Credit: Photo by Gregory Pigot for Domaine Valentin Zusslin
France’s most famous wine regions — Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Champagne — are must-visits for any wine lover, but they’re not remotely the only wine regions worth visiting in France. The country is carpeted with grape vines, from the foothills of the Pyrenees to the chalky soils of Champagne, and some of the best places to visit aren’t necessarily the usual suspects. Particularly consider two that lie along the country’s eastern border: Alsace and Jura. Both are full of stunning scenery, great restaurants, and world-class wines.
Alsace
The village of Bergheim in Alsace, France, is surrounded by verdant vineyards.
Credit: Courtesy of Civa-Wines of Alsace
It isn’t that France’s Alsace region lacks for tourism, even wine tourism. In the latter realm, it ranks right behind Bordeaux and Champagne. Yet most of those visitors are French, and among the non-French, over half are Belgian or British. So, Americans, what are you waiting for? Strasbourg is one of the most historic cities in France, and Alsace’s hilly vineyards, running from the foothills of the Vosges Mountains to the Rhine River, are storybook beautiful.
Alex Sarovich, Advanced Sommelier and the founder of Own Rooted Hospitality, has a number of suggestions. “My No. 1 can’t-miss is Domaine Christophe Mittnacht,” she says. “If you can book the dinner they do in their home, cooked by Christophe’s wife, Yuka, do it. She’s one of the greatest chefs I’ve ever experienced.” She also suggests Valentin Zusslin in Orschwihr: “The visit really situates you in the region. Plus, they have a wonderful honey they make from the flowers on the Bollenberg grand cru hill.” To experience one of the larger producers, plan a visit to Trimbach. “The wines are incredible, and the town of Ribeauvillé is really, really cute.”
Au Relais des Ménétriers, also in Ribeauvillé, serves top-notch traditional Alsace cuisine. At Restaurant Le Quai 21 in Colmar, chef Frédéric Tagliani serves dishes such as skate wing with spelt risotto, snails, razor clams, and a creamy chorizo sauce. “If you want high-end,” Sarovich says, “go to L’Atelier du Peintre. They focus on local ingredients and flavors that go brilliantly with Alsace wines, like white asparagus with morels and tarragon.”
For hotels, the elegant La Maison des Têtes in Colmar can’t be beat. Housed in a stunning historical residence built in 1609, it features the Michelin-starred Restaurant Girardin. Farther north and closer to Strasbourg, another option is the lovely 5 Terres Hôtel & Spa. Located in Barr, on Alsace’s scenic Route des Vins, its name is a reference to the five types of soil that grapes grow in locally (shale, clay, limestone, granite, and sandstone). The cavern-like spa is not to be missed—a treatment there is like getting a massage in an ancient wine cellar (but substantially warmer).
And lastly, visit Maison Ferber in Niedermorschwihr, where Christine Ferber makes internationally acclaimed preserves. “Her team forages for a lot of the ingredients. It’s far more labor-intensive than you’d see anywhere else,” Sarovich says. “And the best thing is you can buy a few jars and put them in your suitcase to take home.”
Wine to try
2024 Domaine Christoph Mittnacht Gyotaku
Credit: Food & Wine / Domaine Christophe Mittnarch
Jura
The river Cuisance flows through the village of Arbois in France’s Jura region.
Credit: Courtesy of La Closerie des Capucines
Jura, its mountainous eastern edge marking France’s border with Switzerland, makes extraordinary wines. Yet they remain little known in the U.S. — particularly strange considering that Beaune, the heart of Burgundy, is only an hour away by car.
Almost every winery here is small and family-owned, so arrange visits in advance. Start with Domaine Berthet-Bondet in the picture-postcard town of Château-Chalon. This historic property was brought back to life in 1984 by proprietors Chantal and Jean Berthet-Bondet. Then head to Domaine de Montbourgeau, just outside the village of L’Étoile, where owner Nicole Dériaux and her family make some of Jura’s best wines in the cellar under their red-shingled country house. In nearby Baume-les-Messieurs, there’s the ideal lunch spot: Café de l’Abbaye. Order trout from the nearby mountain streams served with morels and vin jaune sauce, a classic dish here.
Stay at La Closerie des Capucines in Arbois, an elegant bed-and-breakfast in a remodeled 17th-century mansion; the excellent breakfast features an array of locally sourced products. Just outside Arbois at Domaine Ratte, book the guided hike through the vineyards, then taste at the estate. In town, there’s Domaine André et Mireille Tissot; Stéphane Tissot is one of Jura’s greatest winemakers, and his Chardonnays, especially, rival top wines from neighboring Burgundy. For dinner, Le Bistronôme is one of the best restaurants in town, with an excellent wine list and dishes like pressed rabbit and foie gras with Savagnin wine and a celery mousseline.
Finally, don’t forget that Jura is also famed for something besides wine: Comté cheese. Aged renditions are available at shops throughout the region, and for the cheese-curious, a visit to the Maison du Comté in Poligny for a self-guided tour and then a tasting is a fun, informative, and tasty diversion.
Wine to try
2022 Domaine Berthet-Bondet Trio Côtes du Jura
Credit: Food & Wine / Domaine Berthet-Bondet
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