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Although predominantly associated with fine white wines such as Riesling and Gewurztraminer, Alsace also produces red wine from the Pinot Noir, the Burgundy grape.
Pinot Noir tends to flourish in the slightly cooler climes, which is why you’ll seldom find it in the Languedoc. It tends to be more of a dark rosé in colour, and cheap examples can be a bit thin - so it is not necessarily the best wine to come out of Alsace.
However, you can get a chance to try some out at the Pinot Noir Festival in Rodern (68 Haut Rhin, Alsace-Lorraine) 15/16 July 2006- see map. The village is on the Alsace Wine route - and even has a “rue du Pinot Noir”!
see www.alsace-route-des-vins.com

Yes the Official Tour de France is underway for 2006 - and unfortunately overshadowed by drug scandals and the withdrawal of most of the main contenders from last year. To be fair though, this is not a particularly French problem, but as the Tour de France is the biggest cycling event in the world, it does focus attention.
But then not everyone is keen on the Tour de France and the accompanying ballyhoo - the best thing to do is to follow it a few days later and enjoy some of the places the pass through in rather more peace and tranquility.
The Tour starts this year in Strasbourg, and on Sunday 2 July it passes through the northern part of the Alsace vineyard. Good cycling territory being quite hilly - and hence good for vines. Many of the villages are typically picture-book Alsatian - timber framed buildings with alpine roofs - really very attractive. The best wines tend to be a bit further south (around Riquewihr, Colmar) although Barr and Bergheim have some top producers. Our recommendation is Emile Boeckel at Mittelbergheim, just south of the Tour route.

The other Tour de France underway is the Tour de France à Voile - the sailing Tour de France which cast off in Dunkerque and will head for Saint-Quay Portrieux - Côtes d’Armor (Brittany) by the weekend of 8/9 July 2006 by way of Dieppe and Le Havre - for more info see www.tourvoile.fr

Most of the significant wine regions in France have a signposted “route du vin” (see the new wine route in the Cher departement for example), but probably one of the best is the ALSACE WINE ROUTE which runs from just south of Strasbourg (67 Bas-Rhiin, Alsace-Lorraine) southwards to the village of Thann (68 Haut-Rhin, Alsace-Lorraine) by way of all the major wine villages and towns (Obernai, Barr, Bergheim, Ribeauvillé, Riquewihr, Colmar, Pfaffenheim etc).
It is one of the best because a) the route is really pretty, offering copious choice of vineyards and attractive timber-clad village houses and b) it is well-signposted throughout its 170km ( over 100miles) length,
French signposting must be one of the dark arts designed to confuse and dumbfound the visitor - so often it all starts well, only for the signs to virtually disappear after a few kilmotres - they are either missing (through malice or oversight) or obscure placement. However, in Alsace, perhaps due to the Germanic element in their genes, things seem better organised and efficient. These routes are designed and managed by the local Syndicat des Vins, with winemakers contributing to the cost of the signage and other publicity. The local tourist office will have a map of the route with details of the vineyards and opening times for each winemaker. As a general rule look our for signs such as “Degustation” (tastings), “Vins Vrac et Détail” (Wines in bulk and retail) - almost all vineyards welcome visitors, and ask little more than for you to treat them and their wines with a little respect - there is no obligation to buy. In Alsace in particular you should not avoid the co-operative wine cellars - they often produce excellent wines, but the surroundings maybe a little less cosy than at individual growers.
Alsace also scores by extending the Wine Route idea with a series of vineyard walking trails - again well sign-posted and documented - so you can explore particular “terroirs” with a self-guided tour and get up close to the vines (except around harvest time). Most of the walks take about an hour - and there are also regular guided walks which will tell you more about the wines. For more info see www.vinsalsace.com
Particular recommendations for visits would be Mittelbergheim (Vins Boeckel), Ribeauvillé, Riquewihr (some of the very best producers such as Hugel) and Colmar with its canals,

When we started our wine business in 1987 we had less than a dozen wines on our list - but it did feature Alsace wines from Emile Boeckel in Mittelbergheim (67 Bas Rhin, Alsace) - a traditional independent winemaker who has made some stunning wines - see www.boeckel-alsace.com/

The main cellars run underneath the impossibly quaint house in the picturesque village north of Colmar. We enjoyed one of our first serious tastings on a cold wet March morning in 1988 and were generously entertained and educated by Emile himself.

