Alsace Christmas Wine Cellar Tour: Mittelwihr Cellar Show

Included in the $28

Three things are included. First, a cellar tour with the winemaker, covering the harvesting work, the equipment and the laboratory. Second, the Christmas of Yesteryear in Alsace show by Delphine, the winemaker's wife, mixing tales, legends and traditional songs.

Third, a tasting of 4 wines, dry, fruity or sweet, served with bredalas, the small Alsatian Christmas cakes. Children under 18 attend free.

Two Things to Confirm Before You Book

Two details differ between parts of the listing, so check the booking page. The structured tour data gives 1.5 hours, while the estate's own practical information on the same page says approximately 2 hours. The 'Includes' list also carries the lines 'In French only' and 'Not suitable for wheelchair users' next to the included items.

Those are conditions, not services.

Dates That Matter

The show runs on Saturdays in December at 5:00 PM, so the relevant Saturdays fall inside the Colmar market season of 23 November to 29 December. On Saturdays the Colmar markets open 10:00-20:00, which pairs neatly with an afternoon market before the cellar. If you also want Strasbourg, its Christkindelsmärik runs 27 November to 24 December, daily 11:00-21:00, with 24 December closing at 18:00.

• Cellar show: Saturdays in December, 5:00 PM
• Colmar markets: 23 November to 29 December
• Strasbourg: 27 November to 24 December, 11:00-21:00

Money

The tour costs $28 per person and children under 18 join free. Euro figures elsewhere on your trip convert at the European Central Bank rate of 1 EUR = 1.1130 USD. Bring some cash for market stalls.

Age, Access and What to Bring

Children from age 3 are welcome and under 18 attend free, so this works as a family evening. The cellar is not suitable for wheelchair users, and no other accessibility details are stated. Dress warm, because you move through cellar buildings in December.

Bring your booking confirmation and, if you drive, patience: the operator tells you to allow plenty of time because roads congest quickly during the Christmas markets.

• Minimum age 3, under 18 free
• Not suitable for wheelchair users
• Show is in French only

Getting There Without a Car

If you stay in Colmar, the Christmas shuttles from Colmar station run 27 November to 20 December, Friday to Sunday, with lines 1 and 2 serving Kaysersberg, Ribeauvillé and Riquewihr at $18.92 (€17) a day, online tickets only. That drops you near Riquewihr, from where Mittelwihr is next door, but no shuttle serves the estate itself and the last return time is not stated, so check before relying on it.

• Shuttle lines 1 and 2 to Riquewihr, Fri-Sun, 27 November to 20 December
• $18.92 (€17) per day, online tickets only
• Under 12 travel free but need a ticket

Meet at the Cellar

You arrive at Domaine Greiner-Schleret, Vins d'Alsace, 22 Rue de Riquewihr, 68630 Mittelwihr. The visit starts at 5:00 PM on the Saturday you book. The operator warns that roads become congested during the Christmas markets, so build in extra driving time.

There is no hotel pickup and no coach transport.

The Cellar and the Show

The winemaker walks you through the buildings himself. You see the equipment used at harvest and his laboratory, where he explains how one person acts as mechanic, oenologist and cellarman. Then the tone changes.

Delphine tells the Christmases of her grandmother, her Mamama, through the eyes of a child, mixing tales and legends with popular and traditional songs. The whole performance is in French, with a few words in Alsatian. If nobody in your group follows French, weigh that before booking.

Riquewihr, the Nearest Market

Riquewihr, right beside Mittelwihr, runs its Christmas market from 27 November to 20 December. Its opening hours are not published on the official page, so check locally on the day. It is the natural pairing: market in the late afternoon, then the short move to Mittelwihr for the 5:00 PM cellar start, allowing for congestion.

• Riquewihr market: 27 November to 20 December
• Hours not published, confirm on site
• Mittelwihr sits between Riquewihr and Kaysersberg on the Wine Route

Kaysersberg and Ribeauvillé, Short Drives Away

Kaysersberg runs its authentic market on Fridays to Sundays only, 10:00-20:00, on 27-29 November and 4-6, 11-13 and 18-20 December. That covers the Saturdays of 5, 12 and 19 December but not 26 December. Ribeauvillé's medieval market runs only two weekends, 5-6 and 12-13 December, Saturday 10:00-19:00 and Sunday 10:00-18:00.

For Colmar itself, the markets run 23 November to 29 December, Monday to Thursday 11:00-19:00 and Friday to Sunday 10:00-20:00.

• Kaysersberg: Fri-Sun 10:00-20:00 on four weekends
• Ribeauvillé: 5-6 and 12-13 December, Sat 10:00-19:00
• Colmar markets: 23 November to 29 December

What to Add Before or After

This cellar evening gives you no market time and no Colmar time. Before the 5:00 PM start, a village market fills the day. The wine walk option inside Colmar is a separate booking.

If you want markets and a tasting in one organised day, look at the Enchanting Christmas Villages Tour, which visits Kaysersberg, Riquewihr and Eguisheim over 8 hours and includes wine tasting at a Ribeauvillé cellar. If you would rather taste wine in town, the Colmar Walk and Wine Tasting adds a 3-sample winery tasting to a 2-hour walk for $50.

Markets Open on a Saturday Afternoon

Riquewihr's market runs 27 November to 20 December, and Kaysersberg's authentic market opens Friday to Sunday 10:00-20:00 on 27-29 November and 4-6, 11-13 and 18-20 December, which covers the cellar Saturdays of 5, 12 and 19 December but not 26 December. Ribeauvillé's medieval market runs Saturday 10:00-19:00 on 5-6 and 12-13 December only. Close the market around 4:00 PM to reach the estate comfortably before 5:00 PM.

Book the Table Before the Show

Restaurants in Alsace are often fully booked in market season, so reserve your winstub table in advance rather than walking in. The listing gives 1.5 hours and the estate's own text says approximately 2 hours, so decide whether your table sits before or after the show. The tasting of 4 wines plus bredalas is the only food the tour provides, so a proper meal has to fit around it.

• Reserve the winstub ahead, market season tables go fast
• Bredalas are the only food on the tour
• Tarte flambée is the classic end to an Alsace wine day

A Fuller Day Without Driving

If you would rather not handle market parking and a wine evening in the same day, a village trip does both for you. The Enchanting Christmas Villages Tour spends 8 hours between Kaysersberg, Riquewihr and Eguisheim with a cellar tasting in Ribeauvillé included, at $145 per person from Colmar. This Mittelwihr evening remains the pick for a French-speaking traveller who wants a small local show instead.

Driving on Market Saturdays

The operator's own warning is blunt: roads quickly become congested during the Christmas markets, so allow plenty of time. Riquewihr parking is scarce at Christmas and visitors often park over a mile out and walk in through the vineyards. For a 5:00 PM start, arrive in the village early afternoon, do Riquewihr or Kaysersberg on foot, then reach the estate with time to spare.

• Allow extra time, roads jam on market weekends
• Riquewihr parking scarce, many park over a mile out
• Between Kaysersberg and Colmar the drive is about 7 miles

No Taxi Culture, So Plan the Return

Alsace wine villages have no taxi culture to speak of, so arrange a designated driver or use a shuttle rather than counting on a cab after the tasting. Four Alsatian wines are poured at the end of the evening, so whoever drives should taste lightly. From Colmar, the Christmas shuttles (lines 1 and 2) reach Riquewihr on Friday to Sunday, 27 November to 20 December, at $18.92 (€17) per day, online tickets only, and Mittelwihr sits beside Riquewihr, but no shuttle serves the estate itself.