The Alsace Wine Route
The Alsace region of France is well known for its wine and fairytale villages. The pretty little towns dotted between vineyards and rolling country hills look like they came straight out of a Disney movie. The vibrant colours of the buildings and charming Easter decorations made these little villages extremely photogenic.
Culturally, it's a fascinating area, since it was German between 1871 and 1918 and again from 1940 to 1945. In fact, our Airbnb host told us his grandfather had been classed as German multiple times in his life and was a German soldier in the first world war. The German influences are evident in the architecture and food, which centres on items like sauerkraut, pork and sausage. There's even some debate over whether or not the pretzel originated in this region! We enjoyed sampling the local food, particulary the tarte flambée which was much nicer than we expected. The tarte flambée has a base similar to pizza but for a topping it, traditionally, has cream, bacon and onion. Rob tried the traditional one and I had a vegan version which was equally as yummy! We ate at Le Petit Tanneur in Colmar and would definitely recommend going here for the famous tarte flambée.
The Marche couvert Colmar is also an essential stopping point for all the foodies out there. Full of fresh food and local produce, it isn't to be missed. From oriental food, to fresh fruits and vegetables and homemade pies, there really is something for everyone. There was even a cafe with a terrace overlooking the canal which was a lovely place to while away a couple of hours, people watching with a café au lait and a pain au chocolat. There are also 31 Michelin starred restaurants in the Alsace region if you're feeling fancy.
Nobody can deny, though, that the main attraction here is the region's abundant wine production. Alsace is a haven for white wine with 8 authorised white grape varieties- Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Muscat, Sylvaner, Gewürztraminer, Chasselas, Auxerrois. It is home to 51 Grand Crus, a term saved for the very best wines. Not only are the wines some of the very best around, the winemakers are also some of the nicest people you will meet. They are very welcoming and keen to tell you all about their wine production. Over the three days we spent in Alsace, we visited 4 of these wineries. Whilst we intended to visit more, you actually drink a surprising amount of wine at the tastings and I am quite the lightweight!
The first winery we visited was Vins d'Alsace Mosbach. This was an old, family run winery in the town of Molsheim. The man we met with was, in fact, Monsieur Mosbach and he was very knowledgable in wine production. Mosbach was the only winery we visited that was not free, unless we bought over 25 euro worth of wine. Otherwise, it costs 6 euro per person which was definitely reasonable given the amount of wine we sampled! This was amongst the best wine we have tasted. Each glass was so full of perfectly balanced flavour. It was a wonderful experience that ended with a tour of the factory. We saw the wine barrels, some of which were over 100 years old and contained anywhere between 3000 and 8000 litres of wine!
The following day, we had a tasting at Vins d'Alsace Hubert Krick. This was slightly different as we didn't have a tour of the winery but we received a lot of interesting information about the wines of Alsace. The winemaker told us about the different rules that regulate the names of wine. Champagne can only be called Champagne if it comes from the region of Champagne in France! Who knew?! Otherwise, the beverage is called Cremant. Cremant is more or less the same drink but as it is made with different grapes and comes from different regions in Europe, it is called Cremant. The European Union oversees a lot of different rules surrounding wine production. We also discussed the threat that global warming poses to wine production. It is possible that the UK will become a stronger wine producing country in the future as global temperatures rise and France will no longer have the wine producing conditions it currently has.
Outside of the fabulous wine, biking the wine route really is a must when visiting Alsace. The route itself is easy as it is mostly flat and is away from the road and danger of cars! It winds along through the vineyards and links the different villages along the way. It was a relaxing way of getting to and from the fairytale towns. Although, be careful of drinking too much! You can get a DUI if found to be intoxicated while riding a bike!
We had a marvellous time in Alsace, exploring the not-so-French not-so-German culture. We found the people to be very kind and welcoming, the food delicious and the scenery beautiful! It is also a relatively inexpensive area. Although there are some pricey Michelin restaurants, it's also absolutely possible to dine out and sample the wines on a budget. 3 out of 4 of the wine tastings we did were free. A trip to Alsace should be a bucket list item for all the wine lovers and foodies out there.