Aromatic, elegant wines, classic gastronomy and picturesque storybook villages
— Alsace has its own special style, both in terms of wines, food, and architecture. It’s hard not to fall in love with this wine district, where the picturesque villages are strung like a string of pearls along the route de vin. There are many grape varieties and many wine styles. Here, you can find everything from crunchy dry to the sweetest sweet. These wines go wonderfully well with the local cuisine. Like a riesling for choucrote, a gewurztraminer for munster, a pinot gris for foie gras.
Tour Highlights
- 4 nights
- Private tastings, approx. 10
- World famous Alsace gastronomy
- Focus on small wineries
- Price: [sample programme]
- Picturesque storybook villages
- Many grape varieties
- Organic and biodynamic producers
- Stay in beautiful Colmar
Please Note: This Is A Sample Programme
This is a sample programme, an example. Every wine and food tour that we organise is different and specially adapted for the season and the circumstances. Details in the programme, e.g. which producers we visit, will be different each time.
- This tour is sometimes available on our scheduled wine and food tour programme
- It can be designed specifically for you as a custom made private wine tour.
Next Wine Tour To Alsace
- This tour is currently not on our tour schedule. Contact us for information about future dates or to discuss a custom tour.
Alsace is located in the far north of France, but the Vosges protect it from rain, making it one of the rainiest wine regions in France.
It is a district that stands out from the crowd. You feel transported to another time when you stroll along cobbled streets lined with 400-year-old half-timbered houses.
When it comes to wine, they are different from the rest of France. The grape variety has always been put on the label, which just a few years ago was very un-French in the rest of the country.
The grapes are many and during the tour we get comprehensive and instructive tastings of all the great Alsatian grapes: riesling, pinot gris, gewurztraminer, muscat. There will certainly be some pinot noir on offer too; the red Alsace wines are getting better and better. The tastings in Alsace tend to be extensive, they have so much to show off.
The heart of Alsace is around Colmar, about 70 kilometres south of Strasbourg, and we will stay in Colmar during this tour. It is a beautiful city with its half-timbered houses, an abundance of geraniums, and many small canals. There are plenty of excellent restaurants. We can, for example, suggest where to eat the best tarte flambée (a genuine speciality: a kind of Alsatian super-thin pizza).
When it comes to food, we are offered many of the good things in life in Alsace, whether you are interested in straightforward food such as sauerkraut, which immediately sounds very delicious when you call it by its proper name, choucroute, charcuterie and good cheeses or delicacies such as foie gras. Our tour starts in May and at that time it is high season for another great delicacy, namely the white asparagus.
Strasbourg has been considered the capital of foie gras, or duck liver, ever since chef Jean-Pierre Clause created the puff pastry paté de foie gras de Strasbourg in 1760. During our gastronomic meals, you will have excellent opportunities to try how Alsatian food goes with the wines.
Alsace is a classic wine region, calm on the surface. But appearances are deceiving. There is a lot going on today. Is it really good to always put the grape variety on the label? Shouldn’t one emphasize the origin instead, because Alsace has an incredibly complex and varied soil that gives different styles to the wines? Are there vineyards where the location and the soil influence the character more than the grape? We can promise many interesting discussions with the wine producers.
You can easily get from Paris to Colmar with the TGV, the high-speed train. When that line was launched, it broke the world speed record for trains at 574.8 km/h (in regular service, it goes a little slower). It takes just under three hours from Paris Gare de l’Est or by train directly from Charles de Gaulle airport (then with a change in Strasbourg).
The tour is led by one of BKWine’s expert guides. The detailed program follows below.
Programme — Alsace wine tour
Preliminary programme.
Contact BKWine for more details.
Sample programme
This is a sample programme, an example. You can find the wine tours currently on the schedule here, or you can explore a custom designed wine tour by contacting us.
There may be changes to some details of the programme, e.g. which wineries we visit. We put great effort into making your visits both exceptional and memorable. For this reason we often visit other than the most obvious, big-name producers (where there are often a number of guides employed). Instead we chose to give you a more unique, personal experience at our carefully selected estates, often (but not always) meeting the owner or the winemaker.
