This photo of a section of the Alsace wine route, taken just a few days ago really raised my spirits in what has been an English summer which can only be described in the range of “disappointing” to “disastrous”. Amid reports and experience of a very damp June in France and late ripening in the vineyards it was good to see a picture of a vineyard looking like it should in the middle of summer. Of course it also serves as a reminder that the Alsace climate boasts one of the lowest annual rainfalls in France, mainly due to being situated in the “rain shadow” of the Vosges mountains to the west.
The Alsace Wine Route winds its way from north to south, for more than 170 kilometres, along the eastern foothills of the Vosges. This delightful itinerary runs across a succession of undulating hills, through pretty villages with narrow streets of flower-decked, half-timbered houses, clustered around their church steeple.
Visitors can easily explore the heart of the vineyards, along numerous vineyard paths leading to the crest of each slope, where signs explain the work of the winegrower and the diversity of the grape varieties.
They are welcomed into winstubs and tasting cellars to instantly discover the traditional appeal of the vine and the wine.
I keep an eye on a site called Trek Earth which is a photo repository, and which includes a France section see – http://www.trekearth.com/ which is where the above photo comes from. I often see photos on the site which are very evocative of the magic of France.
For more on the Alsace Wine Route (la route des vins d’alsace) see www.vinsalsace.com – but if you planning on spending any time on that site I suspect you may want to turn the sound off!
