CHINA DAILY THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012 lifetravel 19 A SIP OF A tour of the and routes naturally provides to sample and plenty of food for thought, Mao Ning discovers.

rance is best known for being the home of luxury goods and Paris, but a wine F tour off ers unrivaled scen- ery and valuable cultural insights. As part of “Experience France with Wine Tours”, a three-year program rolled out by the French Ministry of Agriculture, to acquaint more Chinese visitors with France’s wine culture, I joined a small group of reporters touring the Alsace and Champagne wine routes. We set out from , a small city some 70 km southwest of Stras- bourg, capital of France’s Alsace province, which borders and Switzerland. A border region, France and Germany have fought over it for centuries. As a result, it has inherited and blended both cultures to create its own unique architectural style, cuisine and language. Our arrival in tranquil and pictur- esque Colmar was like stepping into the past, without a single high-rise in sight. For me, used to the hustle and bustle of Beijing, it was too quiet at fi rst. On both sides of the streets are timber-framed houses in pink, yel- low, brown, green and white, mostly built during the Middle Ages. It was like strolling around in an open-air museum. In the old days, Colmar was a trading post and river port, and had its heyday in the 16th century, when merchants shipped their wine along UK GERMANY the waterways running through the canal quarter, now known as Petite Venise (Little Venice). Paris Strasbourg Today, Colmar is the center of the Give me a healthy Colmar Alsace Wine Route of 119 towns and body for a long time, SWITZERLAND villages stretching 170 km along the Give me jobs sometimes, FRANCE Mountains, where most of ‘Give‘ me love from ITALY the region’s are located. Th e medieval village of time to time, is surrounded by some of the fi nest But give me Champagne vineyards in Alsace and has retained SPAIN all the time.” 5û much of its 16th century appeal. Alleys, winding cobblestone HAUTVILLERS VILLAGERS’ MORNING PRAYER streets, watchtowers and houses decked with colorful fl owers make Riquewihr one of the most beautiful with brand-name infringements. A magnet villages along the wine route. “We have more than 1,000 cases In these villages, where most of pending settlement, and there are the locals are vine growers or wine 30-60 new cases arising every year,” for wine makers, one can easily fi nd a cel- he says. lar where the owner will In France, if you think wine cellars proudly share their family’s legacy merely serve as storage for bottles with visitors. of wine, you are wrong. It is also a lovers Jean-Louis Lorentz-Klipfel is a window of exploration for history, The Alsace Wine Route is fi ft h-generation winery owner in culture and art. 170 km long and was inau- Barr, a village nestled in the hills. Champagne Pommery, a Cham- gurated in 1953. It crisscrosses Th e family’s two-story house doesn’t pagne producer in Epernay, a small vineyards from north to south look that special from the outside, town near Reims, has wine cellars along the foothills of the Vosges but in the basement there is treasure. that are like entering an art gallery. Mountains. Designated as one More than 2 million bottles of Th e arched cellars, 18 km in of France’s most beautiful tour- wine are stored in the cellar, about 10 length and 30 meters underground, ist routes, it features wonderful meters underground, of which more store about 20 million bottles of landscapes, with more than 100 than 10,000 bottles are from 1919-70. champagne, with the oldest dating towns and villages dotting the “It’s our family tradition to keep back to 1874. But what fascinates vast Alsace vineyards. some bottles of wine from each ordinary visitors most are the The Alsace Wine Route is a growing year, especially from the ancient chalk pits and the artworks magnet for wine lovers. Th e route good years, for collection purposes showcased inside. leads to the doors of wine cellars instead of selling. About 300 ancient caves in the and tasting rooms, most of which “I’m grateful to my great-grandfa- Reims region were once Roman are open all year round to visi- ther who protected our wine collec- quarries, dug in the 4th century. tors. For the majority of tourists, tion from German invaders during Th ey had been abandoned until the perhaps, the charm of the trip lies World War II,” Lorentz-Klipfel says. 18th century, when the champagne in the exploration