Programme overview
- Day 1, Wednesday — Arrival in Colmar
- Day 2, Thursday — Dahlenheim, Barr, Ribeauvillé
- Day 3, Friday —Rouffach, Eguisheim och Orschwihr
- Day 4, Saturday — Pfaffenheim, Turckheim och Wettolsheim
- Day 5, Sunday — Heading back home
Wednesday, day 1 — Arrival in Colmar
Arrive in Colmar whenever you want during the day/evening and check in at our pleasant and personal hotel, which is very centrally located.
Our hotel is just a stone’s throw from the enchanting district of La Petite Venise, or Little Venice. This picturesque area, part of the ‘old town’, is crisscrossed by canals that once served as the heart of the city’s tanneries and textile dyers.
Today, you can ride in a gondola on the canals (although you might rather call them flat-bottomed boats) or stroll along the canals and old streets. There are plenty of beautiful, well-preserved half-timbered houses and lots of cafés and restaurants.
The evening is free to explore Colmar’s gastronomy and nightlife.
Thursday, day 2 — Dahlenheim, Barr, Ribeauvillé
Our bus picks us up in the morning at the hotel. We embark on a journey northward along the beautiful route de vin, passing through villages with unique charm, such as Riquewihr, Ribeauvillé, and Bergheim.
The whole of Alsace is dotted with picturesque and storybook-like villages. Some of which we get to know during our journey. We visit the dynamic Melanie Pfister at Domaine Mélanie Pfister in Dahlenheim, in the northern part of Alsace. Melanie is one of the new rising stars in Alsace. She looks after the family property of 10 hectares. Mélanie is the eighth generation of wine grower in the family. The 10 hectares are spread over 40 different locations.
We then retreat a little south again. We have lunch at a lovely estate in Barr. We start with a visit to the cellar and then various delicacies are laid out, both food and wine. The assortment includes, among other things, some fine grand cru Kirchberg de Barr and a full-bodied, oak-aged pinot noir
We then go to Ribeauvillé and the well-known and ambitious Domaine Louis Sipp. The property has been run organically for a few years now. We take a look at the vineyard with its luxuriant vines and the wine cellar, and we sample a selection of the estate’s many wines. From the tasting room, you have a view of the grand-cru vineyards.
Late in the afternoon, we are back at the hotel. The evening is free for relaxation.
Friday, day 3 — South of Colmar: Rouffach, Eguisheim and Orschwihr
Today, we travel south from Colmar. We travel along the famous route de vin d’Alsace, which is 170 km from north to south and passes 119 villages and more than 700 wine producers.
We start the day with a visit to Domaine René Muré in Rouffach, a 28-hectare estate known, among other things, for its Clos Saint-Landelin, a 12-hectare monopoly vineyard part of the famous Grand Cru Vorbourg. The house is today managed by Véronique Muré and her brother Thomas Muré, René’s child.
After our visit to Domaine René Muré, we enjoy a stroll through the narrow streets of Eguisheim, a village of great beauty. We then head to our lunch restaurant, nestled in the heart of the village, where a delightful menu featuring freshly harvested asparagus awaits.
The afternoon program includes the very interesting estate Domaine Valentin Zusslin in the village of Orschwihr. It is a much-talked-about and very respected family property that is now run by the siblings Jean-Paul and Marie Zusslin, who took over in 2016. Among other things, we will taste a very good, completely dry pinot gris, but also fantastic riesling, sylvaner, pinot noir, and more.
Late afternoon, we are back in Colmar and our hotel. The evening is free, maybe time for choucroute or tarte flambée?
Saturday, day 4 — Pfaffenheim, Turckheim och Wettolsheim
Our bus picks us up at the hotel for a day that will, among other things, be about organic and biodynamic wines. We will learn a lot about what this means for the work in the vineyard.
If you haven’t seen any storks yet, it’s time to look up today! The stork is becoming increasingly visible in Alsace, and there is also a research centre for its reintroduction into the wild. We start in Pfaffenheim, where several biodynamic producers are based. We visit one of them and learn about what this special way of working means in practice. There will be many characterful wines during the tasting.
Then, we will go to picturesque Turckheim for lunch. We will enjoy the meal at the Caveau du Vignerons, a small restaurant owned by the excellent Domaine Francois Baur. At lunch, we will get to know some of Baur’s organic wines, including some superb ones from the grand cru winery Brand.
In the afternoon, we visit Domaine Barmès-Buecher in Wettolsheim, a very interesting family estate that is also biodynamically certified. The family is very terroir-oriented, and on each bottle, it is indicated which vineyard the grapes come from: Hengst, Pfersigberg, Herrenweg, etc.
