Would there be anyone there at the designated meeting place? I hoped so.I decided to shower there to save time

   
 I booked on the Internet and was hoping Trip Advisor had got it right. Sure enough Florence, ‘Call me Flo’ arrived with her big blue van at 9.30, with headset in place and off we went. We didn’t really get to say hello to the other day trippers till we were away. There were Nancy and Tony from Southern California ( he was Welsh) Brian and Jessica a young couple from Pittsburgh, and Linda and Bob from San Francisco ( he announced he knew lots about wine and really only liked sweet wines ! Right! and Hansito ( not sure of the spelling ) a very nice courteous young man from Japan. 

We hit the road and I was sitting in the back row bonding with the young couple in probably the worst seats but yeh we are the young ones! Well I wasn’t but …….

 

 
Flo was a font of knowledge on all things to do with Alsace and made a very enthusiastic outline of our day. First stop was a vineyard with Mariette our winemaker host. It was a small family vineyard producing about 35,000 bottles a year. Whites,  Reislings, Pinot Gris, Cremeant which is their name for Sparkling ( they don’t like the idea they can’t use Champagne as a name)  we had 6 tastings and Bob kept pushing for sweet wines  – a theme that continued for the day. There were some very drinkable whites. The Reislings are lovely in this area as are the Pinot Gris. 

  

You can even camp at this vineyard! Check out the grapes. 

  
  
Then onto Lucy and her son Maxime. Very professional tasting of some very nice wines. 

Then lunch  – a free hour in the most lovely small village. It was alive with wooden buildings , flowers and jaunty outdoor umbrellas. 

 

 
I thought by now the group would have bonded and we would eat together but no the couples scattered and lovely Jessica and Brian the young couple asked me to join them. Brian even paid for me which was embarrassing but I repaid with a bottle of Rose sparkling they enjoyed at the tasting at the next vineyard. 

 

 
After lunch we faced the no nonsense super knowledgable Martine, a former engineer. They are a big winery producing 2 million bottles a year and export to Australia. Very good wines. 

 

 
Our last stop was the one probably most like Australian vineyards. We stood at the bar and didn’t have much import from the winemaker. The only thing I bought was a wine cooler. So I can be a poser at home as I chill my wines. At this winery I particularly liked the the Rose Cremant. 

We event finished our buying and headed back to Strasbourg. The weather was beautiful and it was a fantastic day. Great wines. 

I went back to my Vietnamese restaurant tonight for a bowl of prawn and noddle soup. Yum. Tomorrow off the Germany. Baden Baden.