Whether you’re into German rieslings or Spanish bubbly, there are some great day-trips for wine lovers, writes Donald Strachan.

Alsace, France

The lowdown: The place names sound German, the wine bottles look German, the local dialect, Elsassisch, has a definite Germanic twang to it. But this is France, and the wines are distinctively French.

Highlights of this 200-kilometre route, tracking the Vosges mountains from Thann in the south to the border of the Palatinate in the north, are bunched up in the central stretch around Colmar and Selestat. The favourite tour bus stop is Riquewihr, which would normally be good reason in itself to avoid it, but this uniquely Alsatian walled village stays (just) the right side of kitsch. And, anyway, it’s home to Hugel and Dopff au Moulin, the best exponents of local white wines.

Alternatively, the co-operatives at Turckheim and Beblenheim make great stops to try gewurztraminer in its natural home. And while you’re at it, the region is one of Old Europe’s best for gastro-tourism – Michelin-starred restaurants are scattered like hundreds and thousands, and Alsace onion tart is unmatchable.

Base yourself in: Everyone else heads to Colmar for chocolate-box holiday snaps, but to avoid high-season crowds try Selestat. [Read more →]

Cava. The fizz that does the biz without breaking the bank. You might crack open a bottle on a friend’s – but not a really good friend’s – birthday. Or at Christmas – especially at Christmas. Seven bottles of Cava equals one of Champagne. You do the maths. But to a Catalan, Cava means something altogether different. Catalans treat it with the sort of reverence Brazilians reserve for Candomble or the French for the Tour de France.

Were it not for just one building, Sant Sadurni d’Anoia, the home of Cava, might be just about the wine world’s most forgettable town. Driving through the Penedes in February, I’m too late for autumn’s ochres, too early for the first emerald shoots of spring. Slate-grey town blends colourlessly into muted green countryside, the only punctuation those regimented rows of gnarled vines.

Cava was first made here in 1872. Josep Raventos, back from working in France’s Champagne region, brought the techniques home to the family business. Within a decade, his xampany was a sensation – and Codorniu has become the world’s biggest producer of sparkling wine. [Read more →]