7 Emerging Culinary Destinations to Visit Now

While Lisbon continues to climb travelers' bucket lists, a rustic escape to Douro Valley offers a way to see oh-so-trendy Portugal while surrounded by mountains instead of tourists. 

The Rota do Vinho do Porto, or the Port Wine Route, is a scenic journey through time that appeals to gastronomes, history buffs, and nature lovers alike. Take a private tasting tour and visit the area's renowned wineries with a knowledgeable guide, or rent a car and tailor your trip to your taste buds' desires.

Book a stay at the Quinta do Vallado wine hotel, one of the oldest and most famous quintas (estates) in the Douro Valley. Sitting on a 70-acre vineyard, this property's stunning views may be enough to draw you in, but the generous wine tasting paired with a three-course dinner that exemplifies the local cuisine (guests rave about the roasted goat) will make you reluctant to leave. 

For a cozy, riverside meal in Porto's Old Town, stop at DOC Restaurante, where chef Rui Paula serves up carefully curated, multi-course menus (her seafood dishes are especially creative)—along with an extensive list of local wines.

For the tough-to-entertain foodie who seeks an eclectic fusion of flavors, Seoul is anything but tame. South Korea's capital is known for its eclectic street food, but its fine dining scene is also on the rise.

Among the most famous sit-down spots is Tosokchon Samgyetang, where the prized dish is its namesake—samgyetang—a nutty, slow-cooked spring chicken seasoned with ginseng. 

No visit to Seoul is complete without a taste of Buddhist-inspired, passed-down-for-generations Korean temple cuisine, and Michelin-starred Balwoo Gongyang does it well in an area suitably filled with shops selling traditional prayer beads, books, and relics. Diners can order from set menus, such as the "Awareness of the Mind" seven-course menu, and take part in a pre-meal chant in their private dining room.

Cocktail connoisseurs should head to no-menu bar Cobbler, where bartenders dream up bespoke cocktails based on an individual appraisal, or d.still, a surprisingly stylish bar in a hard-partying university district where drinks are expertly mixed with seasonal ingredients.  

Oft-overlooked Macedonia’s hearty, slow-cooked cuisine is at once comforting and exciting, blending Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors and using natural, additive-free ingredients.

While everyone else visits coastal Croatia or Montenegro, head to Macedonia's capital city of Skopje, where meal time is a sacred time to sit, enjoy, and bond with family and friends over rich stews. Dine on local dishes with Italian flair in the garden at Vodenica Mulino, or for a truly authentic meal, head to Skopski Merak, where you'll find locals digging into pastrmajlija, a typical bread pie, along with roasted beef and fresh salads.

Forza, with popular chef Vlatko Ognenovski at the helm and a chic wine bar feel, is the ideal spot to sample Balkan wines and snack on grilled meat and veggie dishes and high quality charcuterie. 

Though dining out is a relatively modern practice on the Indonesian island, Bali's cuisine has grown to inspire chefs from all over the world, incorporating locally grown spices into fresh seafood dishes and flavorful suckling pig.

Seminyak, one of the country’s southernmost regions, boasts a full roster of fine dining destinations to frequent between visits to its gorgeous beaches and tempting boutiques. 

With an emphasis on Southeast Asian flair, Sarong works with eco-friendly farmers to offer organic produce so diners can feel even more at ease while lounging in the plush sofas beneath stunning crystal chandeliers. This is one of the island’s hardest restaurants to get into, so make a reservation early.

For French-inspired fare in an ultra-glamorous setting, Metis Lounge offers private dining in its cellar. Try the crispy pork belly salad with a refreshing ginger-infused cocktail. 

Marlborough, New Zealand's flagship wine region, put the country on the international wine stage. Now, the country is also experiencing an explosion of microbreweries and craft beer. 

Queenstown, located in the heart of the region, puts a decadent spin on New Zealand cuisine. Stoneridge Estate features a seasonal menu served in an elevated dining room looking over the vineyard, with beautiful views across Lake Hayes to the mountains beyond. Private candlelit dinners can be arranged upon request.

And for when you need to cure that wine hangover, Queenstown knows its coffee and brunch. Get yourself an original flat white at Joe’s Garage and a traditional flaky minced meat pie at Fergbaker, and take it to go on your next adventure.

Upstate New York’s Finger Lakes region remains surprisingly quiet and serene for a burgeoning wine and food district. 

Book a stay at the romantic, French-inspired Mirbeau Inn & Spa, located in the charming, tree-lined town of Skaneateles. After taking advantage of its spa treatments and fitness classes, you can also take part in on-site cooking and baking classes using local, seasonal ingredients, whipping up tasty bites such as rhubarb sorbet. 

Spend the day visiting vineyards like Herman J. Wiemer, on the western slopes of Seneca Lake—a spot known for its Riesling—and sipping your favorite blends at an outdoor concert at Barnstormer Winery, a more recent addition to the area.

To continue your wine tour over dinner, visit Ravinous Kitchen at the Ravines Wine Center, where wine-centric, seasonal, locally sourced foods and ethically raised meats are procured from neighboring farms. Headed by Chef Scott Riesenberger, the restaurant hosts a 6 p.m. tour followed by a four-course meal among the vineyard’s barrels.

Franschhoek may be a small town in South Africa's Cape Winelands, but it's bursting with fine dining. 

Several new restaurants offer visitors a luxurious taste of South African cuisine, including The Test Kitchen, where award-winning, British-born chef Luke Dale Roberts cooks for just 40 people per night. The 21-course tasting menu is an experience in itself: guests have the first seven courses (all finger foods) in the dimly-lit Dark Room, and the remainder in the airier Light Room. Try Roberts' other eatery, The Pot Luck Club, for a spread of tapas overlooking Table Mountain. 

You can’t leave South Africa without a jaunt down to the Cape Winelands, where you can discover one of the longest wine trails in the world by private car or aboard the Franschhoek Wine Tram, which lets you hop on and off and partake in tastings, cellar tours, and lunches along the way.