Trip to Alsace - Part 3

Words and Photos by Liam Carrier

Hugel et Fils

One of the top Alsace producers is Hugel et Fils (www.hugel.com/) whose store front is right in the centre of town on the main street. Hugel has been making wine in the Alsace region since 1639 and have a reputation of quality over quantity. They have skipped vintages of lesser quality to preserve this reputation and sold-off the grapes to other producers.

Hugel’s wine shop is very plain with no frills; the wines take centre stage. To accentuate this truth, the main decoration on the small tasting room is that of wine bottles of vintages past, bejeweled with the famous yellow Hugel label.

When we visited, the shop was manned by a very modern and hip twenty-something young man who explained to my wife and me that he was a university student from Strasbourg (the region’s capital city) working his way through school and unrelated to the Hugel family. I found him to be an interesting contrast to the rich history of the Hugel brand that has had continuous family participation for nearly 400 years. However, the more we spoke to him about the wines and Hugel’s process, the more I realized he reflected the company’s harmonious approach to blending traditional values with modern ingenuity.

Next door to the wine shop are the cellars where the wine is produced. Hugel produces four lines of wines Classic, Traditional, Jubilee and their premium brands; Selection de Grain Nobles (select reserve) & Vendage Tardive (late harvest). Each line is made from estate-grown grapes except the Classic line, which is made from grapes grown by local farmers on long-term contracts and sold to Hugel. Their wines are available in 100 countries worldwide including the United States and Canada. The Classic line will be the easiest to find; however for the true Grand Cru experience see if your local fine wine shop or liquor board can order from the Traditional or Jubilee lines.

My personal favorites are the Traditional Muscat, Jubilee Riesling and the Vendage Tardive Gerverstraminer. In my repeat trips to the region I’ve managed to stock my cellar with these much-loved wines. The finest Alsace wines will age much longer than traditional white wines, especially the late harvest wines. The star of my Hugel collection is a bottle of 1998 VT Gerverstraminer which I plan on cellaring until 2018. - LC

Part Four

(Photos by Liam Carrier - Copyright 2008)

Trip to Alsace - Part 2

Words and Photos by Liam Carrier
Edited by Sheila MacCallum

Riquewihr

Our first stop in Alsace was the little town of Riquewihr; resting comfortably in the foothills of the Vosges Mountains, watched intensely from above by a medieval castle. The beautiful mountain range lining the valley acts as the backflow of a crowning wave pulling you up from the valley floor below to explore its many treasures. The crown jewel is Riqewihr which, with its three Michelin-starred restaurants and famous wine train, should be explored with an empty stomach and at a leisurely pace.

The town’s narrow cobble-stoned streets are lined with buildings dated from the mid-16th century to mid-17th century. As with many old towns the buildings seem to lean towards the street below in a way that feels as if they are trying to shield you from the sky. It reminds you that anything that humans construct is, in part, as alive as the beings who constructed it. Of course, the same can be said for wine, and Riquewihr has plenty of wine.

Being a prime tourist destination with a large tour-bus-only parking area, Riquewihr could be expected to have lost its once authentic charm, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Sure, most small French villages can’t boast three Michelin-starred restaurants but the town has absorbed these tourist attractions so well that it seems as though they have always there.

Many wine and wine-friendly-comestibles shops line the main street smack in the middle of the medieval fortified walled village. The shops have an extensive list of Alsace wines available along with wines from the other major French regions. The prices can vary from shop to shop so you are encouraged to visit many and compare. However, for the true wine enthusiast experience I suggest visiting one of the producers who have set up shop in the village. - LC

Part Three

(Photos by Liam Carrier - Copyright 2008)

Trip to Alsace - Part 1

Words and Photos by Liam Carrier
Edited by Sheila MacCallum

My love affair with wine began 8 years ago much like my first foray into the world of dating; out of curiosity. What was all the fuss about? Well, after your first great kiss, you’re hooked.

Sometimes it takes a few tries; finding the right partner, because it’s not just any kiss that hooks you for life, but rather it’s that first knock-your-socks-off, time-stands-still kiss when you realize just what the fuss is all about.

The same goes for wine; it was not my first glass of mass-produced California “Chablis” at my uncle’s wedding when I was 20 that got me hooked on wine. That came 5 years later at a quiet dinner party amongst my mother’s friends in the form of a fine Alsace Riesling matched with spicy Thai food that awakened my curiosity. From that point on, I gradually sought out more challenging wines for my late-blooming palate and thus began my life-long love-affair with the noble nectar.

Today, my tastes range from old ports to Nouveau Beaujolais but the “gateway” wine that started my addiction, the white wines of Alsace, remains a sentimental favourite. How fitting then, that my first visit to the wine regions of France would be a weekend trip across the upper Rhine River from southern Germany into Alsace.

Driving into Alsace in the modern EU is far from ceremonial. A small plaque on the bridge we were traversing which spans the Rhine is the only sign that you have left Germany and entered its neighboring country; France. The only difference noted by my wife, the main driver in our relationship, was the existence of speed limits posted on the highway (the pleasures of driving in Germany deserve their own article).

The similarities of Alsace to that of southwestern Germany are due to a long history of the region having passed back and forth between the French and Germans. You will hear both languages spoken in the small villages around the valley, along with English in some of the higher tourist traffic areas. The wines, however, are far from similar despite the use of the same varietals.
On the German side of the Rhine you will easily find sweeter and lower-alcohol content whites. In Alsace the whites are dryer and more complex. For me, this complexity and the abundance of fruit aromas make the drinking of an Alsatian wine a very different experience from that of its German counterpart. - LC

Part Two

(Photos by Liam Carrier - Copyright 2008)