But before we delve into the sparking wines, let's start at the beginning of our tour of the Alsatian wine region which lies about an hour's drive to the southwest of Strasbourg, official seat of the European Parliament, near the Franco-German border. Our first stop was at the Maison Zeyssolff http://zeyssolff.com/ in the village of Gertwiller. (It seems that every little town or village in the Alsatian wine region comes straight of a fairy tale book - utterly charming, picturesque and impeccably maintained - the area yo-yoed back and forth under control of France and Germany over the centuries. And they all have strange-sounding, virtually unpronounceable Germanic names which are oddly distinctive and unlike typical village names in Germany. Native Alsatians have managed to wrap their tongues around these tongue-twisters, but I suspect the average French person would recoil at such an linguistic challenge.)
Zeyssolff produces several different series of wines, incorporating most of the usual varietals mentioned above. In addition, there is a special cuvée called Klevener de Heiligenstein which obtained a unique denomination in 1997 and is made from the rare Savagnin rose (or Traminer) varietal. Of golden hue, offering nuances of white flowers and white stone fruit, round on the palate with a pleasant acidity, it pairs well with white meats, terrines, tartes flambées and fish with cream sauce.
The Cuvée Z series includes Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc and Sylvaner:
The next stop on our tour was at Domaine J.L.Schwartz http://www.domaine-schwartz.com/ in the charming, picturesque village of Itterswiller. Our tasting guide was the owner himself who started the business about 30 years. Beyond accommodating, he was downright solicitous in offering us a sample of pretty much every different wine he had available. Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I did not hesitate to take advantage of the opportunity and so we proceeded to taste a whole panoply of wines - from sparkling rosés and bruts (crémants) to Pinot Gris and Pinot Blancs; from Sylvaners to Grand Cru Rieslings to Vendanges Tardives (sweet dessert wines).
What follows then is a visual sampling of some of fine wines that Monsieur Schwartz graciously shared with us:
Monsieur Schwartz's hospitality was well-rewarded as almost everyone in the group left with at least a few bottles to take back home. Need I add that the prices of the wine are such a ridiculous bargain, that you'll find it hard not to stuff you bags full or bring along an extra suitcase to lug them back home!
Back on the road, we headed toward Ribeauvillé (one of the few villages in the area with a French name) for lunch and another wine tour! White asparagus ("asperges" in French) were in season and lavishly spread on just about every dish on the menu. "Tarte flambée" or "Flammenkuche" is a regional speciality and pretty much de rigueur at mealtime. Check this website for much more information on the region, its wine, cuisine and points of interest: http://www.ribeauville-riquewihr.com/en/discover/ribeauville.htm
Near the entrance to the
main thoroughfare in Ribeauvillé is the Louis Sipp winery, where we were
greeted by Madame Sipp who first led us into the caves to
explain to us the vinification process. Afterwards we followed her to a
private tasting room where she proceeded to give us an expert presentation (in
fluent English, by the way) on a half-dozen or more her cuvées. http://sipp.com/
And now here are some of the wines we tasted at Louis Sipp:
Last but not least on our tour of the Alsace wine region was perhaps the most famous of the myriad quaint villages - Riquewihr. And judging by the crowds on that absolutely perfect sunny and warm spring day, the word is out. It did happen to be a holiday weekend, and the German visitors from the other side of the Rhine were out in force. No doubt they feel very much at home - with just a touch of French culture to add to the experience - what with the Germanic village names, the wood framed architecture and the similarity in cuisine. Indeed, our last winery stop was at the Teutonically christened Dopff winery http://www.dopff-au-moulin.fr/index.php where we indulged in their array of sparkling wines or Crémants. Truth be told, most of the group was well-sated with wine by this time, but I did my level best to at least take a sip of the many offerings. But first, let's have a look at the village itself:
And now onto the wines. Dopff offers quite a selection of sparkling wines, in addition to their still table wines. Indeed, it was a Dopff family member who, after spending several years in the Champagne region, pioneered the production of sparkling wines in the Alsace in the early 20th century, which are known today by the name "Crémants d'Alsace".
Thus ends our winery tour of the Alsace, but you can be sure that we only touched the surface of what there is to explore. Indeed, there are upwards of 200 wineries in the Alsace region so you have plenty to choose from if you ever make the trip which I highly recommend. And one more note of encouragement, the wines are an amazing bargain, prices hovering around 10 Euros more or less. (The US dollar is close to parity with the Euro.)
I leave you with a picture of one of the great traditional Alsatian restaurants in Strasbourg, Zuem Strissel, http://www.strissel.fr/ where I dined on their specialty: Choucroute de la Mer (Seafood with Sauerkraut) washed down with a pichet of the house Pinot Blanc!
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