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..

Looking back to 2016 en forward to 2017 !

Looking back to 2016: We did three exclusive more day tours in Tuscany

and numerous one and more day tours in Alsace and Burgundy.
We met so many interesting and sweet people again this year. Thank you all !

For the first time we shipped local wines in cooperation with IZIwine and Burgundy Online to mainly the USA but also to countries like Australia. More to come in 2017 with our WineClub.

Last but not least we did some great genealogy research (thanks to Terry Smits) and tours. Ancestry research brought us to Verdun, St Avold, numerous locations in Alsace and also to Germany.

"A bientot en 2017"

Seasons greetings !!!

Tasting is classy

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.