Visit a Winery in Morocco: Villa Volubilia Is a Stop Worth Adding

Published on October 31, 2026 · Updated on October 31, 2026

A winery was about the last place I expected to visit on my first trip to Morocco. I am not particularly into wine, and since Morocco is a predominantly Muslim country where most people do not drink, it had not even occurred to me that there was a wine industry here.

But on our way toward Fes, our group stopped at Villa Volubilia, a winery near Meknès, for a vineyard tour, a tasting, and a long Moroccan lunch. And I loved it.

Not necessarily because of the wine, I will leave that verdict to people who know more about it than I do, but because it was such an interesting place to visit. The setting was beautiful, I learned a lot about something I knew nothing about, and the food was fantastic. If you are planning a trip through this part of Morocco, here is why I would suggest adding it to your itinerary.

Wait, Morocco makes wine?

This was my exact reaction. Morocco actually has a long winemaking history, going back to antiquity, and French involvement greatly expanded commercial production over the twentieth century. The countryside around Meknès is the heart of the industry today.

One thing that genuinely surprised me was learning that most Moroccan wine is consumed within Morocco rather than exported. I had assumed that if the country made wine at all, most of it would be shipped abroad, but it is very much a local industry.

A quick practical note, since people often ask: alcohol is legal in Morocco and served in licensed restaurants, hotels, and places like this. It is just more discreet than you might be used to, so it is polite to keep drinking low-key, especially outside tourist areas and during Ramadan.

About Villa Volubilia

Villa Volubilia sits in the countryside outside Meknès and is part of Domaine de la Zouina, within the Hauts Plateaux de Meknès, one of Morocco’s most respected wine appellations. The name is a tribute to Volubilis, the beautifully preserved Roman ruins in the wider region, which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

That link to the past is more than a name. The estate grows a range of grape varieties, many familiar from European winemaking, and the detail that stuck with me most was seeing wine aged in large clay pots, a nod to the old amphora winemaking traditions connected to Volubilis. I am no wine buff, and even I thought that was genuinely cool.

What to expect on a visit

A typical visit here rolls a few things into one relaxed half-day:

• A vineyard and cellar tour. This was the part I enjoyed most. Our guide walked us around the vines and through the whole production process, going into real detail about how they grow the grapes and make the wine, right down to those clay vessels. It was genuinely informative, and it is a working estate in a lovely setting, all rows of vines and open country, which made for a really easy, scenic couple of hours.
• A tasting. The travelers with me who know and love wine really enjoyed this part. I took a few sips and left the verdict to them. Considering they finished my glasses too, the wine must have been good.
• Lunch, and this is the part I can rave about. The food was fantastic. We had a long, leisurely Moroccan lunch at the estate, several courses with lots of different dishes to share, exactly the kind of slow, generous meal you hope for in the middle of a travel day. If you travel partly for the food, this stop earns its place on that alone.

How to visit Villa Volubilia

Villa Volubilia is in the countryside outside Meknès, near Boufekrane, around 20 minutes from the city by car and roughly 45 minutes from Fes.

The estate offers several experiences, from a short tasting to longer guided visits with lunch. At the time of writing, a one-hour tour and tasting starts at around €22, a two-hour premium tasting is about €30, and a tasting paired with chocolates is around €33. The full experience with lunch, which is what I did, is sold as a package priced by the size of your group rather than per person, so it works out better value the more of you there are.

Visits are by appointment only, so you need to book ahead rather than just turning up, and you can check the current options and prices on the Villa Volubilia website. I visited as part of a group tour, so it was all arranged for us. If you are traveling independently, I would organize a driver from Meknès or Fes, especially if you plan to taste the wine, and allow at least three hours plus travel time if you are booking the lunch.

Combine it with Meknès and Volubilis

If you are making the trip out here, I would build a proper day around it. Meknès is one of Morocco’s imperial cities, and the Roman ruins of Volubilis are among the most impressive archaeological sites in the country. You could spend the morning at Volubilis, stop for a tasting and lunch at the winery, and leave time for Meknès if your schedule allows.

Just know that these places are not all next door to each other, so you will want a car or driver to string them together comfortably. For me, this is exactly the kind of day that makes a longer Morocco road trip interesting, because you see a completely different side of the country rather than only moving between the big tourist stops.

Would I recommend visiting a winery in Morocco?

Absolutely, especially if you are already traveling through the Meknès region. I am still not much of a wine person, but I genuinely enjoyed learning about the winemaking, wandering the estate, and spending a few hours somewhere I would never have thought to go on my own. And I would happily go back for that lunch alone.

It is one of those unexpected stops that ended up being a nice add-on to the trip. You can see how we worked Villa Volubilia into our route in my 2-week Morocco itinerary.

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