On the road again in Alsace

Touring with 4 people from North Carolina.

As France opens up for Europe and the rest of the world, it is great to be able to tour again.

Alsace, Burgundy and Tuscany playlists on JoliSoleil YouTube

Did you kbow that, besides my own movies on my YouTube channel, I keep  a number of YouTube video playlists on the wine regions of Alsace, Burgundy and  Tuscany.  I update them regularly.

Enjoy !!!

Alsace Grand Cru tours in 2021 - 2022

The Alsace Grand Cru tours (in het Nederlands vindt u deze tekst hier)

​

The history of wine making in Alsace goes back to old Roman times. Castles dot the landscape, villages, churches, vineyards and wines, cuisine and traditions all make Alsace a unique and magical European experience.

​

Did you know that apart from Japan, the french Alsace region has the most Michelin * restaurants in the world? Did you know that there are recognized over 800 soil types in Alsace? Given the fact that most winemakers in Alsace make their wines in the wine field and not in the wine cellar that results in an enormous variety in smells and flavors. It also means that the wine year really make a difference.

Did you know that the great white grand cru wines often have an enormous aging potential?

​

On this tour you will find it all out ! We offer you the biggest names and visit wineries like Zind Humbrecht, Deiss,Trimbach, Hugel, etc.

You will visit the Confrerie St Etienne at the Chateau de Kientzheim with its history and with a wine cellar with over 65.000 bottles going back to the 1800's.

​

We have our lunches and dinners in the finest restaurants often Michelin starred.

The Alsace Grand Cru tour is your chance to visit and taste the very best Alsace has to offer.

​

What you will do and see

​

We will start with an introduction and overview. You will learn about the grand cru system. Understand what happens and what it means when winemakers are not allowed to irrigate their fields.

You will taste from dry to sweet; compare young and old.

Each day you will be in a different area. We will be in "bas rhin" in the north and "haut rhin" in the south, but because of the changing shape and presence of the Vosges mountains, there are a lot of different micro-climates within those areas. The micro climates all leave their trace and signature in the wines.

​

Our lunches and dinners

​

As stated we have selected some great restaurants. Apart from their rating in the Michelin guide they are also chosen for their location. On your tour we do not want to waste time on unnecessary driving. Wines during lunches and dinners are for your own expense, except for the last evening dinner where everything is included.

​

Who will be on the tour?

​

You will meet wine lovers that "know their wines" and also have been in other wine areas. But you will also meet "beginners" and people that want to get to know Alsace and its culinary highlights. Considering age: there will be  younger and older people from diferent backgrounds.

In other words the groups are mixed, but the thing everybody has in common is wanting to "wine and dine" on a high level, get to know the area and meet other people that also want to share that same experience.

​

Stay in a selection of fine hotels

​

Depending on the tour we sometimes choose one hotel for all our tour guests. On other tours we use three of the best hotels in Colmar that  are on walking distcance from each other. That means that you book the room(s) you want yourself.

The tour bus will always pick you up and drop you off at your place. On some evenings we can walk to the restaurant and back to the hotel.

​

Costs

​

The tour rate per person is: Euro 995,=

Once your Alsace Grand Cru Wine Tour begins you can relax knowing that the tour rate covers absolutely everything besides your hotel and breakfast expenses.

So: guides, all lunches and dinners, all tasting wines, excursions, all entrance fees, tasting fees, tips, taxes and gratuities are dealt with. Tipping is neither required nor expected.

Last but not least: you are not obliged to buy any wines on the tour but "if" you do, we can assist you in shipping those wines.

