Tag Archives: France/Alsace

Wine Notes: Alsace’s Bas Rhin

 

What I Learned

The Bas Rhin department, in the far, northeastern corner of France, can lay claim to several Grands Crus of Alsace. Many of the better-known ones begin around Barr, and continue south. These are the Zotzenberg of Mittelbergheim (which produces Sylvaner Grand Cru wine, unusual in Alsace); the Kastelberg, Wiebelsberg and Moenchberg Grands Crus of Andlau; the Muenchberg of Nothalten and the Winzenberg of Blienschwiller; Frankstein of Dambach la Ville, and the Praelatenberg of Orschwiller/Kintzheim, the southern-most Grands Crus in the entire Bas Rhin department. However, the northern area of this department has several of its own. The Grands Crus in the Bas Rhin department from Marlenheim in the north to Bergbieten in the south are: the Steinklotz of Marlenheim, Dahlenheim’s Engelberg, the Altenbergs of Wolxheim and Bergbieten, and Molsheim’s Bruderthal.

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The Loejele: Trail in a Nutshell

 

Trail Name: Le Loejele (part of the trail series “Circuits de Bacchus”)

Trail Type: Medium distance circuit; partly paved, partly packed earthen trail surface; mostly well maintained; the route itself is marked very well.

Length: total: 14.6 kilometers/9 miles

Marking: Trace of a ring in yellow, with a white interior

Signage on the Loejele Trail
Signage on the Loejele Trail

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Finish with a Red

 

At a wine tasting with both red and white wines, organizers usually end the event with the red wine selection. In my most recent bike tour, I began in white wine territory, (albeit one that produces a decent Pinot Noir as well), and finished the trail in an Alsatian village known for its reds. In between, the trail wound through other compact villages with colorful visuals, people and history, and vineyards, lots of vineyards.

So it was with this trail: wonderful, diverse wines, interesting villages, and a bit of history, all in one beautiful day. From the outset in Marlenheim, the trail revealed its rural tendencies. The first ten kilometers or so were along a beautifully maintained bicycle-only trail, set amidst green fields, woods, and past the backs of villages. After Molsheim (home to the first Grand Cru along the trail) and Dorlisheim, another four and a half kilometers of peaceful trail resumes. Be it through fields or vineyards, there were plenty of sights and views to admire. Alsatian countryside is idyllic, the villages beyond charming, and the trail highlighted the opportunities to appreciate these.

Bike Trail near Start
Bike Trail near Start

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Wine Notes: Alsatian Red Wine

 

What I Learned

Alsace wines are varietal wines (excepting the Edelzwickers), and of these, only one is a red wine. That wine is from the Pinot Noir varietal. Alsatian Pinot Noir wines are not generally well known. Alsatian Pinot Noir wines tend to be lighter, but very fruit-forward Pinot Noir wines. They are, of course, different from Burgundian Pinot Noir wines, from which tradition they derive. Early in the 12th century monks from Burgundy headed into Alsace, bringing vine plantings with them. When they arrived around Mont Sainte Odile (site of an early Merovingian foundation), they successfully transplanted their vines on the lower, sunny slopes.

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Veloroute du Vignoble d’Alsace: Trail in a Nutshell

 

Trail Name: Veloroute du Vignoble d’Alsace

Trail Type: Long distance; almost exclusively paved, well maintained, but the route itself is not marked.

Length: Total: 138 kilometers / 85.75 miles

North segment (this post): 62 kilometers / 38.5 miles

South segment: 76 kilometers / 47.25 miles

Convenient to: Strasbourg, Colmar, Mulhouse

Marking: White, stylized grapes with a white bicycle and bicyclist superimposed on a green square background.

Veloroute du Vignoble d'Alsace Signage
Veloroute du Vignoble d’Alsace Signage

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Vineyards and Castles

Vineyards and Castles: Two of my absolute favorite European travel experiences, and I experienced them both on this delightful circuit trail in southern Alsace!

In France, it is more likely that you will find palaces and vineyards. But in Alsace, a famous wine region where for centuries French and German armies clashed, nobles built castles. Literally dozens remain to be seen today. Although most are in ruins, they powerfully evoke a sense of time and place for those visiting their often eerie haunts. This is especially true if you are willing to hike to some of the more remote ones, on distant hills, overlooking remote valleys, practically shrouded by vegetation.

Three Chateaux
Three Chateaux

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Grand Wines, Grand Hike: Sentier Viticole des Grands Crus

Six small villages, nestled unobtrusively amidst the vineyards, hide a secret: some of the best wines in Alsace. The vineyards here aren’t just any sort of vineyards, rather they are Grands Crus; and the wines from these vineyards’ grapes create the highest quality wine in the hierarchy of Alsatian wine. Hiking through this area takes hikers gently past some of these renowned grand cru vineyards, and past the wineries that produce these fantastic wines. The combination of great wines to taste, and a well-laid out hike through the vineyards and associated villages, provides a wine-loving hiker an irresistible opportunity.

Grand Cru Mandelberg
Grand Cru Mandelberg

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Wine Notes: Alsace Haut-Rhin

What I Learned:

Alsace is a fantastic wine country. Alsace’s Haut-Rhin (upper Rhine) area is particularly favored with great terroirs, such as the Mandelberg displayed above. Here, as elsewhere in Alsace, the harvests are primarily white varietals. The soil here is minerally, and complex, resulting in crisp, refreshing and uniquely flavored white wines. The six main white varietals grown in Alsace are Riesling, Sylvaner, Muscat, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Blanc, and Pinot Gris. The only red varietal is Pinot Noir.

Visiting Alsace practically mandates you taste some local wine. First, you will notice the unusually tall wine bottles. You will also notice green-stemmed stemware, with smaller than usual bowls. These two unique items have more in common with German Rhineland traditions than French ones. But like the French tradition, wine producers proudly offer tastes of their product, for wine-making here is an art, and even nowadays, still a family affair.

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