Alsace Wine Route & Colmar

The Alsace Wine Route stretches 170 kilometers through some of the most charming villages in France. This private day tour takes you through Colmar, Riquewihr, and Eguisheim, with tastings at historic family-owned domaines that have been producing exceptional wines for generations — a journey through a landscape so perfectly preserved it feels like stepping into a medieval illuminated manuscript. Alsace occupies a unique position in the French wine world. Unlike the rest of France, where wines are named for their region or appellation, Alsatian wines are named for their grape variety — Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Muscat — making them accessible and easy to understand while being no less complex or age-worthy than the finest Burgundies. The region's cool continental climate, sheltered by the Vosges mountains, produces aromatic white wines of extraordinary precision and elegance. Your day begins with an early departure from Paris or Strasbourg, arriving in Colmar by mid-morning. Colmar is a jewel of Alsatian architecture: its Little Venice quarter, where half-timbered houses in pastel colors lean over quiet canals, is one of the most photographed streetscapes in France. Your walking tour includes the Unterlinden Museum, home to the magnificent Isenheim Altarpiece — one of the masterpieces of Northern European art — and the covered market where you can sample Munster cheese, Alsatian charcuterie, and freshly baked kougelhopf. Lunch is a traditional tarte flambée — the Alsatian flatbread topped with crème fraîche, onions, and bacon — in an authentic winstub (wine room) where locals gather over carafe after carafe of Edelzwicker. The afternoon explores the wine route itself: Riquewihr, consistently ranked among the most beautiful villages in France with its 16th-century ramparts and flower-draped houses, and Eguisheim, a circular medieval village that won France's 'Most Beautiful Village' award. At two prestigious domaines, you taste the full range of Alsatian varietals — bone-dry Grand Cru Riesling, opulent Gewurztraminer, and luscious Vendanges Tardives — guided by the winemakers themselves, who share the stories of their terroir with the passion that only a family business spanning generations can inspire.

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