During our last visit, we take the opportunity to get answers to all remaining questions and then it’s time to go back to Colmar.
The evening is free for a final exploration of Colmar’s restaurants. Considering today’s theme, how about a visit to the wine bar that specializes in organic, biodynamic, and natural wines?
Sunday, day 5 — Heading back home
The tour ends after breakfast. Departure.
There may be changes to some details of the programme, e.g. which wineries we visit. We put great effort into making your visits both exceptional and memorable. For this reason we often visit other than the most obvious, big-name producers (where there are often a number of guides employed). Instead we chose to give you a more unique, personal experience at our carefully selected estates, often (but not always) meeting the owner or the winemaker.
Go For It!
We’d love to have you with us.
More travel information
Here are some useful pages and guides about this travel destination:
Even more info
We have written a lot about Alsace and about wine touring in the region, what to do and what to expect.
- Read more about travelling in the Alsace wine region on our wine travel blog.
- You can also find more information on BKWine Magazine on the wines from Alsace, our online wine magazine.
- Our grape variety profiles on:
Wine books
We have written more than ten wine books. They have won both national and international wine writing awards.
No other wine tour organiser has a comparable knowledge, competence and experience.
Tour Details — Alsace Wine Tour
Dates: [this is a sample programme]
Price per person: [this is a sample programme]
Single room supplement: [this is a sample programme]
Sample programme
This is a sample programme, an example. You can find the wine tours currently on the schedule here, or you can explore a custom designed wine tour by contacting us.
ADJUST TOUR DETAILS AS NEEDED, LUNCHES DINNERS ETC ETC ETC
Included in the price:
- 4 nights hotel accommodation, double occupancy, including breakfast in a comfortable four-star hotel in Colmar
- Meals as described in the programme above (*):
- 3 gastronomic multi-course lunches including a tasting of different wines; at wine estate or local restaurant
- Start and end point: Colmar
- Bus transport during the whole trip
- All vineyard and winery visits
- Private, high quality tastings at wineries, approx. 3 per day
- Interpretation from French as needed, although most visits will be in English
- Wine guiding and wine tutoring by an expert BKWine guide
(*) See below for more important information on our meals.
Not included:
- Travel (flights etc) to the destination and back to your home location.
You are responsible for organising your travel to and from Colmar yourself.
It’s easy to get from Paris-Gare de l’Est to Colmar with the TGV, the fast train. It takes just over 2 hours. You can also go by train from the Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport. Train tickets are normally released three months before departure. It is easy to book tickets online.
If you would like assistance organising your flight tickets etc, please contact us.
We warmly recommend that you plan a few extra days here if you have the time. It is a very interesting place and well worth some regular, non-wine related tourism too. We can assist you with booking additional hotel nights as needed.
For this tour to take place we must have a minimum of 4 participants registered by the “book before” date. Maximum number of tour participants: 10.
Book This Tour
Book before: [this is a sample programme]
Booking is confirmed by paying the booking fee of [sample programme, this varies by trip]. Full payment should be received at the latest [sample programme, usually one month or 60 days, depending on the trip] before the departure date (see our terms and conditions). Details on how to pay will be sent to you when you register.
It is important that you read our travel booking terms and conditions.
We also invite you to read more on why you should travel with BKWine, about customer protection, and about what you can expect from our wine tours in the section below “More on our wine tours”.
You book by contacting Britt Karlsson, BKWine:
- phone: +33 1 58 88 04 66 or +33 6 80 45 35 70 (+33 is the country code for France)
- Skype: “bkwine”. Call us on skype.
- email: info@bkwine.com, or use the contact form below
“I want to book this tour” or “I want more info”
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More on our wine tours
Why travel with BKWine?
We are Britt and Per Karlsson. We are specialists in wine and food tours and wine tourism, but also experts in wine in general. We are internationally published wine writers and have written ten award-winning wine books.
No other tour operator has a comparable knowledge and experience of wine, wine regions, wine tourism and gourmet travel.
We have organised hundreds of wine and food tours, and this is what we love to do. We take it very seriously – it is not a sideline or a hobby – and what we want more than anything is to share all these wonderful experiences with you.
All our tours are led and managed by guides who have in-depth wine knowledge, and in many cases we lead the tours ourselves.
Read more on why you should choose BKWine for your wine and food tour.
