This was our second visit to the Alsace region of Kientzheim, France. Our first trip was in August 2006 and we just happened upon a wonderful little winery in the village of Kientzheim named Paul Blanck (http://www.blanck-alsace.com/english/index.htm).  It was our visit to Paul Blanck that brought us back a second time.  The village of Kientzheim is quaint, quiet and picturesque and is completed surrounded by hundreds, if not thousands of acres of vineyards. This area of Alsace creates some of the best known (and tasty) Rieslings in the world, ranging in price from just a few dollars to upward of $200.

While spending most of our time in Kientzheim, we did make a stop in Ribeauville.  Ribeauville is another quaint little village that makes some of the best Alsacian wines.  We'd heard some great things about the place, so decided to check it our for ourselves.  Glad we did!  Ribeauville is full of antiquated little shops and homes, many of them housing families of storks atop their rooves.  Now, I'd never seen a stork before in my life, so seeing these beautiful birds nesting on top of houses was kinda cool....for me, anyway.  We stopped at one winery in Ribeauville, Louis Sipp (www.sipp.com), although we did recognize many of the wine names...Trimbach being the largest. 

 

Should anyone make the trip to Kientzheim, we recommend you stay at Hostellerie Schwendi (www.hotel-schwendi.com).  The hotel has been around for hundreds of years, is comfortable, affordable and has an outstanding restaurant...even serving wine from its own vineyards!  It is 10km from Colmar and less than 30 minutes from Strasbourg. 

Custom Search