​

Résumée - Alsace Grand Cru tour from Colmar 

• 4 nights, 3 tour days 
• Exclusive touring: minimum of 4 couples or 8 people, maximum 8 couples or 16 people
• Air conditioned mini-bus with driver 
• 7 tastings, more than 60 wines, compare many grand cru's 
• 3 lunches, 3 gourmet dinners (one with Michelin *) 
• Stay in one of three of our preselected hotels in Colmar 
• Tour rate per person: Euro 995,,=,  
• including all tour transport, all tastings, 3 lunches, 3 dinners 
• excl. hotel and breakfasts
• We can assist you in shipping your wines 
• Your tour host : drs. J. Pieter Smits

​

Please check our Event planning for available tour dates​ in 2021 and 2022.

For Alsace book here!

​

Planning Grand Cru group tours for 2021 and 2022 - Planning Grand Cru groep tours voor 2021 and 2022

We will start touring again after June 15, complying with all the rules and necessary precautions of course.

But : especially because of the uncertainties about when our American guests are able to fly into Europe again, our Grand Cru Group tours for 2020 have been cancelled 

So our one and more day private tours are possible to book for the coming months. But only the more day GC group tours will not be held in 2020 but will resume in 2021. Please check out our planning.

Na 15 juni starten wij weer met touren. Natuurlijk in lijn met de regels en voorzorgsmaatregelen in Frankrijk. Het is naast eendaagse tours ook weer mogelijk om meerdaagse prive tours te boeken in 2020.

De geplande meerdaagse Grand Cru groeps tours voor 2020 zijn echter gecancelled. De nieuwe data voor deze luxe meerdaagse groepstours staan in het plaatje en onze planningskalender. 

June 2020 - Traveling and touring to and in France - Reizen naar en in Frankrijk

After June 15 the situation will be as follows / Na 15 juni is de situatie als volgt:

EU citizens are allowed to travel free within Europe. So people from EU countries can go on a holiday within Europe and do (wine) tours. / Na 15 juni mag binnen de EU weer vrij worden gereisd. Dat betekent dat mensen vanuit Nederland vanaf dat moment weer in Frankrijk op vakantie kunnen en mogen (wijn) touren.

For people coming form outside of Europe, traveling in France is not yet possible. Expect a decision end of June / Voor mensen van buiten Europa wordt later in juni een beslissing verwacht over het open gaan van de grenzen.

Musea etc. are all open again. Outside of Paris bars and restaurants are also open, inside and outside on terraces. You have to keep at least 1 meter distance and wearing a facemask might apply./ Musea etc. zijn weer open. Bars, restaurants en terrassen eveneens; buiten Parijs mag u ook  binnen verblijven. U dient minimaal 1 meter afstand te bewaren. Zorg voor een mondmasker!

If you/we are allowed to (privately) tour again be sure that we have hand disinfectants and face masks available. We are (as always) touring with small private groups of maximum 8 people./ Als u/we weer kunnen touren, weet dan dat wij handdesinfectie middelen en mondmaskers beschikbaar hebben. Wij touren met kleine groepen van maximaal 8 personen.

The Alsace Grand Cru tours in 2019

The Alsace Grand Cru tours

​

The history of wine making in Alsace goes back to old Roman times. Castles dot the landscape, villages, churches, vineyards and wines, cuisine and traditions all make Alsace a unique and magical European experience.

​

Did you know that apart from Japan, the french Alsace region has the most Michelin * restaurants in the world? Did you know that there are recognised over 800 soil types in Alsace? Given the fact that most winemakers in Alsace make their wines in the wine field and not in the wine cellar that results in an enormous variety in smells and flavors. It also means that the wine year really make a difference.

Did you know that the great white grand cru wines often have an enormous aging potential?

​

On this tour you will find it all out ! We offer you the biggest names and visit wineries like Zind Humbrecht, Deiss,Trimbach, Hugel, etc.

You will visit the Confrerie St Etienne at the Chateau de Kientzheim with its history and with a wine cellar with over 65.000 bottles going back to the 1800's.

​

We have our lunches and dinners in the finest restaurants often Michelin starred.

The Alsace Grand Cru tour is your chance to visit and taste the very best Alsace has to offer.

