Often overlooked, the Cotes de Toul AOC in Lorraine makes its name on Vin Gris, a pale pressed-Pinot rose-like style. Auxerrois and Pinot Noir round out a tiny appellation that crystallises what France's far north-east wine country looks like outside Alsace.
Pours: Cotes de Toul Gris (Vin Gris), Cotes de Toul Auxerrois, Cotes de Toul Pinot Noir
Tip: Vin Gris is the wine to chase here; serve it as you would Provence rose with charcuterie or quiche lorraine, the region's signature savoury tart.
France's sparkling-wine capital sits four hours west of Alsace by car. Reims for the Gothic cathedral and the major houses, Epernay for the Avenue de Champagne and its show cellars, the obvious counterpart to Alsace's Cremant slope.
Pours: Brut NV, Blanc de Blancs, Vintage Champagne, Rose de Saignee
Tip: Champagne is a long day; turn it into a weekend by booking Reims accommodation and visiting two houses each day, mixing a grande marque and a small grower for contrast.
Three hours south of Colmar lies Beaune and the Cote d'Or, a long-standing benchmark for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The 2015 UNESCO Climats put 1,247 named plots from Dijon to Maranges on the world heritage list.
Pours: Gevrey-Chambertin, Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, Pommard
Tip: Pair a Burgundy weekend with Alsace by basing yourself in Beaune for two nights and Colmar for two; the autoroute connects them in under three hours.
Two and a half hours south-west, the Jura makes a distinctive style: oxidative Savagnin, the sherry-like Vin Jaune aged six years under a yeast veil, and Chateau-Chalon, the AOC reserved for Vin Jaune alone.
Pours: Vin Jaune, Arbois Savagnin, Cremant du Jura, Macvin du Jura
Tip: Buy a clavelin, the squat 62cl bottle unique to Vin Jaune, in Arbois or Chateau-Chalon; the wine is a classic match for Comte cheese and roast chicken.
Cross the Rhine north into the Pfalz and follow the Deutsche Weinstrasse, Germany's oldest signposted wine route. Riesling and Spatburgunder dominate, and the sandstone-and-limestone soils mirror the Vosges side of the same shared geology.
Pours: Pfalz Riesling, Pfalz Pinot Noir (Spatburgunder), Pfalz Pinot Blanc (Weissburgunder)
Tip: A Pfalz day trip pairs naturally with northern Alsace; cross via the Wissembourg border for the Pfalz's southern villages and a side-by-side German and French Riesling tasting.
Just across the Rhine, Baden is Germany's southernmost and warmest wine region and a major source of German Spatburgunder Pinot Noir. Baden-Baden adds Belle-Epoque spa houses and the Casino made famous by Dostoevsky.
Pours: Baden Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir), Baden Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris), Baden Weissburgunder
Tip: Use Baden-Baden as a half-day add-on to a wine route trip; the spa and the city's restaurants make a good non-wine pause between Alsace cellar days.