Season’s greetings

 

Covid - the situation in France - timetable for May and June

Timetable May 19 - June 30 - 2021:

May 19 - Terrasses (bars and restaurants) will reopen with a maximum of 6 persons per table. Evening clock from 21.00

June 9 - With a "pass sanitaire" people will be able to travel from and into France. Evening clock from 23.00

June 15 - Night clubs will re-open. 

June 30 - Evening clock will disappear​

Hope to meet you soon! In the meantime stay safe and healthy!

Tijdlijn Mei 19 - Juni 30 - 2021:

Mei 19 - Terrassen (bars en restaurants) heropenen met een maximum van 6 personen per tafel. Avondklok tot 21.00 uur.

Juni 9 - Met een "pass sanitaire" kunnen mensen "vrij" van en naar Frankrijk reizen.. Avondklok tot 23.00 uur.

Juni 15 - Nachtclubs weer open 

Juni 30 - Avondklok verdwijnt.

​Blijf gezond en graag tot ziens !

Organizing your wine tour - what can you expect?

• We normally do smaller groups between 2-8 people, but on request we can also service bigger groups
• For the transport we use a car or minibus. This gives you a lot of flexibility.
• In the villages we will do walking tours. You have to be able to walk about 30-40 minutes per village.
• On the wine tastings you will taste different kinds of grapes from the area but also compare the same grapes from different wineries
• We know the winemakers and many chefs personally
• We do NOT do the same wine tour every day, but make appointments and reservations especially for you !
• That is why we sometimes cannot confirm a tour immediately. But we do respond in < 24 hours. 

• You will taste and compare many grand cru's and premier cru's and in Italy: Super Tuscan, doc's and docg's
• We will taste and discuss with you
• For lunch or dinner  we go to the best local restaurants, Michelin starred if wished so
• We can assist you in shipping your wines

Join us on a tour or tasting

JoliSoleil organizes wine tours and wine tastings in or near Gerardmer, in the Netherlands and in California.

Colmar celebrates Spring! (Fête le Printemps).

From 7th to 23th April 2017, Colmar holds their fifth annual Spring festival : Colmar celebrates Spring (Fête le Printemps).

For us at JoliSoleil - JSwinetours it would be logical to offer you some wine tastings

and a walk around Colmar to see all this. So why not combine the best of both worlds?

A wonderful occasion to catch the first rays of sunshine in the enchanting atmosphere of old Colmar! This is a longstanding event in Colmar life. For two weeks, hens and chicks, ducks and sheep, and trout and carp come to town in a lovely bucolic setting. Colorful flowerbeds decorate the town squares. See little houses decorated by Colmar school children.

Two seasonal markets await you in Colmar’s emblematic squares, Place des Dominicains and Place de l’Ancienne Douane. 70 exhibitors sell traditional Easter objects and specialties. A whole range of Springtime products can be found.

Between the two markets, take a nice walk around, and discover the architectural richness of the town. Stroll down little cobblestone streets, admire timber frame homes, charming streams, quaint squares, and historical monuments. Colmar is full of well-kept treasures that are sure to win your heart.

As you stroll along, you’ll enjoy all sorts of fun and musical events to celebrate the return of Springtime: mini-farm, eagle show, egg hunt, barefoot path, boat rides, horse-drawn carriage rides, little train, outdoor concerts, and more!

Three major arts & crafts sales exhibitions at the Koïfhus
Coquilles d’art , Déclinaisons Textiles and Eclats de terre: three sets of creators selected for their excellence, their originality and their astounding craftsmanship present their works.

The Music & Cultur Festival
From swing jazz to classical, 14 concerts will be held at Colmar’s heritage sites (Saint-Matthieu’s Church, and the Catherinettes Hall).

Discover the programm (in french - in german)or mail us if you want more information in English..

Great wines from smaller French and Italian wineries now available in the USA. Join the JoliSoleil USA Wine Club

People touring with us often have the problem that they cannot take many wines home when they have to fly.
Wine in your cabin or carry-on luggage is generally not allowed. An exception might be wines that you have bought in a tax free shop at the airport.
Wines in your checked baggage is accepted. As wine normally contains less than 24% alcohol there are no restrictions on the quantity. BUT individual airlines often have weight limits to your luggage. Typically this is 23 kg. for international passengers and as you have also your clothes etc., and other souvenirs this can be a problem.
For each country there are different import laws ( duty, tariffs and quantity limits)

In the USA: for personal use; there are very low per bottle duties and taxes varying from
$ 1,= to $ 2,= per bottle. So for travelers from the USA it is interesting and absolutely possible to bring some wines. We offer Lazenne products to make transport more convenient. The weight problem remains though.

For a lot of (smaller) French and Italian wineries exporting their wines to the USA is very difficult. Rules and laws vary from state to state. Sometimes wine labels must be altered. This means that a lot of high quality wines that are offered in Europe for a reasonable price are simply not available in the States. It is frustrating for the people that have toured with us and learned to appreciate the local wines often cannot continue their experience. That is why we have founded the JoliSoleil Wine Club. Four times per year we will send you 12 bottles of French or Italian wine strictly for your personal use. We arrived at "12" bottles per time because the shipping price for for example 6 bottles is relatively high per bottle.