​

What you will do and see

​

We will start with an introduction and overview. You will learn about the grand cru system. Understand what happens and what it means when winemakers are not allowed to irrigate their fields.

You will taste from dry to sweet; compare young and old.

Each day you will be in a different area. We will be in "bas rhin" in the north and "haut rhin" in the south, but because of the changing shape and presence of the Vosges mountains, there are a lot of different micro-climates within those areas. The micro climates all leave their trace and signature in the wines.

​

Our lunches and dinners

​

As stated we have selected some great restaurants. Apart from their rating in the Michelin guide they are also chosen for their location. On your tour we do not want to waste time on unnecessary driving. Wines during lunches and dinners are for your own expense, except for the last evening dinner where everything is included.

​

Who will be on the tour?

​

You will meet wine lovers that "know their wines" and also have been in other wine areas. But you will also meet "beginners" and people that want to get to know Alsace and its culinary highlights. Considering age: there will be  younger and older people from diferent backgrounds.

In other words the groups are mixed, but the thing everybody has in common is wanting to "wine and dine" on a high level, get to know the area and meet other people that also want to share that same experience.

​

Stay in a selection of fine hotels

​

Depending on the tour we sometimes choose one hotel for all our tour guests. On other tours we use three of the best hotels in Colmar that  are on walking distcance from each other. That means that you book the room(s) you want yourself.

The tour bus will always pick you up and drop you off at your place. On some evenings we can walk to the restaurant and back to the hotel.

​

Costs

​

The tour rate per person is: Euro 995,=

Once your Alsace Grand Cru Wine Tour begins you can relax knowing that the tour rate covers absolutely everything besides your hotel and breakfast expenses.

So: guides, all lunches and dinners, all tasting wines, excursions, all entrance fees, tasting fees, tips, taxes and gratuities are dealt with. Tipping is neither required nor expected.

Last but not least: you are not obliged to buy any wines on the tour but "if" you do, we can assist you in shipping those wines.

​

Résumée - Alsace Grand Cru tour from Colmar 

• 4 nights, 3 tour days 
• Exclusive touring: minimum of 4 couples or 8 people, maximum 8 couples or 16 people
• Air conditioned mini-bus with driver 
• 7 tastings, more than 60 wines, compare many grand cru's 
• 3 lunches, 3 gourmet dinners (one with Michelin *) 
• Stay in one of three of our preselected hotels in Colmar 
• Tour rate per person: Euro 995,,=,  
• including all tour transport, all tastings, 3 lunches, 3 dinners 
• excl. hotel and breakfasts
• We can assist you in shipping your wines 
• Your tour host : drs. J. Pieter Smits

​

Please check our Event planning for available tour dates​ in 2019 and 2020.

For Alsace book here!

​

Staub - Cast Iron made in France

STAUB gathers people around good food in the kitchen and at the table. Each of their heirloom pieces comes with a story. Born in Alsace, a French region known for its craftsmanship and cuisine, their  cast iron cookware bring a taste of authenticity to every meal. Just look for the STAUB seal on every product. The name is a promise to you that you’re cooking with the best of France…wherever your kitchen may be.

Foodies, amateur chefs, tour guests : we can visit Staub on a "Wine tour" or "Wine and Villages tour" when we are near Turckheim.

Checkout a recent Facebook post with a Staub video here.

What a private tour does not mean !

The advantage of a private tour is that you/we can adjust and tune many things beforehand. 

For wine tours we can pick a theme (just Rieslings for example) and/or specific area in Alsace, Burgundy or Tuscany.

At village tours we can skip a village or change a village I normally go to for another one.

But (future) customers please understand that booking a private tour does NOT mean tthat you can change everything on the tour day itself.

For wine tastings at the better wineries,  I must make appointments some time before. We can NOT just drop in everywhere as we please.  

On a  “Wine & Villages tour” we normally do one extensive wine tasting. Now I can change things and add one more tasting on such a tour, but I cannot do 3 or 4. And the other way around : “If” tasting appointments are made by me , we reserved time at those wineries. We cannot just not show up then. They are waiting for us and cancelled other visitors.

