heralded by locals as the under-the-radar luxury destination that’s only just coming onto the traveler’s map. You can enjoy the area's golf, horseback riding, hiking, antiquing, farm-to-table cuisine and, of course, wineries from the comfort of Osborn House, a chic boutique hotel that opened in 2022. The property overlooks Morton National Park (so keep an eye out for Roos at dusk), and it contains a historic main house—built in 1892 as the private residence of socialites George and Dinah Osborn—as well as freestanding, rustic one-bedroom cabins (for 22 unique accommodations total), a small spa and pool and three dining concepts (George’s, Dinah’s and The Green Door). The property was brought to life by Linda Boronkay, the original designer for Soho House—so lovers of texture, shape and color will be well fêted here. Additional highlights include the supremely comfortable, Frette-clad beds, the whimsical murals painted by artist-in-residence Jai Vasicek and the Fire Feast, an over-the-top Argentinian wood-burning answer to a British Sunday Roast, held for guests (with some open seats for locals) every week. Preparations by the predominantly Argentinian culinary team begin at 6:00 a.m. sharp, and the Mendoza rosé (and charred meats) flow freely from lunch into dinner.

Contact your Trip Designer or Indagare, if you are not yet a member, to start planning a wine-focused trip to one of these hotels and beyond. Our team can match you with the accommodations, reservations and activities that are right for you. Plus, explore our food-and-wine-focused Indagare small-group trips.

Plus: Travel this fall in style with this exclusive shopping edit from our partner Mytheresa. Explore all of our packing guides—for beach, ski, safari and more—here.

Published onOctober 11, 2023

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