The International Wine & Food Society
Zürich Branch
Wine tour of Alsace
Friday 18 to Sunday 20 September 2015
The Zürich branch of IWFS is organising a weekend wine tour in Alsace. The main
goal of the visit is to acquaint ourselves with the region’s heritage of good food, good
wine and rich history.
Transport to Alsace
Participants are expected to arrange their own transport to Colmar.
By train:
there is a train on Friday morning leaving Zurich HB at 09.00, with a change
at Basel, arriving in Colmar at 11.07. On arrival there will be a comfortable bus
transporting us around the Alsace wine route. We plan to return on Sunday afternoon
and we will take all participants to Colmar main station to pick up the train at 15.23
arriving at 17.30 at Zurich HB.
By car:
our hotel and the city of Colmar provide a good number of parking spaces.
Programme
Friday
On arrival in Colmar on Friday we will board our bus and head to Eguisheim, a
beautiful floral gem of a town. We will enjoy a three-course lunch (a menu terroir) at
the Au Vieux Porsche. There will be free time after lunch to stroll around the town´s
narrow streets, with its little shops selling regional products. There are also many top
vintners in Eguisheim who would welcome you for wine tasting.
After Eguisheim we are heading to the village of Bergheim to visit the wine house of
Marcel Deiss. One of their very knowledgeable oenologists will guide us through a
tasting of a range of their wines.
Then it is time to check in at our hotel Le Parc (4 stars) in the town of Saint
Hippolyte. In the evening, there will be a six-course gourmet dinner at the hotel,
with specially selected wines.
Saturday
On Saturday morning, our bus will take us to the Castle of Haut-Königsberg, an
impressive building dating back to 1147 and overlooking the Plaine d’Alsace.
Saturday lunch will be at one of the region’s well-known restaurants, Parc Carola,
which has one Michelin star.
After lunch we will have a wine tasting at one of the top growers (yet to be decided)
in the town of Ribeauville.
We will be back in the hotel in time to change for dinner, which will be at Auberge
d´Ill, a three Michelin star restaurant run by Chef Häberlin. The chef has a
reputation for his good use of seasonal products and we will be served a culinary fivecourse
tasting menu with wines.
Sunday
On Sunday morning we will have an opportunity to visit the Centre de Cigognes, a park
opened in 1976 to reintroduce storks to Alsace. After a stroll in the park we will head
to a wine tasting at Bott Frères in Ribeauville.
After having enjoyed the hospitality of the Bott family we cross the street and
finalize our tour by enjoying a lunch at the BiB Gourmand restaurant of Au Relais des
Ménétriers. After lunch our bus takes us to Colmar railway station to board our train,
or back to where cars have been parked.
Price
At the current rate of exchange the event will cost CHF 1,000 per head, with a single
occupancy supplement of CHF 100. This includes accommodation for two nights with
breakfast/tax at the Hotel Le Parc. The cost for non-members (guests) will be
CHF 1,100. In the event of swings in the
€/CHF value we may need to adjust the
price. We will confirm the final price of the event in our communication before the
final payment is due at the end of June. However, we are confident that the impact
will be minimal. The cost of transport from Zürich to Colmar and return is not
included.
Capacity
We are limited as to the number of people we can accommodate for this event and
the optimal number of participants is 24. This is mainly due to limitations in
restaurant capacity and wine tasting facilities. Non-members (guests) and members
of other branches or independent members will not be accepted for registration until
after 31 March.
Registration and payment
Please register your interest by 31 March with Elina Selin using email
elina.selin@bluewin.ch,
with a copy to John Nicholas using email jnich4889@aol.com .
On registration, please indicate your likely mode of transport to Alsace.
Registration will need to be accompanied by a deposit of CHF 300 per head – receipt
in the Zürich branch bank account will be confirmation of your registration.
Final payment will be due by 30 June 2015.
Please make payment as follows:
Name of account: The Zürich Branch of the IWFS
Postfinance account: IBAN CH89 0900 0000 6051 9910 1
If you need an einzahlungsschein, please contact John Nicholas.
If you prefer to pay in Euros, the deposit will be
€300 and an adjustment for the
exchange rate will be made for the final payment. Payment in Euros should be to the
following bank account:
IBAN: CH68 0900 0000 9160 0309 6
Account: 91-600309-6 EUR
BIC: POFICHBEXXX
Name of account: The Zürich Wine & Food Society
Cancellation policy
There will be no refund of the deposit for cancellation after 15 April.
After 15 July, no refund will be made as IWFS will incur cancellation charges.
The only exception to this policy will be if members or guests on the waiting list
accept a late opportunity to book the event.
You are advised to take out personal cancellation insurance cover.
We hope that you will join us for this wine tour of fascinating Alsace.
Elina and Göran Selin
February 2015