À part son charme, il y a une autre raison pour laquelle j'aime bien l'Alsace : le vin. Connue surtout pour ses cépages blancs tels que riesling, pinot blanc, pinot gris, gewurztraminer et sylvaner, dans cette région on trouve aussi du crémant (vin mousseux) et du pinot noir.
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| Vignes à Turkheim © LKL |
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| Quelques vignerons à Dambach-la-Ville © LKL |
*99 euros par personne pour la journée, déjeuner et pourboire recommandé de 10 % non compris à L.C.A. Toptour.
Site officiel : Route des vins d'Alsace
Cet article fait partie du récit de voyage sur mon circuit, en été 2010, des frontières françaises, y compris les six coins de l'Hexagone - voyez la carte.
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English translation Please scroll down for the side-by-side translation.
Alsace's Wine Route
Besides its charm, there's another reason I really like Alsace: the wine. Known in particular for its white varieties like Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, and Sylvaner, in this region you also find crémant (sparkling wine) and Pinot Noir.
The vineyards stretch from Strasbourg to Mulhouse and include 119 communes. Though it only crosses 67 of them, Alsace's Wine Route can make it easier to discover many of these wines.
But before starting a series of tastings, you have to be sensible and figure out your route Of course you have more flexibility in a car, but you absolutely must designate a driver. If this restriction is likely to ruin someone's day, I imagine it would be possible to visit several places by bus or train, but then you'd be beholden to their schedule. After considering all of these options, in the end we decided to do a tour; though it was rather expensive,* we were able to visit five villages and a castle, and to discover a lot of wine.
*99 euros (about $140) per person for the day, not including lunch or the recommended tip of 10%, at L.C.A. Toptour.
Official site: Alsace's Wine Route
This article is part of my travelog about my summer 2010 trip along the French borders, including the six corners of the Hexagon - see map.
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Side-by-side translation
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Route des vins d'Alsace À part son charme, il y a une autre raison pour laquelle j'aime bien l'Alsace : le vin. Connue surtout pour ses cépages blancs tels que riesling, pinot blanc, pinot gris, gewurztraminer et sylvaner, dans cette région on trouve aussi du crémant (vin mousseux) et du pinot noir. Le vignoble s'étend entre Strasbourg et Mulhouse et comprend 119 communes. Même si elle en traverse seulement 67, la Route des vins d'Alsace peut faciliter la découverte de beaucoup de ces vins. Mais avant de commencer une série de dégustations, on doit être prudent et bien préparer son parcours. On a bien sûr plus de flexibilité en voiture, mais il faut absolument désigner un conducteur qui ne boit pas. Si cette restriction risque de gâcher (mot du jour) la journée pour quelqu'un, j'imagine qu'il serait possible de visiter plusieurs endroits en autocar ou en train, mais on serait dépendant de son horaire. Ayant considéré toutes ces options, nous avons finalement décidé de faire un voyage organisé ; même s'il était assez cher,* nous avons eu l'occasion de visiter cinq villages et un château et de découvrir un grand nombre de vins. *99 euros par personne pour la journée, déjeuner et pourboire recommandé de 10 % non compris à L.C.A. Toptour. Site officiel : Route des vins d'Alsace Cet article fait partie du récit de voyage sur mon circuit, en été 2010, des frontières françaises, y compris les six coins de l'Hexagone - voyez la carte. |
Alsace's Wine Route Besides its charm, there's another reason I really like Alsace: the wine. Known in particular for its white varieties like Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, and Sylvaner, in this region you also find crémant (sparkling wine) and Pinot Noir. The vineyards stretch from Strasbourg to Mulhouse and include 119 communes. Though it only crosses 67 of them, Alsace's Wine Route can make it easier to discover many of these wines. But before starting a series of tastings, you have to be sensible and figure out your route Of course you have more flexibility in a car, but you absolutely must designate a driver. If this restriction is likely to ruin someone's day, I imagine it would be possible to visit several places by bus or train, but then you'd be beholden to their schedule. After considering all of these options, in the end we decided to do a tour; though it was rather expensive,* we were able to visit five villages and a castle, and to discover a lot of wine. *99 euros (about $140) per person for the day, not including lunch or the recommended tip of 10%, at L.C.A. Toptour. Official site: Alsace's Wine Route This article is part of my travelog about my summer 2010 trip along the French borders, including the six corners of the Hexagon - see map. |
I invite you to post comments related to this article below, but please post unrelated comments in the forum.
