Wine Regions Archives -

Pros and Cons of a Champagne and Alsace Combo Wine Trip

When we booked a wine trip to France, we decided to head east out of Paris and visit Champagne and Alsace on the same itinerary.

Part of this was purely out of necessity, as we were traveling onward to Germany and had to end in Munich, so heading east made sense to easily connect to onward trains. Another part was that it was Christmas time, and we wanted to check out the iconic Christmas markets in Alsace and nearby.

But, in reality, we booked both on the same itinerary because we could- the two regions aren't that far apart (about 2-3 hours by train/car) and starting in Champagne was an easy ~50 minute train ride from Paris.

In retrospect, however, hitting two major French wine regions in one itinerary was a lot to say the least. So much so that we had to make sacrifices in both, particularly when it came to buying wine to bring home.

So in this one, we thought we'd share some pros and cons of combining Champagne and Alsace into a single trip, including what we liked and what we would've perhaps done differently.

As far as fortified wines are concerned, Madeira is one of our absolute favorites and it all comes from one tiny little island off of the coast of Morocco with the same name.

After visiting Madeira ourselves, and trying most of the wineries on the island, we have to be a little blunt- if you love Madeira wine, you must visit Madeira island!

So in this one, we wanted to share our tips and advice to help you plan your trip!

Oh, Madeira- you are such a cool island.

Out of all of the places we've been to, Madeira is among the most magical. From stellar views, great food, to incredible wine, and more, there really is a lot to love about this island.

So if you are planning a visit, particularly to go wine tasting, you may wonder, where is the best place to stay in Maderia?

We've got you covered in this one!

Is there any wine region more famous than Champagne? This is debatable, of course, as there are several regions that could fit that bill. But at the end of the day, Champagne is one of the most popular regions for wine in the world, and it is easy to see why- producers here make the world's best sparkling wine!

If you are planning a trip to Champagne, there are many things you may want to consider before you go. We've got you covered in this guide with tips from our visit!

When planning our trip to Champagne, we have to admit we didn't kow where exactly we wanted to make our base. This famous region has wineries all over that we would've happily booked a tasting, so planning where to stay in Champagne required some extra thought.

Although we settled on Epernay primarily for a small town feel and easier access to some of the Champagne houses we actually booked, we could've just as easily booked a stay in Reims or any number of other small towns nearby.

So in this one, we wanted to talk about planning logistics for Champagne and how that impacts where you may ultimately want to stay!

If you are planning a trip to go wine tasting in Alsace, you will likely be thinking about where to make your base, as the region itself is quite large.

We went back and forth on whether we wanted to stay in Strasbourg, in the north, the smaller city of Colmar, to the south, or find an even smaller town somewhere in between. We were visiting both in tandem with Christmas markets during the holidays (which have special considerations we'll get into later), and really struggled with the best choice of where to stay.

Ultimately, we settled on Colmar, and we were quite glad that we did- it was the perfect location for wine tasting and Christmas markets!

If you're planning a wine trip to the Douro Valley, odds are good one of the earliest questions will be about where to stay.

The good news is that the Douro Valley has numerous options for all budgets and interests. The bad news is that the Douro Valley is, in a word, massive, and driving around the steep patamares can be quite challenging and, just as important, time consuming.

So in this one, we want to take a look at some considerations for choosing where to stay in the Douro Valley!

When it comes to planning a wine trip to Napa and Sonoma, you'll naturally come across one very important question- where do you stay?

The good news is that these two counties have no shortage of options, most of which are easily accessible to just about any winery in either county in 30 to 75 minutes (or a bit more). The bad news is, that may make figuring out where to stay harder, not easier, as you can almost stay just about anywhere and have a great time.

So in this one, let's break down more details on what you should consider when planning on where to stay in Napa and Sonoma for a wine trip, and share why keeping the drive times and hotel prices in mind may be the most important factors!

To call the Finger Lakes region sprawling is an understatement. The twelve lakes in the region span a length of about 60 miles as the crow flies, and the rural back roads that loop each lake can make for some considerable driving time when exploring.

It is due to this reason that being strategic in where you stay can make or break a trip as drive times can add up before you know it.

Thankfully, for those who are visiting for wine, odds are good you'll be clustering your visit to the 100+ wineries located on just three lakes, Cayuga, Seneca, and Keuka. While this helps with planning to some degree, the simple truth is that between driving to (and around) these lakes can still mean a lot of car time.

So, how do you plan where to stay in order to get the most out of your visit? We have some thoughts!

If you're planning a trip to Sicily, you must allocate some time to go wine tasting. The island is home to some of the world's best wines, and, as a wine blog, we'd be remiss if we didn't advocate for visiting wineries as much as your time allows.

So, where do you stay in Sicily if you want to go wine tasting?

Well, we have good news, more good news, and a bit of bad news. The first good news? There are wineries all over Sicily. The better news? They're often easily accessible from most major tourist towns and cities via a rental car. The bad news? The wine is so good, particularly around Mount Etna, that you also should plan to spend a bit of time in the heart of it all (so, we suppose, it is only bad news for those who may be short on time, like I was on my first trip).

So in this one, we thought we'd take a dive into where you may want to stay when exploring Sicily's wine scene and take a more focused look at the logistics of exploring the Etna region in earnest.

Pros and Cons of a Champagne and Alsace Combo Wine Trip

How to Plan a Madeira Wine Trip – Tips and Advice

Where to Stay in Madeira for Wine Tasting

How to Plan a Champagne Wine Tour – Tips and Advice

Where to Stay in Champagne for Wine Tasting – A Big Region

Where to Stay in Alsace for Wine Tasting – Strasbourg or Colmar?

Where to Stay in the Douro Valley for Wine Tasting

Where to Stay in Napa and Sonoma – Drive Times Add Up

Where to Stay in the Finger Lakes for Wine Tasting

Where to Stay in Sicily for Wine Tasting – Etna and More