By Ingrid & Steve McMenamin

We have always travelled. At first we carried backpacks. Then we chartered sailboats to serve as our waterfront hotel rooms. We always travelled for pleasure and always on socially sanctioned vacations. But that all changed when we took over Versailles. Now we travel on business and we don't wear a suit. For those of us who grew up with the New England work ethic, the notion of enjoying ourselves on a business trip is loaded with guilt. So it was with mixed feelings that we made our pilgrimage back to France.

At first we were consumed with the move from 315 to 339 Greenwich Avenue. Then we realized our customers wanted something fresh, something French and something authentic. This called for immediate field research. Where should we go? After a quick review of Bistro history we learned there were 3 destinations. First, there is Paris for the obvious reasons. Then there is Lyon where there are more Bistros per square meter than anywhere. And then there is the Alsace where it is said the Bistro was born. The word "bistro" means hurry-up in Russian. In 1815 Russian Cossacks entering France through the Alsace who wanted to be served quickly would shout the word bistro. More importantly, the Alsace has hills so we can burn off the calories on a bicycle.

When should we go? Ingrid's birthday is July 14th…also Bastille Day, the French 4th of July. The die was cast. DuVine Adventures organized a custom cycling trip to visit Bistros, vineyards, patisseries and cafes. We would fly to Paris, take the high speed train to Mulhouse and ride bicycles north to Strasbourg. In Paris, we hired a culinary guide named Nico. He was 72 and a retired food wholesaler. We met Nico at 4am at Rungis, the giant Paris food distribution center. Rungis is as big as Monaco. The fish hall is as big as eight football fields and kept at a cool 35 degrees. The meats market was almost as large and as clean as a hospital operating room.

The fish hall is as big as eight football fields and kept at a cool 35 degrees. The meats market was almost as large and as clean as a hospital operating room.

We were also interested in the latest fashions in pastries. Pastry competition in Paris is cut throat. Patisseries aggressively protected their cases from photographers. So we bought the most interesting pastries, took their picture and staged a tasting in the lounge of our hotel with our fellow guests.

Our first stop after Paris was Jungholtz and the Romantik Hotel Spa Les Violettes. In 1905 French law forbade the use of the word Champagne outside of that region. The wonderful sparkling wine of Alsace is Cremant. We cycled through miles of vineyards growing the riesling, pinot blanc, pinot noir, pinot gris and chardonnay grapes used for Cremant fermentation.

On the Route du Vin we visited the tiny French-German hamlets of Guebwiller, Buhl, Murbach, Orshwihr, Soulzmatt, Osenbach, Bueberschwihr and Eguisheim…once named the most beautiful town in France. We stopped for two nights in Keysersberg at Le Chambard where we visited some excellent family run bistros like Au Lion d'Or.

Nearby towns along the Route du Vin of Turckheim, Ingersheim, Katzenthal, Ammerschwihr, and Keintzheim were the scene of bitter fighting between American and German troops in the final days of World War II. The Germans, hopelessly outnumbered, fought to the last man to hang onto territory that France had annexed in the 18th century. In this area we visited scores of vineyards or caves.

We were most impressed with Domaine de l'Oriel in Niedermorschwihr. Claude Weinzorn's family has been producing wine in this hilly region since 1640, the same year Greenwich was founded. In World War II their giant fermentation barrels were damaged by American bombers but quickly repaired in time for the harvest. To say that Claude is passionate about his craft is an understatement. In his cluttered office we tasted over 30 different wines.

Each wine had a remarkably different flavor due to moisture, sun and most importantly, mineral content of the soil. He would put a piece of limestone in one hand and a wine grown in that soil in another. We tasted wonderful Rieslings, Gewurztraminers, Pinot Blanc, Muscat and Pinot Gris. These white wines were aromatic, floral and spicy. Some were sweet and smooth. From here, we pushed on through Riquewihr, Hunawihr, Ribeauville, Thannenkirch, Saint Hippolyte, and Kinzheim. Check it out on Google Earth!

Our last two nights were spent in the luxurious spa Hostellerie des Chateaux. From there our driver whisked us to Zurich for an 8 hour flight to JFK. Our field research was complete. Several new Versailles bistro dishes were discovered and many ideas for new pastries were catalogued. We lost a few pounds on this energetic adventure. And we vowed to explore another region for our customers and our neighbors. Please stay tuned!