Alsace

Alsace has always been in a bit of a pickle. Its perilous location on the border of Germany and France made the area a tug-of-war for centuries. Today if you visit Alsace, you can see how the interventions of two mega empires affected the area through its architecture and the presence of both French and German languages.

The food and the wine of Alsace is also a bit of a mish mash. For instance, Germanic grape varieties like Gewurztraminer and Riesling dominate the French départment, but in Alsace they are produced in a very different style.