This morning dawned brisk, cloudy, gloves-and-wool-scarf cold. By we were on the road just as the sun rose and the full moon set over the river. Destination: the wine country of Alsace, France.
Our first stop was the town of Obernai, surrounded by a thick wall with crenellated watch towers. Passing through the gates, we wandered through a warren of narrow streets lined with the best examples of half timber architecture I have ever seen---block after block of narrow two-story houses all dressed up for Christmas. Green boughs with red berries and raffia straw on doorways, windows and high on the eaves of the roof. The bakeries are in full swing, producing special cookies for Christmas and loaves and loaves of stollen. Just standing in the doorway and breathing in is a gastronomic event. At the top of the town was a beautiful Romanesque church with a huge graveyard. Each grave site was groomed with a degree of care usually reserved for formal gardens or new car showrooms.
The next stop was a tiny village in the foothills of the Vosges Mountains across the Rhine valley from the Black Forest. The hillsides are dedicated vineyards, but that means nearly horizontal farming. Some are terraced but in other areas the rows of grapevines just run straight up a very steep incline. It looks like it tough work from start to finish, but the people here are very proud of their wines. We were invited into boutique winery and enjoyed a taste of three different white wines in a cavernous subterranean room. The winery has been in the same family for three generations and their philosophy is simple and refreshing. They have a small amount of land. They make good wine and sell all of it to private customers. There’s no impulse to get bigger or capture more of the market. When it’s harvest time, family members, friends and relatives go out and pick the grapes. No machines. No strangers. It is truly handmade, homemade wine. Winemaking on this scale seems like an honorable life close to nature.
