A Tasty Afternoon in Riquewihr
23 May 2018
Each place has its own schedule, but by mid-afternoon they are all open again. We made our way to the next winery – Maison Zimmer, which was actually right next to Hugel. This time we went downstairs to the cellar where they had a nice tasting bar set up along with some tables and lounge chairs. It was dim and cool, exactly what you would want a wine cellar bar to be, especially one that dates from 1572!!! We had an extensive tasting there, starting with a trio of Riesling – the Tradition, Weissengrund, and Schoenenbourg. Alsatian Riesling is much less sweet than the typical German or American counterparts, instead being a very crisp and refreshing wine with just enough of the sweetness to shine through. We sampled a Muscat, which many know as a sweet Italian wine, but just like the Riesling the Alsatian Muscat is much dryer. Naturally, we sampled a pair of Gris- the Tradition and Rosenbourg, both excellent as expected. We finished with a Gewürztraminer and a red. Quite a hearty tasting, and Zimmer proved to be among the best we’ve had in Alsace. We purchased a bottle of the Gris Rosenbourg, as if we didn’t have enough Gris already!
Amaro is the trendy drink these days, with the bitter Italian liqueurs seeming to be featured everywhere. Similar but lesser known is the German Krauterlikor, and even lesser known is the Alsatian Amer. Germans often add things to their beers to beef up the body and alcohol content, and here in Alsace that is just what they do with the Amer. We haven’t had in the beer yet, but it just has to be better than when they add the cola. That was horrible! Anyway, at Zimmer we tasted an Amer with a distinctly bitter orange note and it was just fabulous. They seemed a bit surprised when we bought a bottle and said we were going to just have it straight as a sipper on ice rather than pouring in the beer!
Ask people what goes great with wine, and even if they have no idea about wine and food pairings, they will still likely say “cheese”. It’s such a classic pairing, and what luck there is a great cheese cave right in the heart of Riquewihr! Not just a cheese shop mind you, but a real cheese cave where the cheese you are sampling and buying is sitting right next to the cheese they are still ageing. It doesn’t come any fresher than that! The walls were lined with giant wheels of cheese on shelves, and in the middle of the room was a bench with a wheel of each type they had, where they would cut you samples as well as any piece you ordered. We sampled a few and left with a slice of Chevre and a nice chunk of the local Munster. Heavenly!
We raced dark, angry-looking clouds to the Brasserie du Vignoble to enjoy a local, small batch craft beer here in wine country. Last time we were at Bra’v I had an absolutely outstanding English style bitter ale – but with most of the bitterness coming from Absinthe in addition to the hops! Many of these very small breweries tend to have their one or two mainstays, and then rotate their other beers as one-offs. Bra’v had only a couple small fermentation tanks, most likely one used to keep their regulars going and the second for the single batches. Unfortunately, they did not have that amazing absinthe beer as I’m sure it had finished its run, but maybe we will see it again someday. This time we had their experimental citrus IPA and their mainstay amber ale.
We went outside under their tent with our drinks, and no sooner did we get our seat than those dark clouds unleashed their anger upon the little town. The rainy breeze was nice, and under the tent we were dry, but it was looking like walking around Riquewihr in the late afternoon was out of the question. We finished our drinks as we watched the rain fall over the vineyards. Shame it puts a damper on our day, but there would be no wine without the rain. Instead of being disappointed we chose to focus on how important a little rain can be, and all those vines we saw throughout this trip are getting the nourishment they need. They can continue growing grapes, and the vintners can continue making their amazing wines, and the small towns we love can continue to be prosperous. We said our farewell to Bra’v, and ran through the rain back to the car to make our way back to Ribeauville for the night.
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