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  Vendanges Tardives and SGN - Alsace's Exceptional Sweet Wines

  Posted in: Alsatian Wines & Gastronomy

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  The Vendanges Tardives and Sélections de Grains Nobles are the two appellations of absolute prestige in the Alsatian wine region. These exceptional sweet wines - produced only in great years, in tiny quantities - rank among the world's finest sweet white wines, capable of rivalling Sauternes and German Trockenbeerenauslesen.

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  Alsace Grands Crus - 51 Exceptional Terroirs for the Finest Wines

  Posted in: Alsatian Wines & Gastronomy

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  The Alsace Grands Crus represent the elite of Alsatian viticulture. These 51 exceptional terroirs, precisely delimited on the Vosges hillsides, produce the most complex and most gastronomic white wines of the region. A unique viticultural heritage in France, to be discovered and understood to fully appreciate the richness of Alsatian wines.

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  Alsatian Christmas Decoration - Symbols, Crafts and Trends

  Posted in: Christmas in Alsace

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  Alsatian Christmas decoration is one of the richest and most recognisable in Europe. Blown-glass storks, golden pretzels, lucky witches, Stars of Bethlehem and traditional motifs dress houses and markets in a unique atmosphere that blends centuries-old tradition with contemporary artisan creativity.

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  Alsatian Advent Traditions - Wreath, Christkindel and Four Sundays

  Posted in: Christmas in Alsace

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  In Alsace, Advent is far more than a simple waiting period before Christmas. It is a full month of family rituals, spice aromas and soft lights - the four-candle Advent wreath, the Advent calendar, the Christkindel and the four Sundays of contemplation and celebration that punctuate the weeks until 25 December.

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  Alsatian Legends - Stollhexe, Night Washerwomen and Forest Dwarves

  Posted in: Alsatian Heritage & Culture

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  Alsace is a land of legends. Vosges forests, castle ruins, misty valleys and old half-timbered villages have for centuries nourished a teeming imagination peopled with mysterious creatures - mine witches, nocturnal washerwomen, mischievous dwarves and water spirits. A fascinating intangible heritage that tells as much about Alsace as its monuments and its gastronomy.

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  Wissembourg - the Hidden Pearl of Northern Alsace

  Posted in: Alsatian Heritage & Culture, Practical Guides & Tips

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  Wissembourg, nestled in a bend of the Lauter river at the German border, is one of the most charming and least-known towns in Alsace. Its medieval half-timbered houses, its thousand-year-old Romanesque abbey church, its cobbled streets and its northernmost vineyard make it a discreet gem that is well worth the detour for anyone seeking an authentic and unspoilt Alsace.

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  The Sundgau - Alsace's Hidden Gem between Vosges, Rhine and Jura

  Posted in: Alsatian Heritage & Culture, Practical Guides & Tips

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  In southern Alsace, between the Rhine, the Swiss Jura and the first Vosges foothills, the Sundgau is the great forgotten region of Alsatian tourism. Yet this peaceful and unspoilt territory holds unsuspected treasures - its carp ponds, its flower-filled villages, its unique three-country border and a rare authenticity that captivates all those who take the time to discover it.

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  Hansi and the Alsatian Resistance - Art as a Weapon against Annexation

  Posted in: Alsatian Heritage & Culture

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  Jean-Jacques Waltz, known as Hansi, was not merely the picturesque illustrator of a happy Alsace. He was above all a cultural resistance fighter of rare determination, who used his pencil as a weapon against German occupation for nearly fifty years. Condemned by the Kaiser's courts, driven into exile, hunted - his fight for Alsatian identity is one of the most moving pages of regional history.

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  Traditional Alsatian Costumes - Red Bow, Black Headdress and Embroidery

  Posted in: Alsatian Heritage & Culture

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  Traditional Alsatian costumes are among the most colourful and recognisable in Europe. From the great red bow of Strasbourg to the majestic black headdress of the Sundgau, through the floral embroidery of the Vosges foothills, these regional costumes tell a thousand years of history, influences and Alsatian identity.