The same goes for lunch restaurants. 

I make reservations before based on quality and price. I often reserve a table at a Michelin starred restaurant. We cannot just not show up then, because “the weather is so nice” and people want to sit outside. The restaurant is waiting for us and cancelled other customers because of our reservation.

Cheers to some great tours coming up!

Eau de Vie (and Marc de Vie) in Alsace and Burgundy

Water of Life

One of the lesser-known spirit categories is eau-de-vie. Most people will have tried one, and often without realising as various countries’ national drinks are classified as eau-de-vie, such as Raki from Turkey and European Slivovitz.

Confusingly, eau-de-vie (French for ‘water of life’) is a term used in French to mean ‘spirit’. But in English-speaking countries, it refers to brandies made with fruit other than grapes.
Not all will use the term on the label – common types of eau-de-vie include Romanian Tuică, Schnapps from Germany, Hungarian Pálinka and Ceylon Arrack from Sri Lanka.

So: An eau de vie is a clear, colourless fruit brandy that is produced by means of fermentation and double distillation. The fruit flavour is typically very light.

History

They tell a tale in the broad, pine-clad Ville Valley, which cuts into the foothills of the Vosges beneath the frowning fortress of Haut-Koenigsbourg. In the 17th century, they say, an Alsatian monk boiled up some fermented cherries to produce an elixir he hoped would provide a cure for cholera.
He called it ''eau de vie'' or ''water of life.''

Well, maybe. What is certain is that for several hundred years, this valley and others in Alsace have been producing clear, unsweetened fruit brandies called eaux de vie, which are not to be confused with liqueurs like creme de banane.

Eaux de vie do not cure cholera (or anything else, for that matter), but at their best they rank among the world's great after-dinner drinks -- evocatively perfumed, rich, pure and explosively flavorful, almost like biting into a perfectly ripe raspberry or Bartlett pear.
So great is the intensity of aroma and flavor that you have a virtual orchard in your glass. Leave that glass sitting out, emptied but unwashed, and 48 hours later a faint scent of fresh fruit will linger in the air.


How is it made?

It is made in a similar way to Cognac and other grape brandies. The method varies, but usually the fruit is pressed to extract its juice, fermented with the help of yeast (which can be either commercially produced, or by using naturally occurring strains within the fruit) to create an alcoholic liquid, and then distilling it.
Eau-de-vie are usually unaged, and are usually bottled soon after production to preserve aroma and flavour.

Pomace brandy is a liquor distilled from pomace that is left over from winemaking, after the grapes are pressed. It is called marc in both English and French. So you could say that "marc" is a special kind of Eau de Vie.

At Windholz in Ribeaville

Tasting Eau de Vie or a Marc at a wine tour

Many Alsatian and Burgundy wineries produce Eau de Vie and/or Marc next to their wines.

Apart from that there are some specialized distillers in the area's.

Don't forget to ask us for a smell and sip, while we are on the road tasting wines with you.
We also love to mark your "marc".

At Windholz in Ribeaville

Possibility to join luxury Alsace tour in May 2018

Although JoliSoleil offers mostly private tours, some of our customers ask us for the possibility to share a tour or join an existing tour group.

On a Notice Board page on our Website we post possibilities to join an existing group.

We have for May in Alsace:​

​

An English speaking (American) couple plans a 4 day Luxury Wine and Food tour in Alsace.

​

Period (options):

​

1) May 16-19

2) May  9 -12

3) May 23-26

​

Language spoken on this tour will be English

​

The tour consists of:

• tastings at  7 wineries,
• 3 lunches (normal),
• 3 dinners (1 Michelin starred including wines)
• All transport except for the morning of day 3.

​

A more detailed program description is available on request.

​

​

Price:

​

Euro 810,= per person

​

Interested ? Then please mail to combinetour@jolisoleil.com

​