June 28 I will be flying to Frankfurt to begin my limited tour of Alsace, France and the Mosel Valley, Germany. So excited! It will be a busy little trip, with a number of appointments at wine producers in France and Germany, and a diversion to meet an acquaintance in Wissmannsdorf Germany, north of the Mosel region. I’ve also made an acquaintance in Colmar, France for a casual tour and some friendly company at dinnertime. I’m hoping for some amount of spontaneity on this trip that will result in iconic and pastoral experiences in this beautiful European countryside.

I arrive Sunday, June 29 in Frankfurt. Rent car, drive 2.5 hours to Colmar. I’m staying in a simple attic studio in order to preserve my expenses for wine, food and any other lasting memories. I don’t need much, just a reasonably comfortable bed, and Wi-Fi. What makes me most nervous about the first couple days is actually finding my accommodations in a tiny medieval French town with potentially primitive mapping – of the printed form. With all the amazing mapping and navigation smartphone technology we have today, I’m unwilling to roam with my iPhone, and I don’t have the attention span to figure out a temporary cell phone while in Europe.

I have also been procrastinating with my homework on the producers I am visiting, I will make sure to do this next week. I will also comment on each visit in a post. So for now I’ll keep the descriptions below brief. They are all high quality producers of the finest, most elegant wine from the region.

• Monday, June 30. Appointment with Domaine Emile Beyer.
• Tuesday, July 1: Meyer-Fonne
• Wednesday, July 2: Domaine Weinbach (am), Zind Humbrecht (pm).
• Thursday, July 3: Josmeyer.
• Monday, July 7: Clusserath and then Dr. Thanisch in Bernkastel-Kues (both Germany).