Thousands of happy customers
Over the years, thousands of wine lovers have travelled with us. Many come back to tour again and again with BKWine to new wine regions. Our record-breaking client has been on more than ten BKWine tours. We are happy and proud to have such faithful customers.
Read more on what travellers have said about our tours.
Awards and Mentions
We’re pleased and proud to have received many accolades, including:
- “World’s Top Wine Tours”, Travel+Leisure Magazine, the world’s biggest travel magazine
- “Best wine tasting holidays”, AOL Travel’s list of top wine tours
- “Recommended Wine Tours”, Munskänkarna, the world’s biggest wine appreciation association
- “World’s Best Wine Book for Professionals” as well as “Best Wine Book of the Year”, Gourmand International awards, and many other book prizes
- Three OIV book awards, International Organisation of Vine and Wine
- “Wine Personality of the Year”, an honour bestowed on Britt Karlsson by Munskänkarna in 2011, the world’s biggest wine appreciation association
- Inclusion on the Wine Media Power List, by Wine Business International magazine
About the wine producers and wineries we visit
Our aim is for you to experience some of the very best and most interesting aspects of the wine world, in terms of wine and food.
We put great effort into creating outstanding winery visits, and in this way we are quite different to many wine tour organisers. It is not always the most renowned, internationally known estates that offer the best experiences. Organising a wine tour featuring famous names of the wine world is relatively easy: it is merely a question of making lists and ticking boxes. On those kind of “bucket list” wine tours, you rarely meet the winemaker or the owner. You will simply be one of thousands of visitors they receive each year.
We do things differently. With BKWine Tours, you will meet the people behind the label, often the winemakers and/or the owners. Thanks to them, you will have a unique, truly personal experience and an insight into the wine world that no one else can offer. When you travel with BKWine, you are more like a special guest than a tourist.
We have personal connections and unparalleled knowledge thanks to more than 20 years as wine journalists, with 10 wine books published, and as wine tour organisers with more than 30 years’ experience. You can be sure of getting the best wine travel experiences with BKWine Tours.
Read more on the wine producers and wineries we visit.
A true gourmet experience: food and gastronomy
For us, wine and food are intimately linked, and this is a fundamental part of our wine travel philosophy. For this reason, a wine tour with BKWine is always an outstanding culinary experience both for the wine enthusiast and for the gourmet. A BKWine tour is a gastronomic voyage that explores the deep relationship between food and wine.
Read more On Meals: Food and Gastronomy on Our Tours.
Customer Protection, Financial Travel Guarantee, and Terms and Conditions
You can always feel safe when you book your tour with BKWine. BKWine has a bonded bank guarantee that gives full protection according to EU and Swedish law. BKWine is a Swedish limited company and as such is regulated by strict rules.
Read more on Customer Protection, Financial Travel Guarantee. and our Terms and Conditions.
When you book a tour it is important that you read the terms and conditions. BKWine’s booking terms and conditions follow the guidelines developed by the Consumer Protection Agency.
Health, vaccination and allergies
Our tours have no particular health requirements although inevitably we will be walking a certain amount in wine cellars and vineyards. Sensible footwear is a must.
Most of our travel destinations have no particular health guidelines or requirements for vaccinations or medical certificates, but if in doubt, you should always consult a medical professional, vaccination centre or relevant embassy in your country of origin.
We can always accommodate food allergies. However, in order for us to manage such requests you must let us know about any allergies before the tour starts.
Read more in our FAQ and in our Terms and Conditions.
Travel insurance
BKWine does not sell travel insurance. If you want travel insurance, check if your regular home insurance policy includes some kind of travel insurance, or contact your regular insurance company or a travel insurance specialist.
Custom Tours
We also offer custom wine and food tours if you want to travel on different dates, or if you want something different to what we currently offer on our scheduled tours. This tailor-made service can be offered for individuals, companies, professionals, wine tastings clubs etc.
Important information
Our groups are always small. The number of people in the group may vary. The maximum can range from 8 to around 20; check the details in each programme. But our groups are always modest in size. This is important because it guarantees a quality experience and a personal welcome at the wineries we visit.
Read the BKWine Booking Terms and Conditions here. They are important to you!
You are expected to organise your travel independently to the destination for most of our tours, but once you are at the location, we take care of everything.
For more inspiration
Read our wine travel blog. For more, read our online wine magazine the BKWine Magazine with articles from all over the wine world.
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