The chance to taste André Ostertag's wines where they are produced and enjoy a meal in the countryside are great reasons for a day trip from Strasbourg. Domaine Ostertag is a 40-minute drive south of the city in the village of Epfig (87 Rue Finkwiller, 011-33-3-88-85-51-34). Visitors taste in the cellar or at a long glass table in a sunny room decorated with paintings of roots and trees done by Ostertag's wife, Christine. My favorite wines included the subtle, ginger-accented 1997 Fronholz Pinot Gris, which Ostertag, unlike most Alsatian winemakers, ferments in oak, and the 1996 Muenchberg Late Harvest Riesling, Ostertag's favorite grape from his favorite vineyard, one of the 50 grand crus of Alsace. It's a wonderful wine with mineral undertones and hints of licorice and citrus zest. (To find Ostertag's wines in the United States, call Kermit Lynch importers at 510-524-1524.)
La Table de Bruno, in nearby Obernai (6 Rue de la Gare, 011-33-3-88-48-33-38), received its first Michelin star this year. Chef Bruno Sohn serves only dinner and offers a single set menu, a meal which might include a delicious salad of warm potatoes, fresh truffles and jabugo ham from Spain, and braised oxtail, which comes with a side dish of phenomenally good ravioli stuffed with beef marrow. Each night Sohn selects about 15 wines from his extensive cellar to pair with his menu. If you're lucky, one of them might be Ostertag's.
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