From Epernay we got a lift with a truckie to St. Dizier. We stayed in a youth hostel overnight which looked like an army barracks, with smelly socks hanging over the bed-ends to air overnight, ugh!.
The next morning we got a lift to the Commercy turn-off and we are lucky enough to get another lift to Strasbourg with a guy in a very sick 2CV or 'Deux Chevaux'.
At the youth hostel we heard there was work near Colmar further south, so the next morning we hitched an early lift to the Ribeauvillé turn off and another one almost immediately into Ribeauvillé.
We looked for work but no luck so we walked back to the turn off and waited for 1.5 hours We just started to walk towards Colmar about 14 km away when a car with two women and two kids stopped. They's stopped for one of the kids to have a wee, and Danielle asked them if they would take us to Colmar - luckily they did.
It was now Thursday 16 October and we had 1,400F left, and decided we'd try to spend 250F per week. We were just working all this out when someone rang the hostel wanting to pickers for a vineyard until Saturday. What a stroke of luck.
A really hyperactive lady came to meet us and asked if we had any experience. When we said we’d worked in Champagne she was very impressed and hired us both on the spot. She drove us to the vineyard where we had breakfast and then immediately we were taken into the vineyard put to work.
Again it was a small family vineyard and we stayed with the family which was nice. The town was called Obermorschwihr, about 5km south of Colmar.
Their wine label is X.Stemfel et Fils and they make six different types of mainly white wine.
Language was a bit of a challenge though, because although they could speak French, they spoke Alsacian between themselves which was almost incomprehensible to us - a mixture of French and German. Alsace has alternated between German and French control over the centuries and reflects a mix of those cultures.
The scene was completely different to Champagne. When we arrived at the vineyard we were surprised to see a completely different sight.
The Riesling grape vines were high, the leaves were sparse and the bunches of grapes were huge - the complete opposite of Pinot Noir - and there was NO MUD.
We started as usual, either side of the vine and began working our way down the row at our usual pace. About halfway down we realised that we had outpaced everyone - the picking was so easy compared to what we’d been used to and we looked like super-pickers.
What we found interesting was that the vines were planted in proportion to the wine to be produced, for example after about 6 vines of Riesling grapes, there was one vine of Muscat grapes.
This means that essentially the blending of the grapes was done before they were picked, saving time and possibility of error during the blending process. They make eight types of wine here from the six main grape varieties.
After that, we slowed down to the regular pace, not wishing to start another row before the other pairs had finished. Also, instead of going back to the farmhouse for a 2-hour lunch, we had it brought to us in the vineyard and it was only an hour break.
The food was pretty poor too, overcooked and plain. The best meal was veal schnitzel and cooked potatoes, but no cheese fruit or sweets! And no wine to wash it down. We didn’t realise how good we had it in Champagne, and the pay was less.
By now it was mid-October and the picking season had virtually ended, so with few opportunities for more work, we headed to Lausanne, Switzerland to see Michelle, Danielle’s sister.
 |
| Citroën 2CV (Photo www.lezebre.eu) |
At the youth hostel we heard there was work near Colmar further south, so the next morning we hitched an early lift to the Ribeauvillé turn off and another one almost immediately into Ribeauvillé.
We looked for work but no luck so we walked back to the turn off and waited for 1.5 hours We just started to walk towards Colmar about 14 km away when a car with two women and two kids stopped. They's stopped for one of the kids to have a wee, and Danielle asked them if they would take us to Colmar - luckily they did.
It was now Thursday 16 October and we had 1,400F left, and decided we'd try to spend 250F per week. We were just working all this out when someone rang the hostel wanting to pickers for a vineyard until Saturday. What a stroke of luck.
A really hyperactive lady came to meet us and asked if we had any experience. When we said we’d worked in Champagne she was very impressed and hired us both on the spot. She drove us to the vineyard where we had breakfast and then immediately we were taken into the vineyard put to work.
 |
| Obermorschwihr (Internet Photo) |
Their wine label is X.Stemfel et Fils and they make six different types of mainly white wine.
Language was a bit of a challenge though, because although they could speak French, they spoke Alsacian between themselves which was almost incomprehensible to us - a mixture of French and German. Alsace has alternated between German and French control over the centuries and reflects a mix of those cultures.
 |
| Riesling vineyard in Alsace (Internet Photo) |
 |
| Pinot Noir vineyard in Champagne (Internet Photo) |
The Riesling grape vines were high, the leaves were sparse and the bunches of grapes were huge - the complete opposite of Pinot Noir - and there was NO MUD.
We started as usual, either side of the vine and began working our way down the row at our usual pace. About halfway down we realised that we had outpaced everyone - the picking was so easy compared to what we’d been used to and we looked like super-pickers.
 |
| Booklet on wines of Alsace |
 |
| X.Stemfel et Fils wine bottle label. |
This means that essentially the blending of the grapes was done before they were picked, saving time and possibility of error during the blending process. They make eight types of wine here from the six main grape varieties.
 |
| List of grape and wine varieties in Alsace |
After that, we slowed down to the regular pace, not wishing to start another row before the other pairs had finished. Also, instead of going back to the farmhouse for a 2-hour lunch, we had it brought to us in the vineyard and it was only an hour break.
The food was pretty poor too, overcooked and plain. The best meal was veal schnitzel and cooked potatoes, but no cheese fruit or sweets! And no wine to wash it down. We didn’t realise how good we had it in Champagne, and the pay was less.
By now it was mid-October and the picking season had virtually ended, so with few opportunities for more work, we headed to Lausanne, Switzerland to see Michelle, Danielle’s sister.
