Strasbourg, France, where Ping Hanhan is located, is part of the province of Alsace, and is also the name of the northeastern region of France and the name of the old province.

Across the Rhine, it is divided into two parts by the north and south of the Rhine: the province of Lower Rhine in the north and the province of Upper Rhine in the south.

It is mainly mountainous and hilly, and the plains are distributed in the Rhine Valley. It covers an area of more than 8,200 square kilometers. It has a population of about two million.

This economically developed Alsace region ranks second among the twenty-two regions of France, after the Paris region.

The import and export trade is very developed, the per capita foreign investment volume and the density of foreign enterprises are the highest in the country, there are steel, machinery, automobiles, oil refining, petrochemical and other industries, and the cotton textile industry is also developed.

There is also an important source of potash.

The Rhine and its tributaries flow through it and are rich in water resources and fertile soils, producing cereals, grapes, vegetables, hops and tobacco. Shipping on the Rhine is also busy, with canals connecting the two rivers.

It is impossible not to mention the Alsace region of France, which borders Germany and Switzerland, and whose winemaking history dates back 2,000 years.

Alsace's white wines such as Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Blanc, and Pinot Gris are all famous for their unique taste, although unlike Bordeaux and Burgundy, which are famous French wine regions with expensive red wine varieties, Alsace white wines are also unique in the global wine industry.

Pingguo's mother and daughter came to a beautiful and medieval-style Alsace on the southeast slope of the Vosges Mountains, visited famous wine producers, and felt the accumulation of Alsatian wine for hundreds of years, which made Pingguo feel a lot of emotion.

Ribeauville is an old town located in the heart of Alsace, with only one main shopping street, all in the medieval Alsatian style, and the central street has been converted into a pedestrian street, which is constantly crowded with tourists.

Right in the heart of this ancient city, there is a famous white wine winery, which has a place in the white wine industry in the Alsace region and in the world: the famous "Tranbac winery".

According to Mr. Jean Tranbach, the 12th generation of the Tranbach family, the family actually came from the village of Tranbach in Switzerland, settled in Alsace after the Middle Ages, and bought a vineyard near Ribeauville in 1626 to start winemaking, and it has been nearly 400 years since then.

Over the past 400 years, the world has changed, but the family's tradition of wine production has not changed.

Ping Hanhan took Pingguo and followed Mr. Jean to the Tranbac family wine cellar: the entire cellar was neatly arranged and spotless, from the oak barrels of hundreds of years ago to the latest stainless steel barrels, from the collection of wine from 1865 to the new wine of 2014, everywhere shows the respect for tradition and the quality of excellence of the cellar owner.

Mr. Jean Tranbac said that his great-grandfather had won the highest honour at the Brussels International Exposition and had made the "Holy Mast" produced by the Tranbach family the king of Alsatian white wines.

At present, the thirteenth generation of the Tranbach family has begun to enter the front line of the enterprise, but the company as a whole is still run by Jean Tranbach and his brother Pierre Tranbach, one in charge of sales and the other in charge of production.

Pingo found that Mr. Jean Tranbach was an energetic manager, in charge of global sales, and flying around the world was a regular occurrence for him.

"Since 2000, I have been going to China at least three times a year, because the Chinese market has great potential, and more than 90% of the Tranbac family's wine is sold abroad, and the Chinese market cannot be ignored," said Mr. Jean. ”

Not far from Ribeauville, about five kilometres further into the Vosges Mountains, there is a medieval town called Queville.

In the center of the old town, there is also a famous winery with the same name and deep roots as Tranbac, "Château Hugo".

Beginning in 1639, the Hugo family, which is said to share a common ancestor with the Tranbac family, has been carrying on the ancestral legacy for nearly 400 years through delicate and unique winemaking techniques.

The 13th generation of the Hugo family, Jean-Frédéric Hugo, who is only 26 years old, is still a little shy because of his youth. He introduced the changes of the Hugo Maison over the past 400 years, and believed that the secret of its longevity lies in constantly adapting to the changing situation.