Comments
I was surprised to see the names or labels of the specific wines are not capitalized. I knew the days of the week and the months are not capitalized but didn’t know the names of specific wines are not capitalized. Common versus proper nouns and the difference between French and English.
Yes, French capitalization can be tricky. In this case, it’s a question of distinguishing between the product and the place it comes from (see lesson http://french.about.com/library/writing/bl-capitalization2.htm), and then it turns into a question of consistency.
Since le champagne, le beaujolais, etc are not capitalized, to distinguish from la Champagne and le Beaujolais, other wine types are not capitalized either, even though Riesling, Pinot, etc are not places.
Regarding – Route des vins d’Alsace:
(about $140) per person for the day, not including lunch or the recommended tip of 10%).
Wow !! In any language, that represents a lot of wine appreciation. Good heavens !
- No Lunch ? I trust there was at least a glass or two included in the “no lunch”.
No, we were on our own for lunch. But the tour included transportation and a guide. It was expensive, but it was the only way we could both be free to taste as much as we wanted and not spend all day at the bus or train station.
Chère Laura,
It is always a pleasure to read your site………
I agree with you, the wines from Alsace are superbe!!!!!!!
The winters there are too cold, otherwise it is wonderful that area………
Adieu,
Jacqueline
Je suis Australienne et J’aime beaucoup lire vos histoires de vos voyages en France. J’espere qu’ils continuerais pendant 2011. Je souhaite que j’aurais assez de temps de faire tous vos exercices en francais que vous nous envoyez deux fois par semaine . Est’ce que les exercises sont toujours different ou est-ce que vous repetiez parfois les meme exercises? J’espere que vous me repondiez a mes questions . S’il vous plait corrigez mes fautes en francais.
amicalement,
Susi
Noticed that the phrase ‘who doesn’t drink’ was missing from your English translation. We were left with ‘designate a driver….’
It’s not necessary in English – it would be redundant. A “designated driver” is a driver who isn’t drinking.
Bonjour Laura,
Having lived in Belgium for three years, we all met the ads for “designated drivers” during the Christmas period. Here it’s called “Bob” (or Bobette) and I think it’s a very civilized and sensible thing.
By they way, I just love you articles and will recommend them to my French class.
In France, the one who doesn’t drink is called Sam.
Salut Laura
J’habite ici à Montréal et pour nous le vin coute si cher! On a bu un gewurztraminer d’alsace (Léon Beyer 2005) pour la premier fois récemment ici et c’était un vin formidable! Un vin blanc trés parfumé et charnu (plus q’un chardonnay). Je me demande combien un vin comme ça coute en france dans le village d’ou vous habitez?
C’est difficile de vous donner un prix parce que ce vin exact n’est pas disponible à Menton. Mais en général, un gewurztraminer peut coûter entre 4 et 15 euros (environ 6 à 22 $US).
Hi Laura, I’ve been through wine regions in France but never actually stopped at a vignoble (only the champagne cellars) – I’d love to hear about the experience of visiting a winery and what you’re supposed to do (and not do). You’ve talked a little bit about it before but it always sounded like you needed to know the vigneron already.
No, there’s nothing to it. There will usually be a sign indicating the business hours, so you just go in and tell them you want to do a dégustation, which is almost always free. They will sometimes ask for your wine preferences (color, cépage), but not necessarily. They’ll give you the wine in the order it should be tasted – usually rosé, then white, then red, weak to strong. You can usually have a good time chatting with them, especially if they are the vignerons (as opposed to hired help). Then you tell them which wines you want to purchase and voilà.
What part of speech is “laquelle” in the 1st sentence?
It’s a relative pronoun: http://french.about.com/od/grammar/a/relativepronouns_3.htm
Hi Laura, always its a pleasure learn from you.
In Perú the one who doesn´t drink it´s called “El amigo escojido”, may be: “the selected friend” ?, or peut etre: “l´ami choisi” ?.
Gracias,Merci, Thanks,
Guido
brr55@hotmail.com
Jeu concours
Qui a dit «buvez du lait!» au lieu d’alcool. Une indication: un ancien homme politique.
Don