of picturesque While showing us around the cel- industry fl ourished and wine cellars medieval towns and villages. lar, Lorentz-Klipfel picks up a bottle were dug for storing champagne. Like many wine producers in from the family’s 1943 production. Pommery House owns 120 of the the region who are showing a “Th e same bottles from my fami- caves, which have been fi tted out developing interest in the grow- ly’s cellar were found in Hitler’s bun- and extended. ing Chinese market, Alsace is ker aft er his death,” Lorentz-Klipfel It is stunning to fi nd exquisite bas- making more efforts to attract says, not without a sense of pride. relief sculptures inside a . Chinese tourists to the area. He adds that he will carry on his Carved out of the limestone on the According to Jean-Chris- family tradition and store old walls, four of these were created tophe Harray, an official from for the family “no matter how high by Gustav Navlet in 1884, who spent the Alsace Tourism Commit- the price”. four years working on the sculptures tee, most tourists to Alsace are Like many other winery owners, in the dim light. from France and other European Lorentz-Klipfel started making con- Th e beautifully preserved bas- countries. Even so, Chinese tour- nections with China two years ago relief structures are today juxtaposed ists have increased significant- and sold 80,000 bottles to the coun- against contemporary art exhibitions ly in recent years, with 20,000 try in 2011. of world-renowned artists. nights recorded in the region in “I’ve been to China three times Hautvillers, a small village on the 2011, a 76 percent increase over over the past two years, and have just outskirts of Epernay, is another elegant the previous year. come back from a three-week trip to destination in the Champagne region. From top: PHOTOS BY MAO NING / CHINA DAILY Harray says while most tour- 10 Chinese cities in June,” he says. What catches visitors’ eyes most A small museum showcases traditional wine making tools in Alsace. ists previously preferred to visit From Colmar, we head to Reims, are the more than 140 wrought- Winery owner Jean-Baptiste Geoff roy works in his in Reims. big cities like Paris, “now many about 300 km away. It’s the capital of iron signs hung on the front-facing The arched cellars of Champagne Pommery in Epernay store more than 20 million bottles. have turned their eyes to small Notre-Dame de Reims is a World Heritage site. the Champagne region. I regret to walls of residential homes, vividly cities and towns with unique fea- say that, like many others, I previ- indicating the family business. It is tures”. ously used to call all sparkling wines a tradition inherited from the old renovated several times, but is now plain still wine into . fect understanding of life as it should Th e Alsace Wine Route is eas- Champagne. days, when a signifi cant number of standing proud. Strolling around peaceful and be lived: ily accessible by car from Alsace’s “Actually, only those produced villagers couldn’t read. Hautvillers is best known quiet French villages like Hautvillers, “Give me a healthy body for a long main cities of Strasbourg, Col- from grapes grown in the Cham- As a fi ne vine-growing village in around the world for Dom Peri- one gets used to a slower-paced life, time, mar and . Th e TGV, or pagne region and made in line with the Champagne region, Hautvillers gnon (1638-1715), a monk and and it is easy to imagine what life Give me jobs sometimes, high-speed train, takes just over strictly regulated processes can has narrow streets and centuries-old cellar master, who resided at the was like in the old days. Give me love from time to time, two hours to travel from Paris be labeled Champagne,” confi rms houses. An old-fashioned lavoir, a Benedictine Abbey in Hautvillers On an old wall are written some But give me Champagne all the to Strasbourg and has a stop in Philippe Wibrotte, public relations public place to wash clothes, was for 40 years — and was buried here lines for the villagers’ morning time.” Colmar, the center of the Alsace manager of the Champagne Wine built in 1832 and is still in use today. aft er his death. He was the fi rst to prayer. Instead of being profound Wine Route. Association. Th e village abbey, fi rst constructed blend various wines during the and religious, the words are simple Contact the writer at MAO NING Every year, the association deals in AD 650 has been destroyed and second fermentation and turned and down-to-earth, providing a per- [email protected].