Riquewihr
14 September 2017, continued
We took the slow drive along the Route des Vins d'Alsace, crossing through the countryside vineyards. Riquewihr is not very far at all from Ribeauville, and even with slow driving and looking out the windows, we found ourselves parking in under twenty minutes. As we pulled into the lot, we noticed the brewery was right next to the parking. We would be returning there, but for now we made our way up the narrow road into the old town. Across a little bridge with a pretty fountain-pond below, we went through the city hall gate into Riquewihr.
The old street was tightly lined with old wineries and colorful buildings as it sloped slightly uphill. Shops crammed into the small alleys selling their snacks and sweets from their windows, and lots of greenery hung from the old walls over the arched doorways. Riquewihr was a truly beautiful, romantic town. We were enamored with the vibrant plant life still so deep and colorful even this late in the season, and with how it contrasted yet blended so well with the town's architecture.
We came to a place we had been looking forward to visiting since we first planned our time in this town. The Cave d'Affinage de Riquewihr is a cheese cave located in the building's cellar. We walked down the stairs to find the walls lined with wooden shelves holding huge wheels of different kinds of cheese. In the center was a wheel of each variety, where we were able to sample and purchase straight from the cave. We found an amazing semi-soft cheese that was so succulent, we just had to buy a wedge!
Up the road a bit was the Hugel winery, another of the most commonly seen Alsatian wines back home. Unfortunately, it was not open at the moment, and outside their doors was a harvesting truck ready for grape picking. We continued down the road, past the colorful shops and little restaurants and winstubs, and as we took in the sights we also took in the scent. The whole town smelled like a winery! The scent just hung in the air, and in many ways was like the wine version of the malty beer-making smell that hung in the air at Alpirsbach. The odor just added to the appeal of the little town. When planning the trip, we assumed Riquewihr was one of the larger towns, yet surprisingly it is one of the smallest we will visit in Alsace. But what it lacks in size, it more than makes up for in charm.
We went the full length of Rue du Général de Gaulle, the main street through town, and began our slow walk back. We turned down a few side streets and came up to La Table du Gourmet, a two Michelin-starred restaurant where Raymond Blanc cooked on The Very Hungry Frenchman. Too bad he wasn't there today! We found a little shop that sold local pottery, the highlights being handmade keugelhopf molds and baking dishes for another local dish called baeckeoffe. There was a room in the back of the shop crammed with antiques, and while it would be nice to have something from there as a totally unique souvenier, we decided to get a local cookbook (in French) and a small keugelhopf mold so we could make our own Alsatian pastry at home!
We passed through the town hall and back across the bridge, where the spray from the fountain was causing a little rainbow across the pond. We dropped our keugelhopf pan in the car and headed over to the Brasserie du Vignoble to see about some local Alsatian beer! The main room was tiny, just a small bar area with a couple taps, a few small tables and chairs, and a little shelf area selling bottles. We were talking a bit with the bartender as we often do and sampled a few of their beers. All were very good, but I was really impressed with a special bitter they have. English style bitters are usually amber ales with bitterness from the hops, but Bra'v actually uses absinthe to make this bitter special! Outstanding beer, one I could see being a regular of mine if we were locals. As I mentioned that, along with the fact that I myself make beer, a joking invitation was made for me to stay and help them make beer. I'm not sure how to fully explain to them that I would absolutely take them up if the offer was real! We got to look into the brewery area which was maybe the size of a garage, with only a couple main brew tanks and some hard work. This place is a true brewer's passion, a brewery so small that it doesn't quite reach micro-brewery status yet is so full of heart. These are always my favorite types of breweries, and we were so happy we made the trip down. We went back into the bar, and as we finished our drinks, the bartender gave us a wood carving of their logo to take home. We may be in a world-famous wine country, but the brewers are making their beer in just as high of a quality.