I have always enjoyed Alsace wines - but they are notoriously difficult to sell in the UK - known in the trade as the “wine merchant’s wine”. Perhaps its the germanic bottle shape, names and gothic lettering which dissuades customers - but these are so different from the German wines just the other side of the Rhine river. They are dry and crisp for the most part, with an extraordinary depth of flavour. The Riesling is probably shown at its best in Alsace, with steely mineral character unmatched elsewhere.

Gewurztraminer is also an Alsace speciality - so very different from the Riesliing - perfumed, aromatic and spicy - a bit of an acquired taste but such a contrast to the normal run of Chardonnay and Sauvignon - excellent with spicy food - and also as a Vendange Tardive - a late harvest dessert wine with such intensity.

Alsace is also unique in France in allowing/requiring the grape variety to be on the label as part of the appellation - so you’ll find Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Tokay/Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc,Sylvaner, Muscat and Pinot Noir. There is also the “Edlezwicker” which is a blend of grape varieties - seldom very exciting.

Alsace also has its own Grand Cru - e.g. Boeckel has a Gewurztraminer Zotzenberg Grand Cru - which implies that the grapes come from a specified plot of land officially recognised as consistently producing top class wines - usually parts of well-drained hillsides with good aspect to the sun.

One wine we had great success with was the Crémant d’Alsace - a sparkling wine made from Pinot Blanc.

UK stockist for Boeckel wines is Sandhams Wine Merchants in Caistor, Lincs

However, one problem with Alsace wines is that other than Edelzwicker prices start quite high (usually about £5.99 for a decent bottle), despite the area having a large number of co-operative cellars - however this is one region where some of the best wines come from Co-operatives, e,g, Pfaffenheim

For more on Alsace wines see www.vinsalsace.com

The region is well worth visiting, despite being something off the beaten track for most of the rest of France - great landscapes, pretty villages, the Rhine Valley and the Vosges mountains - and plenty of vineyards to visit! Despite being relatively far north the region enjoys one of the highest numbers of sunny days in France!
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Alsace, as well as being one of France’s classic wine regions is also home to some major breweries - particularly in and around Strasbourg. Despite, or maybe because of their history, this confluence on French and German influences across the Rhine valley has cross-fertilised ideas and traditions. These tend to be light beers or lagers, which are refreshing but seldom very interesting - so the Beer Festival should be a great opportunity to see other styles of beer from the region.
On 6 May 2006 Illhausern celebrates its Beer Festival (see www.ribeauville-riquewihr.com
- close to some of the main Alsace vineyards north of Colmar, and also the location of a well-recommended restaurant - Auberge de l’Ill (The Ill being the river from which the village gets its name). The region is very pretty with picturesque villages of timbered houses interspersed with vineyards - the region gets a surprisingly high amount of annual sunshine, which is very important for the vines - and the whole area should be at its most attractive in early May.
Dorling Kindersley (DK)’s Eyewitness French Travel Guide provides really useful information and advice for the traveller in France -
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Andrew at www.spittoon.biz has unearthed a story about Alsace wine producer Paul Blanck at Kientzheim (68 Haut Rhin, Alsace), and his adoption of screwcaps rather than cork closures for his top of the range Grand Cru wines.
The story is interesting because Alsace generally has a reputation for being one of the less-adventurous wine regions in France - producing some excellent, if sometimes pricey wines - but an area which holds on to its tradtions with determination. Perhaps it has to do with the history of the region and having successively been French then German and then French again and again. Their retention of the germanic fluted bottle and in many cases germanic typefaces on labels does not help to distinguish their undeniably great wines from the often disappointing wines across the Rhine in Germany. It is also an area which is quite geographically isolated from most of the other main wine-producing regions of France - as you would discover if you visited. It is a truly beautiful area, with a surprising level of annual sunshine hours - plenty of quaint villages , impressive hillsides and superb wines.
Paul Blanck however has been brave and innovative, not least because his main market, which is France is generaly more resistant than the rest of the world to the loss of the cork. True, I enjoy the frisson of excitement that comes with pulling a cork - drama and expectation which is missing with the screwcap. But as Paul Blanck says “I have never seen wine improved by corks, but too often wine ruined by corks.”. Paul Blancks Alsace wines are available in the UK from Adnams and
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