Oh Alsace, you gave us the Easter bunny too!

As children our lives are filled with little traditions, passed on from generation to generation, however; when we are asked when did this tradition start and where did it come from, those passing it to us really do not know. All they know is their parents gave it to them, and so on and so forth, but where it came from originally seems timeless.

Where did the Easter bunny come from? Well there are legends that go very far back in time and were passed down orally in cultures. The Easter bunny is a fantastic symbol of childhood bringing in spring with colored eggs, bits of chocolate and sometimes toys to the children the night before Easter. This is very strongly rooted in the idea of spring, new beginnings and fertility.

Georg Franck von Franckenau, first wrote about this in his book De ovis paschalibus, (About the Easter Egg), and funny it was an Easter Hare, (not exactly the same as a rabbit) and the adverse effects of eating too many Easter eggs.

Recording this in the early 17th century is very interesting, but still more interesting is the origins of the story itself going back to Holy Roman Empire, and basically first showing up in Germany and around the Upper Rhineland and Alsace.

The United States recieved this custom from German settlers namely Penneslyvania Dutch.

In Alsace the tradition of color eggs is still going strong, and if you visit with us in spring we can arrange to take you to the colored egg festival

Here in Alsace if you visit with us in the spring, you will be sure to see many Easter decorations everywhere. All of the villages do a very nice job of decorating for this much loved tradition. One favorite also is Easter Lamb, which is not meat but a cake backed in a mold to shape like a lamb. 

L'oeuf en habit de fête - Egg in festive dress, is offered each year in Alsace.

Biggest painted egg market in all of France.

Artists and artisans from all over Europe - France, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Russia, Netherlands, Hungary - will exhibit their works and will demonstrate their skills. 

In addition to exhibitors, workshops will be offered during the two days: 

Relay Regional Cultural Pierre Schiele host the 25th edition of the exhibition. 

Saturday 5th: 9:30-19h  and 

Sunday, 6 April 2014: 9:30 am-18h . 

Price 3 to 4 euros.

This year in Alsace Easter is on 4/20 and Easter Monday on 4/21

Cheers and Happy Easter!

Domaine Marc Kreydenweiss 29th of March open house tasting review

It is really something special to be able to attend a wine tasting with the winemaker present and greeting guests and chatting about the wines in Alsace, France. It was a wonderful opportunity to take our tour guests with us also.

During the our visit we tasted mostly Rieslings.

Andlau a 2012 Riesling. It is an earthy wine, very well rounded and fruity with a hint of petrol. Fruitiness is of course the vine, yet the fruit can take on different distinctions. It is rounded, meaning it fits together in balance, smell, color, and taste. Floral, with strong mineral taste, and a bit bitter.

La Fontaine aux Enfants, a Pinot Blanc, Grand Cru D'Alsace 2012 tasted mineral, bold and outdoorsy.There are fruit flavors, and mineral flavors, good acidity, and long on the tongue.

The Wiebelsberg Grand Cru Riesling 2010 was mineral, pronounced, strong, potential, light sugar, high mineral from sandstone. This is a very clear wine, so soft, is floral, spicy, and vertical.

Wiebelsberg Grand Cru Riesling 2009 mineral, pronounced, strong, potential, more sugar, citrus, structured and tart. High mineral from sandstone.

Wiebelsberg Grand Cru Riesling 2008 mineral, pronounced, strong, potential, light sugar. Beautiful, round, one of the best years in Alsace, softer, most drinkable, high mineral from sandstone. Very long finish.

Moenchberg Grand Cru Pinot Gris 2011, from a sandy soil, wonderful not too sweet, very mineral, medium acidity, hints of almond, fresh, and not typical, very dry for a Pinot Gris.

Moenchberg Grand Cru Pinot Gris 2009 is a bit softer and more floral aromas, good acidity, a bit like a tart apple, with honey notes. A bit sweeter than 2011.

Kastelberg 2010 Riesling, lot of volume, floral and fruits, something like peat moss, and medium acidity. Minerals, citrus, and salty a bit, this wine has it all.

Kastelberg 2011 Riesling floral and fruits, something like peat moss, minerals, citrus, elegant, less acid and a bit shorter than the 2010.

Wines with a clear signature. 

Click here to visit Kreydenweiss

Our "castello stays and tours"

A rich history awaits you in Tuscany. Centuries of preserved architecture and art are hallmarks of this region in Italy. If you want to be part of that then you might want to stay in one of the castello's or villas offered by our partner "Kasteelwijnen".


On the picture are the apartments and pool of our local partner "Castel Brunello" near Montalcino. You can choose from apartments with 2,3 or 4 bedrooms. The breakfasts can be included.
The apartments are ideally located for touring the Brunello and Montepulciano region.

We can organize a wine tasting in your apartment or the central space of the premises. And of course we can pick you up in the morning for one or more tour days in the area (on the photo below the Castello Banfi). In the evening we will take you back after your dinner.


