(CNN) -- French wines are savored by the glass, and consumed by the case, around the globe. France produces about 20 percent of the world's wine, and The Alsace Region is renowned for making some of the nation's best white vintages.

Alsace is wedged between the Vosges Mountains and the Rhine on the Franco-German border. The wines originating in the area's vineyards are unique: they're named after the variety of grape, not the locale where they're grown.

With the harvest season over and winter nearly settled in, this is a quiet time of year for Alsatian wine growers. And while it's also the "off-season" for tourism, open-minded visitors might find this is just the time to travel "La Route du Vin," also know as the wine road.

The wine road stretches 75 miles along the region, winding through vineyards and villages.

Click on the images to the right or the text links below for a look at two towns in Alsace.