We select wines that are not available on the USA market because there is no official importer. We collect the wines personally at the wineries in Alsace, Burgundy and Tuscany. For Alsace they normally will be lieu-dits and grand cru's. For Burgundy premier or grand cru's; For Italy DOC, DOCG and also IGT wines.
Per 12 bottles each time you will find 2 wines of 6 different wineries. Sometimes they will be 2 bottles of the same wine, sometimes they will be 2 different wines from that specific winery.

Although the shipping costs of course add to the price, our goal is to offer you wines on a quality level that you cannot get for our prices on your local markets.
Each shipment will be accompanied with a newsletter describing the wineries and the wines. Each time you will also get food pairing suggestions.

A subscription is per year or 4 shipments with a total of 48 bottles per subscription. You can start any time in any quarter.
Please register here!

Our weekly newspaper about food, wine and life in Alsace, Burgundy & Tuscany.

Articles about "cheese and wine pairings" and much more!

Winestein @ JSwinetours

Our weekly newspaper about food, wine and life in Alsace, Burgundy & Tuscany.

Articles about "top pairings for dry and off-dry Alsace whites" and much more!

Winestein @ JSwinetours

Our weekly newspaper about food, wine and life in Alsace, Burgundy & Tuscany.

Articles about "top pairings for dry and off-dry Alsace whites" and much more!

Winestein @ JSwinetours

Our weekly newspaper about food, wine and life in Alsace, Burgundy & Tuscany.

Articles about "Etiquette in wine" and much more!

Winestein @ JSwinetours

Our weekly newspaper about food, wine and life in Alsace, Burgundy & Tuscany.

Articles about "Pork and wine pairings" and much more!

Winestein @ JSwinetours

Our weekly newspaper about food, wine and life in Alsace, Burgundy & Tuscany.

Articles about the "City of Matera Italy’s Hidden Treasure" and much more

Winestein @ JSwinetours

Our weekly newspaper about food, wine and life in Alsace, Burgundy & Tuscany.

Articles about Pinot Noir in the world and much more

Winestein @ JSwinetours

Our weekly newspaper about food, wine and life in Alsace, Burgundy & Tuscany.

Happy New Year from Alsace and much more!

Winestein @ JSwinetours

France's Alsace - JSwinetours does private wine tours in Alsace all year round.

JSwinetours tours Alsace all year round. On our 1-day wine tours you will already get a good overview of the rich palette of wines the region has to offer. You will compare and taste many Grand Cru's.
On our more day tours we tour the North, Middle and or South in seperate days.

We will take you to the best restaurants where you can expect a melting pot of German and French cuisine or French cusine at its best.



For more information just mail us or call +33672120319.

Lunch or dinner on our Alsace wine tours - maybe in Ammerschwihr?

One of the reasons we ended up in Alsace in 1999 and decided to live there permanently in 2003, is the great choice of good restaurants.
In France a healthy and beautiful plate is always important. And of course the search for matching wines is a pleasure.
In Alsace we find German cuisine, French cuisine and a melting pot between the two. There is a high number of Michelin * restaurants. This probably has to do with several factors, like the European parliament, Germany being close, tourism, etc..

In Ammerschwihr in the heart of the wine area an interesting place opened recently: Restaurant "Julien Binz". Chef is the former cook of "La rendez vous de Chasse" in Colmar. He is also known as the writer and editor of "Le Journal de Julien Binz" (for the dutch: the "Horeca Misset" of Alsace) about culinary news in Alsace.

Maybe it is his reputation, maybe he just has his publicity machine in order, but Binz was on France3 the other day.


Julien Binz opens his own restaurant in Ammerschwihr

We hope to try out this place soon. Passing the village often when wine touring, it might be the beginning of a delicious partnership.

Seasons Greetings !!!

Our weekly newspaper about food, wine and life in Alsace, Burgundy & Tuscany.

Articles about B&B's in Alsace, Pinot Noir and more!

Winestein @ JSwinetours

Our weekly newspaper about food, wine and life in Alsace, Burgundy & Tuscany. Stories via @drinkAlsace @AboutTuscany @AlsaceWines

Articles about the ancient history of pooring, scallops, Dopff & Irion and more!

Winestein @ JSwinetours

Our weekly newspaper about food, wine and life in Alsace, Burgundy & Tuscany. Stories via @AlsaceWines @AboutTuscany @SanCrittenden

As Thanksgiving approaches, not only are people across the country preparing for the special meal by digging up family recipes, searching for casserole dishes, and scouring supermarkets for ingredients. They’re also storming wine retailers in search of the perfect wine to accompany the turkey (or its vegetarian counterpart), all its sides, and the pies.

Winestein @ JSwinetours