I am planning on spending several days in Strasbourg for the Christmas markets. I am considering hiring a guide for a day, primarily to get to Phalsbourg to visit a church with family significance, but also stop at a few wineries on the way back. I would prefer to not drive this myself for a variety of reasons, alcohol being one of them.
Any thoughts?
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Citizen of the World
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Individual wineries in France generally do not host visitors without pre-arranging a wine-tasting. It’s not like here in California where the winery will have a tasting room and sales room at the vineyard where visitors can simply drop in.
What is more common in Alsace-Lorraine is that a Wine Co-Operative of local vintners will offer tastings and bottles for sale of all the various wineries under one roof. There is a fantastic one in Ribeauville just outside the entrance to Ribeauville’s Old Town called CAVE DE RIBEAUVILLE. Ribeauville actually has the oldest wine co-operative in the Alsace-Lorraine and it was established in 1895. Dozens of local vintners’ wines can be tasted at the counter and the knowledgeable staff will ask you questions to discern what your taste preferences are and help you sample whatever seems to match your particular taste preference.
While there’s no pressure to buy, you can, of course, buy bottles directly from the cooperative at really reasonable prices.
It’s a great way to learn a lot about wine in a fun setting.
Ribeauville is about 35 miles from Strasbourg and can be reached by first taking the train to Selestat and then a taxi or bus the final 10 miles to Ribeauville.
Another Alsace wine co-operative is the “Cave de Turckheim” which is just five miles from Colmar’s train station.
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Ophorus continues to get good reviews on TripAdvisor. We took a small-group (6) tour in 2015, and had a great time. They also offer private tours.