Travellers with a thirst for holiday destinations where great-tasting wine is one of the key criteria will be fully satisfied with travel expert Expedia's new resource, which reveals the best sparkling wine countries in the world, with France topping the list.

From Italy to China and everywhere in between, Expedia has listed the planet's top wineries and vineyards across 15 countries, giving holidaymakers plenty of inspiration for wine-themed trips.

Expedia's data-backed interactive guide used five benchmarks - including how many wine-producing hectares a country has to how well regarded its wines are - to assign each country a maximum of 50 points.

France, a country well known for its wine production, was the stand-out winner with 43.4 points, some way above competitors Italy (second with 34.9 points) and Spain (third with 21.6 points).

The resource represents the major wine players, including the aforementioned big three and countries like the US, Chile and Argentina, but also smaller producers like Wales.

With top tips from experts, wineries and vineyards, things to see and do and help with itinerary planning, the guide is being described as the definitive resource for wine lovers.

"We wanted to create something engaging and genuinely useful for people who love wine and love travelling," says senior SEO project manager at Expedia, Patricia Hernanz.

"With wine-themed holidays offering a way to really get to know a country, we've listed some of the top wine estates and spoken to top sommeliers of some of the top restaurants around the world to develop our guide. We think it'll be a must-read for anyone with an interest in great wine."

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