Alsace Bicycle Tour Itinerary

Day 1: Les Vosges
Your guides will greet you in the train station in Mulhouse to transfer you to Jungholtz, the starting point of your DuVine adventure, nestled in the foothills of the Vosges Mountains.  After a delicious welcome of Alsatian cremant - a sparkler that can put more than a few champagnes to shame – and a bike fitting, you'll roll down to the town of Guebwiller for a tasting and a visit to the Abbeye de Murbach, founded in 727.  Afterwards, you'll meander back to your hotel to relax in the pool, or maybe melt under the hands of a trained masseuse.  In the evening, you'll dine at a winstub, a restaurant that serves traditional Alsatian cuisine like choucroute or coq au vin with Riesling.

Meal: Dinner
Destinations visited: Jungholtz, Guebwiller
Distance cycled: 19 km / 12 miles

Day 2: Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Oh My!
Say goodbye to your forested sanctuary because it's out into the vines!  You'll pass through the towns of Orschwihr, Bergholtzzell, Soultzmatt- if you can't pronounce the names; you'll still be able to enjoy their wines!  You've probably heard the word terroir; after this morning's tasting you'll know exactly what a difference it makes.  Enjoy lunch with the locals in the town of Soultzmatt.  A climb into the wooded foothills of the Vosges will get you ready for an exhilarating descent.  Our final miles will wind at the base of the foothills until we reach our next home away from home, Le Chambard in Kaysersberg.  Take a swim, stroll the town or simply enjoy the view; but be prepared for dinner, a feast created by Olivier Nasti, France's best chef of 2007!

Meal: Breakfast/Dinner
Destinations visited: Orschwihr, Bergholtzzell, Soultzmatt, Kayersberg
Distance cycled: 48 km / 30 miles

Day 3:  In and around Colmar
A bracing morning ride finds you in the hill-top town of Les Trois-Epis. From this medieval pilgrimage site, you'll descend into the earthly, vinous pleasures of Niedermorschwihr.  Your palate, having distinguished the smokiness of a pinot gris from the gunflint of a grand cru Riesling, might desire some more solid foods, so pause for a delicious meal at a rustic table in Ammerschwihr.  Even on a full stomach, it's not far to your hotel.  The afternoon and evening are yours, relax at Le Chambard or your guides will drive you to Colmar for shopping and dinner in this historic town, a Unesco World Heritage site.

Meal: Breakfast/Lunch
Destinations visited: Les Trois-Epis, Niedermorschwihr, Ammerschwihr, Colmar
Distance cycled: 48 km / 30 miles

Day 4:  The Queen Stage 
Departing from Le Chambard, you'll make you way through Grand Cru vineyards on quiet lanes, passing the picturesque villages of Riquewihr and Hunawihr.  Fortify yourself in the wine center of Ribeauvillé, munching a freshly baked bretzel accompanied by a glass of unassuming sylvaner.  Then, you return to the quiet roads of a forest that only opens to reveal breathtaking views and quiet villages.  Your end point is Haut-Koenigsbourg, a castle first mentioned in 1147, its commanding view will leave you speechless.  Take a tour of this fortress and then we’ll drive you and your bikes to Ottrott and the wonderful  Hostellerie et Chateau. 

Meal: Breakfast/Dinner
Destinations visited: Riquewihr, Hunawihr, Ribeauvillé, Kintzwiller, Ottrott
Distance cycled: 48 km / 30 miles

Day 5: The Capital of Europe
Say goodbye to the countryside today, enjoy one more tasting and a gentle ride across the Rhine Valley and enter the heart of Europe, Strasbourg.  Home of the European Parliament, birthplace of “La Marseillaise,” and a 2000-year-old crossroads of culture, Strasbourg will open its arms for us.  Enjoy a Raphael or Botticelli at the Musée des Beaux Arts or a simple cafe in the shadow of Strasbourg's Cathedral for a few hours before we gather together for one last amazing feast.

Meal: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Destinations visited: Strasbourg
Distance cycled: TBD

Day 6: 
Stroll the quiet streets of medieval Strasbourg to watch sunlight reveal a statue's smile, or awaken later for a relaxed breakfast.  Your guides will see you to the train station as you head to your next destination.  New friends, new achievements, new wines, new stories, just a few of your new memories after visiting the Alsace with DuVine Adventures!

 
A few words and phrases you’ll definitely use in Alsace:
Winstub –a tiny restaurant serving a selection of the village wines and traditional foods like choucroutre, flammekueche, or baeckeoffe.  
 
Güata Tag – Bonjour in the local language Elsassischa (Alsatian).  The language is a descendant of German more than French, and has more than one-half-a-million speakers. 

Schiste, Grés, Calcaire, Basalte, Limon, Marl, Argile, Granite...  Slate (or schist), sandstone, limestone, basalt, silt, mudstone, clay, granite, respectively.  The soil makeup of the terroir of the Alsace vineyards, the result is a bewildering variety of characteristics in a single variety of grape; multiply this by the fact that there are 9 varieties of grapes grown in the Alsace, and one has a staggering number of flavors to discover.  

Grand Cru – The Alsace's particular interpretation includes 51 parcels of vines deemed Grand Cru, ranging in size from 7.5 to 196 acres.  Most Alsatian Grand Crus are farmed by many different owners, each offering their particular interpretations of a cru's terroir.   Grand Crus in Alsace appear on the slopes of the Vosge foothills, where the variations in the Alsatian soils reveal themselves the best and the vines can absorb all the sunlight they can get in these northern climates.

Maison à Colombages – A style of construction called “half-timbering” in English, what one associates with Tudor buildings.  The villages and cities of the Alsace are aplenty with houses and grand structures built à colombage due to their proximity to the Vosge Mountains' vast forests.