We offer a great "4-day Castel Brunello arrangement" with 2 dinners and 2 full wine tasting days, including lunches. For more information? Mail us!

The Black Rooster story 'Gallo Nero' and Chianti Classico

Chianti sounds ...
During the middle ages there was a rivalry between Siena and Florence. This resulted in a lot of fighting, in fact the area of Chianti takes its name from the sound of the fighting being heard across the land (like the sound of the clanging of swords).

Knight do not be late
To end the fighting the people decided that knights would leave their home towns at the cock's crow.
Florence had a black rooster and they did not feed him. Siena had a white rooster and they fed him well.

So on the day this was to take place the black rooster of Florence, so hungry, started to crow before the sun came up. As a result the knight of Florence left much earlier arriving in Fonterutoli, meeting the knight from Siena only 12 kilometers from the Siena border. This is why almost all of the Chianti region feel under the rule of the Florentine Republic.

Gallo Nero - the black rooster
So as the story goes since the 14th century, 600 years ago, the black rooster has been the symbol of the Chianti region and this rooster is the official emblem of certification of the wine from the Consortium.

This represents 9 municipalities, 4 of which are in the original black rooster region which are labeled 'in Chianti'and 5 of which are partially in the region and represents a total of 7,000 hectares of land between Siena and Florence.

Did I say that there are some yummy "polio" recipes in Tuscany? Of course with a Gallo Nero certified Chianti Classico wine.

Checkout Tuscanvines.blogspot

Reading tasting reports on Chianti Classico 2009, like:

and Brunello 2008, for example this one:

Food pairing with PorkTenderloins. Wow!

Or with "Pork Roast wrapped in pancetta with mushrooms".

Now this is what you pair a great Brunello with :)

Great Blog articles, we are tempted to taste a lot of those wines ourselves soon.
A highly recommended blog.
More on http://tuscanvines.blogspot.fr/

Looking forward to touring in Tuscany in April.

Looking forward to touring Tuscany in April. Join us and also book a private tour!

Facebook: Brunello - JoliSoleil Italian Wine Tours ‪

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Domaine Marc Kreydenweiss - Open House 29-30 March 2014 10:00 am to 7:00 pm

The Domain
Domaine Marc Kreydenweiss is one of the wonderful Alsatian wine makers who has the bragging rights of fine wines made with a true passion for the vine and a family history of wine making going back to the year 1650.

Passing this tradition down for so many generations is something most people can only dream of. In the Alsace region it is a wonderful right of passage for the child to take the craft of his or her parent as his or her own many generations continuing on.

Since 1971
Marc Kreydenweiss took over operations of his vineyard from his father in 1971 at the age of 23. He and his family live in the same house that the generations before him have lived in, and he is passing on his passion to his growing family as it was passed on to him, at his estate in Andlau.

He is a passionate winemaker who believes his wines should bear a signature, are greatly influenced by the terroir, and should extend to the senses beyond those of smell and taste thus painting a picture in the mind.

The Domaine Marc Kreydenweiss nurtures the land of Alsace and the Rhone Valley. Since 1990 Marc has turned all of his production into bio-dynamic farming.

Bio-dynamic farming
Bio-dynamic farming is not well understood to outsiders, it is not merely the avoidance of pesticides and the avoidance of chemical fertilizers, and avoidance of chemicals added during processing. Bio-dynamic farming also includes tapping into the natural batteries of the earth, a process of working with telluric energy of the earth and the cycles of the moon, sun, starts and planets.

Based on the teachings of Rudolph Steiner (1861-1925) bio-dynamics incorporates the spiritual world with the physical world, and is considered to be a holistic approach to agriculture and other disciplines.

The Alsace wine region in total was the first wine region to adopt bio-dynamics into wine making. It has as a whole been a leader in this discipline, and the earliest of adopters. Today world wide there are over 450 bio-dynamic wine makers, with none more zealous than those of Alsace.


Production in Alsace
Currently farming about 12 hectares of land, 80% of their production is exported, the largest market of export being the USA 

Alsace:
Kastelberg Grand Cru "Le Chateau",
Wiebelsberg Grand Cru "La Dame",
Moenchberg Grand Cru "Le Moine",
Clos Rebberg "Aux vignes",
Clos du Val d 'Eleon "Lame de la terre",
Kritt 'Les Alouettes",
Clos Rebgarten "Le Jardin des vignes",
Andlau "Au dessus de la loi",
La Fontaine aux enfants.

The grapes are hand picked, crushed, then fermented with natural yeast in Vosges grown oak barrels, bottled and topped with a natural cork. Production is around 70,000 bottles per year.

We will be attending the Domaine Marc Krydenweiss Open House, with two guest from the U.S. and will have a follow up tasting report soon afterwards.

Kasteelwijnen

Book a room via Kasteelwijnen and book us for a tour or wine tasting!