Alsace wineries

I am afraid I have not yet driven the wine route - soon, though, once the weather is better! But I will say that when in Strasbourg be sure and visit the Hospital Wine Cellar. It's in this huge stunning ancient complex that still functions as a medical school, a short walk from the old town. For free you can go down into the old but still functioning wine cellar, with barrels that are hundreds of years old, and an actual bottle of wine from the 1400s complete with creepy skull (why? who knows?) The winemakers there take grapes from the area and produce their own labeled wine. Prices are reasonable, although they don't speak much English there and there's no tastings or anything like that as far as I could tell. As a general tip, try to familiarize yourself with German wine grapes/varietals before you go for a better understanding of what you're drinking. They may use typica French labeling with regard to locaton etc. the actual varietals are likely to be German and may be unfamiliar to you (ever heard of Sylvaner? Mueller-Thurgau? etc) and sometimes even well-known French varietals are listed in German ("Pinot Gris" becomes "Graubugender" for example). I'm still learning about German wines and it's all still rather confusing to me.

Thanks, Sarah. You have been helpful. I will do my studying this month.

I really enjoyed Louis Sipp in Ribeauville. The wines were very good and they were very warm and welcoming. Also, I loved Ribeauville. It was my favorite Alsacian town.

Thanks, Linda. I checked out the winery and made a reservation for a great looking hotel in Ribeauville. I can see why it is your favorite city in Alsace!

I think Riquewihr is the best of the towns. You really can't go more than a mile or two without running right over another winery or wine shop between Strasbourg and Colmar. Take your time driving along the route and stop wherever you like, it's a lovely drive. It's fun just to stop when you see someplace that interests you. Two good websites are: http://www.visit-alsace.com/home_ang.html and
http://www.tourisme-alsace.com/en/

Thanks, Kathy. I'll check out the websites.

Lois, Also, if you are at all interested, there is an awesome factory store for french linens in Ribeuaville. It's called Beauville, on route de Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines.

Linda and Marilyn, thank you for your suggestions. I'll check into them.

Lois, My favourite Pinot Gris comes from Charteau D'Orschwir, which is located at the southern end of the wine route.
I've never been there( I wish I could go ). I'm not sure if they conduct tours there( the websiite is unclear) but I reccommend drinking it while you are in the area! Marilyn

I agree with all the recommendations I see. Ribeauville and Riquewihr are great (as is the fabric shop in Ribeauville). For wine I'd add Cave de Beblenheim in Beblenheim, Jean Becker in Zellenberg, JB Adam in Ammerschwihr, and Cave de Turkheim in Turkheim.

Thanks, Robert. I'll add them to my list!

We have visited many wine regions in Europe and Alsace is a pure delight. The area is small, friendly, with easy driving and parking and the only problem being you want to buy more of the lovely and well priced wine than you can carry. We use Wine Spectator magazine as a good source. We stayed in Colmar and took a day trip on the train to Strasbourg. For everywhere else we drove. At Pierre Spaar we were very welcomed stopping after 13 tastes. Lucien Albrecht was a nice visit. Zinck in Eguisheim is a small winery with some great wines . We didn't make any appointments unlike in Bordeaux,France and Montalcino, Italy where appointments are more necessary. We did stop at Hugel, which we buy here, in Riquewihr for a disappointing visit. We used our RS book and Route des vins d'Alsace. Lucky you I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time and now remembering it I may have to start planning another visit back there as well.

Hi Karen, Thanks for all of your suggestions. We are really looking forward to our trip.

Robert's suggestions on wineries were great. The villages are all close together, Ribeauville, Riquewihr, Kaysersberg, all of them. If a village has a tourist center (like Turckheim) you will find a wonderful map in English and other languages of the Route du Vin that is very useful. Kaysersberg is worth a visit. If you continue towards the Vosges from Kaysersberg, you will come to a small village called LaPoutroie - well worth a visit to the Musee Eaux de Vie, where they sell the most incredible liquors. They also have a shop in Kayserberg, but you really should visit the Musee. Tastings are all free. Try Pain D'Espices - it won medals and is very popular at Christmas. The Beauville Linen outlet is wonderful, but in Riquewihr is also a shop that sells the linens at virtually the same price and they will mail them to the states for you so you don't have to pay the VAT tax. You may find it difficult at best to process any VAT refunds if you are flying home from Switzerland, they are not a EURO nation. No problem from France or Germany, but last time the Swiss refused to process for me. On a personal note Caves de Turckheim is wonderful. My daughter lives in Turckheim so I am biased. For a truly Alsatian stay, try Hotel des Deux Clefs as you would be only minutes away from everything. Strasbourg is great, but it's a 45 minute drive on a not so pretty highway. Have fun!