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  Munster PDO - History and Secrets of the King of Alsatian Cheeses

  Posted in: Alsatian Heritage & Culture, Alsatian Wines & Gastronomy

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  Munster - or Munster-Géromé - is the quintessential Alsatian cheese. Produced in the Munster valley and on the Vosges high pastures since the Middle Ages, this soft washed-rind cheese has held a Protected Designation of Origin since 1969. Powerful in aroma, surprising on the palate, it is the most authentic expression of the Vosges terroir.

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  Gertwiller Gingerbread - World Capital of Gingerbread

  Posted in: Alsatian Heritage & Culture, Alsatian Wines & Gastronomy

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  Gertwiller, a small village on the Vosges foothills between Obernai and Barr, is recognised worldwide as the world capital of gingerbread. Two exceptional artisan houses - Lips and Fortwenger - have been perpetuating a unique craft for generations, making this village of a few hundred inhabitants the global epicentre of a timeless Alsatian speciality.

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  Alsatian Castles - Haut-Koenigsbourg, Fleckenstein and the Others

  Posted in: Alsatian Heritage & Culture, Practical Guides & Tips

  3274 Views 1953 Liked

  Alsace is one of Europe's richest regions for medieval castles. More than 60 castles line the Vosges ridges, dominating the Rhine plain from their rocky promontories. From the majestic Haut-Koenigsbourg to the mysterious Fleckenstein, each one tells a fascinating page of Alsatian history.

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  Strasbourg Cathedral - History of a Gothic Masterpiece

  Posted in: Alsatian Heritage & Culture

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  Strasbourg's Notre-Dame Cathedral is one of the most fascinating monuments in Europe. Built over more than four centuries, with its spire that long dominated the entire world, its prodigious astronomical clock and its façade sculpted like a lace of stone, it embodies better than any other building the genius of Rhenish Gothic architecture and the deep soul of Alsace.

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  The Alsatian Dialect - History of a Language between France and Germany

  Posted in: Alsatian Heritage & Culture

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  The Alsatian dialect is far more than a way of speaking: it is the living witness to a thousand years of history between France and Germany. A Germanic language deeply rooted in regional identity, it has survived wars, annexations and bans to endure to the present day - weakened, but still alive and proudly claimed by those who still speak it.

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  Onion Soup with Riesling - The Alsatian Version of a Great Classic

  Posted in: Alsatian Recipes, Alsatian Wines & Gastronomy

  4205 Views 2531 Liked

  Onion soup with Riesling is the Alsatian version of the great French classic. Long-caramelised onions, a stock fragrant with Alsatian Riesling and generously Munster-gratinéed croutons - a comforting and refined soup that reinvents a popular dish with the finest produce of the Alsatian terroir.

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  Smoked Palette with Lentils - The Ultimate Alsatian Winter Dish

  Posted in: Alsatian Recipes, Alsatian Wines & Gastronomy

  4297 Views 2746 Liked

  Smoked palette with lentils is one of the most emblematic winter dishes of Alsatian cuisine. The long-simmered smoked pork shoulder pairs perfectly with soft, aromatic lentils. A generous, economical and deeply comforting dish, worthy of the finest Alsatian winstubs.

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  Mannele for Saint Nicholas Day - The Alsatian Brioche of 6 December

  Posted in: Alsatian Recipes, Christmas in Alsace

  3297 Views 1861 Liked

  The Mannele is the unmissable Alsatian brioche of 6 December. This small golden figure, soft and lightly sweetened, is given to children on Saint Nicholas Day in every bakery across Alsace. Here is the traditional recipe to make it at home, with baking secrets and delicious variations.

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  Schniederspaetzle - Alsatian Pan-Fried Pasta with Caramelised Onions

  Posted in: Alsatian Recipes, Alsatian Wines & Gastronomy

  2615 Views 1876 Liked

  Schniederspaetzle are one of the most comforting dishes in Alsatian cuisine. These homemade fresh pasta - cousins of Spätzle - are pan-fried in butter with long-caramelised onions. A simple, generous dish deeply rooted in the tradition of Alsatian winstubs.

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