"In the last 10 years, our sales growth in the Chinese market has been maintained at the level of 20% per year, I think we can continue to prosper, in addition to maintaining tradition, another is to adapt to the change of the situation, the Asian market is the fastest changing market in the world, I hope we can grow with this change with the market." This young Mr. Jean is also full of confidence.

Pinggo knows that Alsace (English: Alsace; French: Région Alsace; German: Elsass) was part of the Frankish kingdom in ancient times, the birthplace of the Habsburgs, part of the Holy Roman Empire until the 17th century, and ceded to France after the Thirty Years' War under the Peace of Westphalia (the capital Strasbourg was completely annexed by France by the time of Louis XIV). Both it and Lorraine were ceded to Prussia after the Franco-Prussian War, re-annexed by France after World War I, occupied by Nazi Germany at the beginning of World War II, and annexed again by France at the end of World War II.

Since 1 January 2016, the three regions of Alsace, Champagne-Ardennes and Lorraine have been merged to form the Greater Eastern Region.

Alsace was inhabited by nomads in prehistoric times. In 1500 BC, the Celts began to settle and farm here. In 58 BC, the Romans invaded Alsace and established a viticultural center.

When Napoleon I's army occupied Alsace, there were more than 280,000 troops and 90,000 horses in the province of Rhine alone. After the rise of seaports in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, the original trade routes were changed, which seriously affected the local trade and economy.

During World War II, Nazi Germany occupied the area in 1940 and re-established it as German territory. Alsace was annexed to Baden, while Lorraine was annexed to the Saarland. In order to stop anti-German discrimination in the region, the Nazis imposed a harsh dictatorship. However, the German government, in order to preserve the opportunity for an agreement with the West, never officially announced annexation or negotiated.

In 1944 France regained control of Alsace and pursued a Francophone policy. However, Ping Hanhan said: "To this day, the law in Fort is still significantly different from the rest of France. That's one of my problems. ”

In recent years, nationalist sentiments have faded and Alsace regional identity has been re-promoted locally, nationally and Europeanly. The local French school treats Alsatian (closely related to German) as a dialect (not government-enforced). German is a foreign language in Sburg kindergarten Chinese s and schools. However, the French constitution still stipulates that French is the only official language of the country.

"Alsace is one of the most conservative regions in France. In the 2004 regional elections, Alsace was one of the two regions in mainland France to be won by the conservative right. In the second round of the 2007 French presidential election, conservative leader Nicolas Sarkozy received the highest approval rating here (over 65%).

Alsace is also one of the most pro-EU regions in France, and was one of the few regions to vote in favour of the 2005 EU Constitution.

Alsace consists of 2 provinces, 13 districts, 75 counties and 904 municipalities.

Alsace has a semi-continental climate, with cold and dry winters and hot summers. The Vosges Mountains to the west block water vapour in, so there is not much rainfall.

Colmar is the second driest city in France, with only 550 mm of rainfall per year, but it offers an excellent environment for Alsatian wines.

According to statistics, Alsace has an annual GDP of around 44.3 billion euros, with an average GDP per capita of 24,804 euros, making it the second highest region in France, after Ile-de-France. The industrial structure of Alsace is 68% services, 25% industry and 35% foreign companies (including Germany, Switzerland, the USA, Japan and Scandinavia).

Transportation is one of the most industrialized regions in France.

The main economic activities in Alsace are: viticulture, hop harvesting and winemaking (half of France's beer is produced in Alsace, especially near Strasbourg, where well-known brands include Kronberg and Fisher-Price, as well as Karlsberg in Germany and Heineken in the Netherlands), forestry, the automotive industry, life sciences, tourism, potassium chloride and phosphate mines

There are currently two international airports in Alsace:

Strasbourg Entzheim International Airport

Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg European Airport: It is the seventh largest airport in France by air freight.

The Alsace Stork is a symbol of Alsace and the subject of many children's stories. The storks became extinct around the 1970s, although reinvigoration operations have been underway. They are commonly found on the roofs of houses, churches, or public buildings in Alsace.

