Visiting Alsace's Wine Villages
Along the Alsatian Wine Road Architecture and History Charm Visitors
Jan 9, 2009 Christina Rebuffet-Broadus
Gewürztraminer, Riesling, and Sylvaner pair well with hearty Alsatian specialties like choucroute (sauerkraut) and baeckeoffe. After rolling away from the table, why not venture into the vineyards where the libations' ingredients hang heavy on the vines. Alsace's Route des Vins gives visitors a chance to see and taste the wines that make this region stand out from other famous French apellations. Between two tastings, why not take the time to visit a few villages that have beautifully prospered thanks to their surrounding grapes.
Hunawihr
On the wine road, past Ribeauvillé, you can't miss Hunawihr. Clinging to a hillside in the middle of the vineyards, a brute 15th century church dominates the village. With its square bell tower and surrounding cemetery, the church, encircled by a fortified rampart, looks more like a dungeon than a religious haven.
This extraordinary sentinel watches over the village, stretched out like an unwound pretzel. The houses pile up on top of each other. Behind their wooden doors, the courtyards open to cellars and wine presses, again witness to the importance of the grapes in this region. A small number of Renaissance facades flaunt graceful window frames and sculpted corner beams. From the windows of each house, rows of grapevines wave harmoniously to the horizon, just as they have done for centuries.
Riquewihr
Riquewihr stars in the line up of the Alsatian wine villages. The Pearl, it is called. Even if, between the Dolder, crowned by a warrior-like belfry, and the Obertor with its harrow and machicolation, the village looks a bit like an overly made up star, too finely attired to be true, too perfect to be authentic.
During the off season and by ducking into the back streets, Riquewihr charms with more discretion. Some winding ways niche among the Schoenenberg flanks. Schoeneberg has always been a miraculously protected city, preserving its Medieval and Renaissance treasures behind doubly fortified ramparts. As you stroll along, a dozen courtyards bloom open, decorated with stone or wood balconies, stairways spiraling up on one side. Innumerable facades with sculpted beams look down on the inhabitants. The village should thank the neighboring vineyards for this prosperity, marked in the past by the intricate architecture, and in the present by tourists.
The village's economy depended so much on wine production that, when the grapes had suffered from fits of bad weather, the citizens took to the streets. But to protest against who? Saint Urban, patron saint of the village, whose statue was undoubtedly thrown into the Sinnbrunnen fountain, just in front of the hôtel de ville.
Kayserberg
With its chateau ruins, fortified bridge, Gotihc houses, flowered wells and fountains at the end of its cobblestone streets, Kayserberg is the other star village of Alsace. The village peels out from a fairy tale for grown ups and could charm even the bitterest heart. To fully take advantage of Kayserberg, take the time to wander from the Saint Croix church with its Roman portal and columns crowned with fantastic medieval beasts. The famous Loewert, Bohn, and Buchele houses of brightly stained wood look more tempting than even the most gourmet gingerbread houses. After a stroll along the narrow streets lining the Weiss river, stop by the home (and museum) of Albert Schweitzer, the first 'doctor without borders.' The trek to the tower of the imperial chateau offers a reward for those who make it. From the top, look down onto the rooftops as the Hohenstaufens did when they built the fortification in the 13th century before ceding reign of the Holy Roman Empire to the Hapsburgs.
Other fairy tale villages dot Alsace, and can easily be reached by car. For more information, visit http://www.alsace-route-des-vins.com/.
Half timbered homes in Kayserberg
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Looking out over one of Alsace's small towns
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