Route des Vins

This June, we stayed in Colmar and took a full day tour with Ophorus tours. It was a great way to visit four wineries plus a couple other stops without worrying about drinking and driving. The tour guide was excellent, we only had 6 including us (they max at 8 people). The meeting point was very centrally located so you could walk there if you stayed near the center of Colmar. I was not able to make heads or tails of the bus system, and there is no train outside of the Colmar-Strasbourg route. I really enjoyed Comar, too.

Very little. This is not a main road, it is a collection of local roads linking the wine villages. The wine villages are all along the lower slopes of the hills, on one side the plain, behind and above the villages are the Vosges mountains. The towns (Strasbourg, Sélestat, Colmar, Mulhouse) are all on the plain below, and that is where the railway and the main road (autoroute A35) runs.
The limited bus services all run to the towns on the plain. The inter-village roads all wind up and down through the vineyards in the foothills.
Very picturesque but you need a car.

See map here: https://www.tourisme-alsace.com/medias/pdf/brochures/alsace-vineyard-cycleroute-2013.pdf

Colmar is a good base as it is a very pretty town. Strasbourg is a big city, not good for driving into or out of.
Do not attempt to do the whole route, at least not in one day. The villages are where you want to stop and dawdle. For example Ribeauvillé, Riquewihr, Kaysersberg, all near Colmar.

Another stop is the castle of Haut-Kœnigsbourg, above Sélestat. This does have a shuttle bus. Website: http://www.haut-koenigsbourg.fr/en/

Yeah, to add to what Chris said, it's difficult to see anything outside of whatever town you choose to stay in without a car. We did the wine tour but liked Riquewihr so much we drove back up there the next day. We also stayed in a B&B outside town, not right in Colmar. Unless you just go to do the wine tour and things right in Colmar, you'll probably want to have a car.

We took the train into Colmar, then taxi to our amazing apartment overlooking the main road in Riquewihr. Spent 4 nights there. We did not have a car. We walked to Ribeauville and rented a bike (there were no bike rentals available in Riquewihr). We spent 2 days picnicking, stopping at cafes, and exploring by bike the wine trails in the nearby area - Zellerville, Hunawihr, and of course Ribeauville and Riquewihr. We turned in our bike, then the next day we took the bus back to Colmar and continued our vacation...It can be done!

@ Joan: I'm tired just thinking about it. LOL

Thanks to everyone for the feeback. I have a much better idea of the area geography.

I had a car, but there are good bus links between Colmar and the villages. I think you'll have the most options by staying in Colmar rather than one of the villages, but I could be wrong, not having done it. The train only reaches Colmar and Strasbourg. Both cities are worth spending time in.

My wife and I spent a week in Riquewihr w/o a car and visited many villages and wineries, plus Colmar. A lot of it was done by foot, but we also took buses. For example, one morning we walked to a couple of villages, then to Ribeauville, visited a winery and had lunch there, then took a bus back to Riquewihr. We've also stayed on the Route des Vins with a car. I'm not sure whether I'd say one was better than the other; just different

Rick's book talks about the possibility of staying in Colmar and using a bike. Having been there, I'd say your options and range are severely limited with a bike. You won't see nearly as much but it might be a really pleasant way to spend a day. If you choose that route, try to reserve an electric bike to help with the uphill portions of your ride. An ebike will extend your range quite a bit.

Another way to go would be to stay in Beaune and cycle from town to town.
The Vineyard Way: Beaune to Santenay. The Vineyard Way is followed by a good towpath ride from Santenay along the Canal du Centre Greenway into Chalon-sur-Saône. At the end of the route you can load your rented bike on the train & head back to Beaune.

Cycling in Burgundy: http://www.freewheelingfrance.com/where-to-go/cycling-in-burgundy.html

Enjoy your trip.

Thanks for the additional feedback

I wouldn't recommend trying to visit the Alsatian villages by bike unless you are with a group. Roads are all 2-lane, not particularly wide and there are no shoulders. Outside the town limits, the speed limit is 80 kph.