Alsace Vin gris is the French name for a light rosé made from Pinot Noir grapes. Alsacians use pinot noir d'Alsace to make rosé wine.

Alsace wines, referred to as Alsace wines. The grape variety is usually indicated on the label of the bottle, and the wine is made from 100% of this grape variety. Due to the geological differences, Alsace has a wide variety of lands and landscapes. The Alsace region has a rich vineyard culture and has a dry climate, abundant sunshine, complex geology, as well as soils conducive to viticulture and ideal exposure.

Alsatian wines (with the exception of sparkling wines) are usually sold in a bottle typical of "Rhine wines", which is called an "Alsatian goblet" and is protected by special regulations. Since 1972, Alsatian wines have had to be bottled in the place where they are produced.

Alsatian appellation wines must be tasted and approved by the National Institute of Appellation of Origin before they can be marketed. Alsace AOC wines account for 77% of all Alsatian wine production, of which 92% are white wines.

The Romans brought Alsatian culture to this vast land at the beginning of the New Era, and people began to drink Alsatian wines in large quantities, which were "uplifting and full of joy".

At the end of the first millennium, grapes were grown in 160 Alsatian villages.

By the Middle Ages, Alsatian wines were among the most famous wines in Europe.

Alsatian viticulture reached its peak in the 16th century.

This period of prosperity was shattered by a sudden, thirty-year war, from which Alsace fell into the abyss of plunder, disaster, and a sharp decline in population and commercial activity.

The rebirth of the Alsatian vineyard began after the end of the First World War, when winegrowers participated in a quality assurance policy that ensured that typical grape varieties were used to make wines. From 1945 onwards, this policy was deepened and consolidated: vineyard boundaries were drawn up and strict regulations for wine production and vinification were established.

In 1962, 1975 and 1976 Alsace were finally established, respectively, the criteria for "Alsace Appellation", "Alsace Cru Cru" and "Alsace Sparkling Wine". Thanks to the tireless efforts of those working in the Alsace wine industry over the past decades, Alsatian wines have been recognized worldwide for their excellent quality. Today, Alsatian wine producers and distributors come together through the Alsatian Wine Industry Association to promote and disseminate Alsatian wines throughout the world.

Due to the geological differences, Alsace has a wide variety of lands and landscapes. The Alsace region has a rich vineyard culture and has a dry climate, abundant sunshine, complex geology, as well as soils conducive to viticulture and ideal exposure.

Protected by the Vosges plateau, the Alsace vineyards have managed to escape the influence of the oceanic climate, making them one of the regions with the least rainfall in France. At the same time, the Alsatian vineyards benefit from a semi-continental climate, with plenty of sunshine and a hot, dry climate. The vineyard is located on the hills of the Vosges Mountains, at an altitude of 200-400 meters above sea level, thanks to which the Alsatian vineyards enjoy the fullest exposure to the sun. These advantages allowed the grapes to ripen slowly, prolonged ripening and gave the grapes a very delicate aromatic character.

The geology of Alsace is a true mosaic structure, from granite to limestone, among which there is also clay, schist and sandstone. This extremely complex land covers an area of about 15,000 hectares and is suitable for the cultivation of many grape varieties. The imprint of the land completes the soul of Alsatian wines, giving them experiences that are both unique and complex.

Since 50 years ago, this wine route has contributed greatly to the fame of Alsatian wines.

The Alsace Wine Route is famous for the special and simple nature of its routes.

The winding wine route is more than 170 kilometres long, from north to south over the slopes of the wine-growing region to the steep eastward foothills of the Vosges Mountains.

Look, Mom, have you seen the undulating vines like flowing water? Oh, lo and behold, how beautiful those villages and compact houses are at the end of those narrow paths. ”

Before Pingguo, he explored the Alsace Wine Route through the Baidu map function.

Now, I actually wandered in it, and suddenly felt refreshed and high-spirited.

Mother and daughter ventured through the vineyards, climbing to the top of the hill from the many marked plantation paths, where they could admire the plantation work and the variety of grape varieties, and gather in the tasting cellar to express their love for wine.

Pingguo was really drunk and heavy.

It is said that there are seven grape varieties: Sivaner, Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Muscat Alsace (small grains or Muscat Alsace), Pinot Grigio, Gewürztraminer and Pinot Noir.

Pingguo was drunk, and did not forget to say to Ping Hanhan: "The 'Alsatian Designation of Origin' was produced by the French after a long discussion. In 1935, the first decree on the French appellation of origin appeared. Immediately after the end of the Second World War, the Alsatian Winegrowers' Association confirmed the 'Alsatian Designation of Origin' by decree, and 17 years later, the 'Alsatian Designation of Origin' was officially confirmed by law. Since then, Alsatian wines have become part of the French family of Designations of Origin. It's really the wisest decision! ”

Ping Hanhan's face was also flushed, and he said with a smile: "Alsace AOC wines usually have the grape variety on the label of their bottles, and this wine is 100% made from this grape variety. If the grape variety is not indicated on the label, then it is a wine made from a combination of multiple grapes, sometimes we call it Edelzicker, or Gentil, or just the name of the brand. In addition to the above information, some geographical indications such as villages, towns, etc. will also be marked on the label.

The grape varieties recognized by Grand Cru are: Riesling, Muscat, Pinots Gris and Gewürztraminer.

Mom, remember how to store it:

First, it should be placed correctly:

In the traditional way of arranging the wine, it is customary to lay the wine flat so that the wine comes into contact with the cork, so that the cork can be fully moistened and expanded, and avoid the entry of large amounts of air and microorganisms.

Second, the appropriate temperature:

Temperature has a great impact on the shelf life of wine, and the ideal temperature is usually 10~15°C. High temperature in the storage room will cause the wine to mature faster, the flavour of the wine will be rougher, and sometimes excessive oxidation will cause the wine to deteriorate; If the temperature is too low, the wine will stop maturing. In addition, the temperature must be kept stable for a long time. The change in temperature will cause the wine to expand and shrink in a reaction, which can easily cause the wine to seep out of the wine stopper, resulting in rapid oxidation of the wine.

Third, proper humidity:

Humidity is another important factor in the quality of wine. All the world's premium wines are sealed with cork, and if the humidity is too low, the cork will become dry, and oxygen and microorganisms will easily invade; Too much humidity can damage the label due to moisture. Therefore, the relative humidity should generally be maintained at around 70%. If the humidity is too low, use a basin of damp sand or wood chips to improve the situation.

Fourth, avoid light:

Light can also have an impact on the quality of the wine, and the ultraviolet rays in the light can be very damaging to the wine, so it should be stored in a place protected from light as much as possible.

Fifth, stand still:

Avoid vibrations during wine storage. The vibrations stimulate the activity of the wine, which accelerates the aging of the wine and makes the wine coarse.

Sixth, there should be no peculiar smell:

If there is an odor in the storage environment, the wine will also be affected. Wine is highly absorbent and easily absorbs the flavors of the surroundings. When storing wine, it should not be stored with things with strong flavors, let alone volatile products such as paint, fuel oil, and gas, nor should it be touched or near items that are corrosive, moldy, and damp, which will damage the wine.

How about I go back and make my mother a classic pairing: drunken foie gras? ”

Pingguo immediately said, "Okay, I'm looking forward to eating it right away." ”

Immediately, Pingguo saw two strands of green silk wrapped around her eyes, and she said, "Okay, and for the sake of the two of you!" ”

Ping Hanhan was very strange and asked, "Mom, who are you talking to?" ”

Pingguo smiled and said, "I can only understand it." ”

Ping Hanhan had no choice but to laugh and say, "Alas, it seems that my mother was completely defeated by Alsatian white wine, hehe!" Hurry up, let me record a video! ”

Pingguo immediately straightened his long hair, raised his head, and said, "I'm a beauty, her mother, who am I afraid of?" Let's shoot! ”